The Girl in Red (A Valentine’s Dress)

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Good morning! It’s mid-winter break right now, so K and I are hanging out and relaxing today and tomorrow. Since we’re in vacation mode, the pace is slower around here and I’m posting a little later than usual…

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I made K this little red number for Valentine’s Day. I don’t know why, but I tend to avoid the color red — maybe it’s because it’s my mom’s favorite color and I OD’d on it growing up. It’s a great hue on K, though, and I should make more outfits in this color. I’m not sure how the red is coming across on your screen, but this is a deep crimson with blue undertones.

In lieu of sugary treats, I told her I would make her a dress, so K and I browsed through my out-of-control Mini Fashion Pinterest board for ideas, and she liked this one:

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She also selected the fabric, but sadly, I didn’t have quite enough to replicate the dress though I did my best to accommodate. Thank goodness she gave it a thumb’s up. Although my version isn’t quite as poufy and is more business-y than party girl, I’m quite pleased that I didn’t shell out anywhere near $200 to make the frock — I was trying to wrap my head around the type of person that would buy a $200 dress for his or her child, and then realized that if I added up the hours I spend on making each item of clothing, it suddenly didn’t seem so outrageous.

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I started with An’s awesome Tinny Dress pattern, but completely hacked it so I’m not sure if I should even reference it. I used the size 7 bodice — which shows you how petite my almost 10-year-old is —  but didn’t bother with a zipper since I made the dress out of a ponte knit that was moderately stretchy.

Changes I made:

  • No zipper
  • Added a waistband
  • Made it a two-tiered skirt
  • Added a humongo bow

 

It’s a cute little dress and I’m proud that the inside of the dress looks clean and tidy:

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You can see that I hand stitched the waistband facing. I’m starting to enjoy hand sewing more and more. Maybe I’m building my patience muscle?

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valentine-dress8She looks so grown up to me, especially in those new-to-her wedges (K is so much smaller than most of her friends, we end up with quite a bit of hand-me-downs). I wanted to shorten it a bit to balance out the proportions, but K liked the longer length so I kept it. Let’s call this one a success! It’s actually comfy, totally customized and the Valentine girl feels fancy. Win, win, win!

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P.S. Confirmed! Ana, my Secret Valentine received her gift and I opened my spectacular gift from Sonja yesterday. So much happiness! I will post more about them later this week!

10 thoughts on “The Girl in Red (A Valentine’s Dress)

    1. Thank you, Ana! K wore it all today and declared it an awesome dress :-). You’re right, it does have a vintage feel to it, doesn’t it?

  1. Beautiful colour; K looks stunning and yes, so grown up. My 11-year-old is suddenly looking totally teenage so I know how that feels… Love the way you did the bow, too. You can’t beat clothes that are both dressy AND comfy!

    1. It’s crazy how fast time flies! K will turn 10 this July, but sometimes I’m pretty sure she’s 17. Thanks for the sweet words about the dress, Marisa. It’s been a hit! 🙂

    1. Thanks so much, Heidi! I’m reaching new levels of sewing geekiness now that I get SO excited by how my projects look on the wrong side :-). I hope you’re doing well!!

    1. I considered adding some wire into the bow so that it would hold its shape more, but I like the effect that’s almost like a seashell :-). Thank you, Greta!!

    1. Thank you, Asmita! I hacked it as I went without giving a lot of forethought, but I’m happy with the way it turned out!

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