This dress has been probably close to 3 months in the making!

I initially planned it to be my entry for the Little Red Dress challenge in December but never got around to finishing it. I then planned to have it done in time for Chinese New Year (cause red is always lucky!) but was caught up making pyjamas for me and my sisters instead!

So I missed all the deadlines I set myself but I persevered and managed to get it done anyway!

Enough of the chitchat – let’s get down to what I made!

I picked up the 70s frill dress from Trend Patterns when it was released last year (I always try to get the PDF versions when there’s a sale and then get them printed as they’re quite expensive patterns). It’s a full length, long sleeve dress with as many ruffles and gathers as could be fitted in! If you want to see how over the top it can look, check out this sample version that Trend made!

I wanted a more pared down version so I opted to do a short sleeved mini-ish dress instead!

The pattern itself is really interesting. The cap sleeve is grown onto the shoulder in an almost cape-like styled yoke. Because of that it’s very fitted across the shoulder with potential for restricted upwards arm dancing… A frill is then sandwiched between the yoke and bodice. I opted to leave out the sleeve and instead finished my armhole edge by overlooking then turning the seam allowance. This allows the frill to act as a “sleeve” and makes it into a short sleeve style!

I used a dark red poly satin that I picked up at the 50p shop in Walthamstow. Beautiful fabric but a nightmare to work with!

It moved like crazy whilst cutting and pressed terribly. I had to whip out my clapper in order to get any of the seams and hems to lie flat!

It was frustrating to say the least but I’m glad I finished it!

It’s a lot of fun to wear. I constantly feel the need to twirl whilst wearing it, just to see the frill flare out!