Edelweiss Patterns The Green Velvet Dress – “Liesl’s Party Dress” in Christmas Colors
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! I LOVE everything about Christmas – the music, the lights, the decorations, the desserts… But one of my favorite things about Christmas ever since I was a little girl has been dressing up in holiday outfits! There’s nothing like little red velvet dresses with white fur trim to get you in the Christmas mood, or red plaid dresses with black velvet bodices. Usually it’s the little girls who get all the fun holiday outfits, while we grown-ups are expected to make do with a pair of jeans and perhaps a red sweater and scarf – no hint of frilliness or the holiday elegance that we girls got to wear as children. But not so at my house! Over the years I’ve collected lots of elegant skirts, beaded tops, and ruffly blouses that all say “Christmas!” with a capital “C”!  Red and green are so classy for Christmas colors, but I love adding in golds, ivory, and black velvet…
This year I’ve had so many Christmas sewing projects that I’m afraid I won’t get to share them all! Between showing you the pictures of my holiday dresses and blouses that I’ve made this year I also want to do at least one Christmas costume film study, so the next month or so is going to be jam-packed with holiday cheer. : ) I even considered doing the “Twelve Dresses of Christmas”, but if nothing else I will at least get half a dozen outfits or so in this year.
My first sewing project for Christmas 2012 is a green velvet party dress made from my newly-released “Liesl’s Party Dress” pattern. I have always adored green velvet, and I knew I had to make something Christmasy from it when I found it at my local fabric store this summer.
You will notice that instead of using a matching sheer fabric for the collar and sleeves, I substitued an allover embroidered tulle with pearly ivory threads. The effect was visually much more stunning than using the same color for the entire outfit, I think. I did omit the beading/pearls on the bodice since I didn’t want to flattern the velvet’s pile.
I wore no crinoline with this dress since the skirt has so many gathers already, and I think velvet looks prettier when it can still drape a little bit anyhow. It was such a fun frock to sew! Green velvet never goes out of style, so as long as I don’t get any bigger (and I have no intentions of doing so!) I should be able to pull it out every wintertime for holiday parties. Each year I need quite a few outfits for December since I celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, and my birthday within a few short days of each other, so I’m sure this will get quite a bit of use.
Happy holidays and happy sewing!!
Katrina
Absolutely beautiful!!
It is SO beautiful!
I love velvet!
What an adorable dress!
So Pretty!
I hope you get to wear it more than a few times.
My four year old came over to sit next to me as I was reading this, and she exclaimed, “WHO is that pretty princess?” 🙂 The dress is beautiful.
Thank you, Ladies! @ Serena, oh, that is entirely too cute! I remember being absolutely enraptured by elegant dresses when I was a little younger than your daughter, and I think there’s nothing quite as fun for a little girl as dressing up. So I’m glad she enjoyed the pictures! 🙂
I love it! The green velvet will stand out in a sea of red Christmas dresses.
How pretty! I want to sew myself a vintage dress for Christmas this year. We shall see if that happens! 🙂
SIGH!!! It’s utterly scrumptious, Katrina! I used to have a cast-off green-velvet “dress-up” gown of my grandmother’s, and I remember how elegant I felt when I stood in front of the mirror in it. This is like the grown-up version of my dreamy dress-up gown! Brava!
Jennie, thank you! That was so kind of you to say. : )
Hi, Susannah! Yes, I always do my own hair, and this sort of updo is one of the fastest ways to do it since it requires no curling. I have considered selling on Etsy, but the thing is that I really don’t want to part with my dresses, and I like the things I wear to be “one of a kind” so I don’t usually make duplicates to sell. Maybe someday, though!
Oh, that’s beautiful!
Did you ever think of selling dresses on Etsy?
Did you do your own hair?
It’s beautiful!
[…] from a vintage pattern, and either made from red or green festive fabric. Last week I showed you my green velvet party dress, and this week I wanted to show you my ruched red 1950s blouse and grey circle […]
OMG!!!! I totally love it!!!! How much do you charge to sew one for me?!?!?!?!?! I so wish I could wear THAT dress to my husband’s Christmas party instead of the one I found.
Hi Nicole!
I’m so glad you like the dress. : ) Unfortunately my schedule doesn’t permit me to do custom sewing for people, but the pattern is available on the main Edelweiss site in case you have a seamstress in your area who could recreate this for you. 🙂
[…] am posting a vintage holiday sewing project on my blog each week, and since I started with a green velvet number in November I think I’ll have a pretty wide selection of Christmas frocks online by the end […]
I have seen you in many beautiful dresses that you have made, and this is the loveliest yet. It is just exquisite, and you look radiant in it. You deserve to feel very proud of your work.
Oh, thank you, Abigail! I really appreciate your sweet words! Dark green is one of my favorite colors, and I am very thankful to have this dress. 🙂
Katrina, this dress is so freaking beautiful! Wow!! I love how it looks completely different from the original pattern images, albeit just as lovely. Definitely going to have to put this pattern on my wishlist, it really is the perfect party dress 🙂
I am loving your Christmas outfits. I first saw your red draped blouse with grey circle skirt. Thanks for the tips on the pattern. I’ve often wondered how tricky they were to work with.
You look lovely!
This is a really beautiful dress! I think I like it even better in green than in white; it makes the lace of the collar and sleeves stand out more. The velvet looks so rich and soft! And I like the shoes, too. 🙂
Thank you, Lauren, Leila, and Emily! I am so glad that my Christmas dress is making people happy besides just myself. 🙂 I can’t take all the credit for it, though, because my mother was the one who suggested I used white on the collar and sleeves of the dress. I was originally planning on using green chiffon, but when I discovered that the shade I had wasn’t quite right, I took her idea of using cream and ended up working with one of my favorite pieces of embroidered netting lace. Happy sewing! Katrina
Beautiful!
Love it!
I love that it is modest yet very feminine! My fave combination!
Great job!
Great dresses ! I really enjoyed your dresses. I think you have great insight and vision. I am highly impressed with this information
Do you sew all of these?, and do you sell your masterpieces?
If so please contact me.
Hello, Hannah,
Yep! I do sew these dresses just like I mention on the blog. 🙂 I’m not able to fit custom sewing into my schedule, so at this point all my dresses are one-of-a-kind creations. But I have created patterns for a number of vintage dresses on my main website, so those ones can always be recreated using the pattern designs I’ve created myself.
Merry Christmas!
Katrina
I’ve been longing for a velvet dress. Mum says she’ll help me make one and I think this would be perfect. I’ve got weird fashion tastes. I love wearing old-fashioned clothes. I’m going to make the dress in blue velvet and I’m hopefully also going to make a cape, too. Thank you so much for the pattern! xx
Hello, Taryn,
Oh, that sounds beautiful! You don’t have weird fashion taste at all, dear! 🙂 Old fashioned clothing is really coming back into style right now (“vintage” is one of the top selling points for clothing nowadays, even in modern collections). I’d love to see pictures, and you’re welcome for the pattern!
Happy sewing,
Katrina
Beautiful!!