I'm finally catching up and documenting the last of my holiday sewing! We had a Christmas party to go to in December, so clearly I needed to make a new cocktail dress, and the repro fabric I had recently purchased during the big Telalinda sale was perfect.

I mashed up 3 different patterns to make this. Bodice and sleeves from one, skirt from another, and the peplum from a third. Thankfully it was still fairly straightforward and simple, since the bold fabric does all the work. 

In fact, even a big detail like a 2 layer peplum gets lost in the print in these photos, though it is more noticeable in real life. 

I think this is the only project I made this year that wasn't using quilting cotton. I was very pleased with the quality of this rayon. It drapes nicely but isn't so slippery that it was too difficult to sew, and definitely feels good quality instead of the flimsy stuff a lot of modern rayon can be. It compares well to vintage rayon, which is nice since it's a vintage reproduction print. 

This is not my normal color scheme, but I thought it would be fun to make something different. And the print really is perfect for a semi-formal 1940s dress like this. 

Also how cute is this giant 1940s corde bag with a lucite zipper pull??

I had to grab photos before we left for the party when the light was already fading, so grainy is the best we get this time. 🙂

I have more Telalinda fabric on my shelves. It's funny that this was the first print I've actually sewn with even though it's not my favorite out of what I have. But this gives me more confidence to work with my favorites!

So while it's not specifically Christmassy, it works very well for a pre-Christmas or a New Year's party, and it's nice to have a semi-formal dress that fits me in my current size and is nursing friendly.