Project Run and Play Week One // All Buttoned Up

Week one is finally here and I am beyond excited to be participating as a designer for Project Run and Play!

The theme this week was All Buttoned Up! We were told to use buttons to highlight the look! Now, I love buttons but lately the buttonhole maker and I have not been getting along well. It usually involves seam ripping and sometimes tears. However, I decided not to let that stop me with this week's design!

I started brainstorming by drawing up some designs. I thought it would be fun to make some sort of button belt look. My sister is five years old, and I decided a belt wouldn't be the best option for her and she is always on the move. I finally decided on a dress with a waistband. I arranged the buttons in a zigzag shape because I wanted it to look like the letter "V" for my sister's name, Veronica. She loves it!

Since the front dress is so detailed, I went with four simple buttons to close up the back. Also, the buttonhole maker was nice to me and there were no tears shed while making this dress! There is also a button on the yoke and a button on each sleeve cuff. In total, the dress has 54 buttons!

I used the Ila Dress from Coffee and Thread Patterns to start. I ended up using the bodice, but I cut most of the length off in order to add a waistband. I made the waistband myself by cutting rectangle shapes the length and width I needed. The skirt is a half circle skirt drafted using my sister's waist measurement. I referenced the circle skirt tutorial from Dana Made It, but only cut a half circle instead of a full circle.

I used two different types of corduroy fabric from my stash for the dress. The bodice and skirt are a fine wale lavender corduroy. The waistband, yoke, and sleeve cuffs are a heavier, textured corduroy. I love how they look together. The white is the perfect backdrop for the various buttons.

The bodice is completely lined in rayon challis and I added pockets to the skirt, because what girl doesn't love pockets? My sister approves of the pockets and informed me that "they are soft."

I made my own bias binding and used it to hem the circle skirt.

It passes the test for my sister. She can be especially picky, but has already asked to wear this dress multiple times!

It makes the perfect dress for twirling! 

It's also perfect to wear while reading your favorite book! 

Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to head over to Project Run and Play and VOTE for your favorite look!

~Elizabeth