B5352 Butterick Dress
Why you shouldn't ignore fabric recommendations.
I had a 21st birthday and a 30th birthday party to go to, both happening on the same night and since it had been a while since I'd made something I decided I wanted to make a nice party dress for the occasions. So I did my usual, chose a pattern and then went looking for a fabric. I wanted something light and floaty, it was April, springtime, so I also wanted something bright and cheerful.
I chose the B5352 Butterick pattern because I loved the way it flowed at the base. Now my next step - chosing the fabric is where I went wrong...
I naively ignored the recommendation for a stretch knit fabric and chose my fabric purely based on the fact that I loved it. I loved the idea of silk, it was to be a party dress after all, and it was so bright and cheery I just had to have it.
I did the usual, cut the pattern, cut the fabric, read the instructions and got going with it. To start I was really pleased with the progress I was making. It was difficult working with the silk and the machine, but my mum had warned me of this before hand and so I was just dealing with it and getting on.
Another faux pas was not realising the importance of pressing before, during and after sewing. Had I done this I think it would have made my life so much easier. However, my lack of pressing and my inexperience at sewing meant that the seams around the bust did not line up and that really bugs me.
As a finished piece on the mannequin it looks OK. It was when I came to put it on I saw why stretch knit was suggested. With no zip or buttons to ease the dress for putting on you just have to pull it over your head. I managed it but it would have been much easier in a more appropriate fabric and I would have been less worried it was going to rip apart. In the end, whether it was perfect or not, I had a dress, which I wore to the parties.
Now when I see this piece in my wardrobe I really don't like it. It brings back memories of struggling with silk and while I was making it the timer on my machine went, so it wasn't an easy process. All those memories have made me indifferent to wearing it again. However, in writing this blog I've been looking back at the pictures and feel less of a dislike for it. It looks alright on in the photos. I got a bright and floaty dress, which was what I wanted to achieve at the start and it is one nobody else has.
I wasn't going to blog about this as I wasn't sure I wanted to display the dress that I have grown to dislike, but I'm glad I did. Looking back, it's not as bad as I've come to make it in my head and I'm now keen to try make a dress with this pattern using an appropriate fabric. Who knows I might manage to like the seams up properly now!
I did the usual, cut the pattern, cut the fabric, read the instructions and got going with it. To start I was really pleased with the progress I was making. It was difficult working with the silk and the machine, but my mum had warned me of this before hand and so I was just dealing with it and getting on.
Another faux pas was not realising the importance of pressing before, during and after sewing. Had I done this I think it would have made my life so much easier. However, my lack of pressing and my inexperience at sewing meant that the seams around the bust did not line up and that really bugs me.
As a finished piece on the mannequin it looks OK. It was when I came to put it on I saw why stretch knit was suggested. With no zip or buttons to ease the dress for putting on you just have to pull it over your head. I managed it but it would have been much easier in a more appropriate fabric and I would have been less worried it was going to rip apart. In the end, whether it was perfect or not, I had a dress, which I wore to the parties.
Now when I see this piece in my wardrobe I really don't like it. It brings back memories of struggling with silk and while I was making it the timer on my machine went, so it wasn't an easy process. All those memories have made me indifferent to wearing it again. However, in writing this blog I've been looking back at the pictures and feel less of a dislike for it. It looks alright on in the photos. I got a bright and floaty dress, which was what I wanted to achieve at the start and it is one nobody else has.
I wasn't going to blog about this as I wasn't sure I wanted to display the dress that I have grown to dislike, but I'm glad I did. Looking back, it's not as bad as I've come to make it in my head and I'm now keen to try make a dress with this pattern using an appropriate fabric. Who knows I might manage to like the seams up properly now!
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