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Monday 11 June 2012

Butterick 5749

I was inspired by many bloggers to make myself a birthday dress.  My birthday is actually today (Monday), but I chose to celebrate over the whole weekend instead!  I made this jersey dress by Butterick - it's from the Suzie Chin Maggy Boutique range and I loved all the elements in this design.


I made this up in a bright pink jersey which is not a colour I usually wear, but the closely spaced black butterflies printed on it help to calm it down a bit.  Or maybe I am going through some kind of mid life crisis.

I made a size 12  which is my usual Vogue size but in this Butterick design it was too big in the front bodice and I had to take a couple of 1 inch tucks in the neckline of the bodice lining to reduce gapping - there is also a bit too much fabric on the bodice layer too, but since it is a cowl I can just about get away with it.  Oddly though the shoulders and rest of the bodice fit just fine.  I will definitely be adjusting the pattern before I make this again though - and I do intend to.



The instructions for this dress were surprisingly good, the addition of a centre back seam means that the whole bodice can be finished cleanly and easily and it looks good from the inside too.

It looked a bit short on the model so for insurance I added a good 6 inches to the skirt length.  Apparently the finished measurements are supposed to be printed on the tissue somewhere but I certainly could not find them. In the end I didn't need the extra length at all and cut some off and made a deep hem.

Bodice close up - you can see I have too much fabric in the cowl


The worst part of making this dress is the cutting out as many of the pieces are single layer and with 60" wide fabric for most of us that means either pinning one piece at a time or having to crawl around on the floor.  I had a 2m piece of fabric and I managed to squeeze all but the back lining out of it (total requirement per the pattern for size 12 is 1.8m fabric and 0.8m lining).  In retrospect it would have been a better idea to use the self fabric for the back lining and contrast lining for the midriff pieces.  Also in my eagerness to get the most out of my fabric I cut one of the midriff pieces out the wrong way up so I had to piece it - luckily with the print and the ruching it is undetectable.

Back view

Side view with zipper



I wore this out to a birthday brunch on Sunday, these flat back pumps would not be my first choice of footwear, but the weather was wet, my knee injury has made a comeback and frankly rain + dodgy knee + high heels + champagne = potential disaster so I played it safe.  I definitely think this can be dressed up a bit more though with some heels when the right occasion and weather comes along. 






Finally I would like to thank Laura for nominating me for an award, but more importantly for bringing her blog to my attention.  It's in Spanish and as you know from my woeful Patrones output my Spanish is non existent, but it is still a joy to look at.  Just take a look at this stunning lace gown for starters....

http://miprimeramaquinadecoser.blogspot.com.es/2012/06/por-fin-el-vestido-de-encaje.html










33 comments:

  1. I think I love everything about this dress! I love the print and the cut is so nice. I really haven't paid much attention to this pattern until now. Happy Birthday!

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  2. So beautiful. I love that pattern but just can't justify and more dresses in my closet. I like it in the print you've used.

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  3. I like very much your new dress.
    Happy Birthday!!!

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  4. Happy birthday hot stuff! It's nice to see you in something a bit more festive! You should have a Birthday week/ Birthday month (I mean you might as well) then you can do whatever you feel like (at home) and go 'but it's my birthday..' XD

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  5. Happy Birthday! Gorgeous dress and a very flattering fit!

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  6. Everything about the dress is fabulous and you look fantastic. Happy Birthday

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  7. Happy Birthday!! Love the dress!

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  8. Happy birthday... That is one beautiful dress you made, love the print

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  9. Happy birthday, your birthday dress is fab
    louise

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  10. Wishing you the very best on your Birthday!

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  11. Happy birthday to you and pretty dress too!!! You know, I attempted this pattern several weeks ago and the armholes were abysmally tight. It doesn't sound like you had the same problem, though. I need to make another one with bigger armholes and a smaller bodice because if you think it was big on you, it was ginormous over my small girls.

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  12. Happy Birthday, Allison. Pretty dress and helpful review.

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  13. I *love* your dress! So pretty! Thanks for the tips about the sizing issues on the front collar - I have this pattern in the stash, just waiting to get made up, so construction details are helpful! And, Happy Birthday!

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  14. Happy Birthday and wonderful color on you.

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  15. Thank you very much for the mention! And congratulations on the prize! You deserve it! You make wonderfull clothes and your blog is very inpiring for me :)
    I'm glad you liked my dress. you'll be seeing another one in a few weeks as I'm having another wedding at the end of june.
    Kisses!

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  16. Thank you very much for the mention! And congratulations on the prize! You deserve it! You make wonderfull clothes and your blog is very inpiring for me :)
    I'm glad you liked my dress. you'll be seeing another one in a few weeks as I'm having another wedding at the end of june.
    Kisses!

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  17. Another pretty dress! You look gorgeous in it. Happy Birthday!

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  18. Happy birthday! What a cute pattern. I hadn't noticed it before.

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  19. Such a beautiful dress! You look wonderful. Hope you had a very happy birthday.

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  20. I am late to the party, but I hope you had a lovely Birthday - love your new Birthday frock!

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  21. Congratulations on your dress and Happy Birthday.

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  22. Happy Birthday, it was mine on Sunday - June is such a good month for birthdays. Lovely dress too

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  23. You look lovely in that colour!

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  24. Oooh, I've been waiting for this review. So, was the cowl too wide resulting in too much drape? Or was it just the overall bodice, not the cowl draft per se? I want to get to this one soon, as yours looks fantastic!

    Happy birthday!!!!

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  25. Stunning dress Allison . Happy birthday :-)

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  26. happy birthday Allison!
    Beautiful dress, you looked great

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  27. A wonderful dress - I hope it had a great night out for your birthday!

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  28. You look wonderful, Allison! Love your dress, in fact I love all your dresses! The background of your pictures look familiar , you live in Hong Kong? I live in Sai Kung, Hong Kong.

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  29. Happy belated birthday! What a beautiful dress -- perfect for celebrating!

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  30. Very classy! Nice work! I'm just getting back into sewing, with gusto too! Be proud of this dress!

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  31. Happy birthday!!! Love the dress. So beautiful. The print is so pretty.

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