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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Butterick 5813 - A Dress For the Office from 1956

1956 goes to the office.   I like this Butterick pattern because it is retro but not in that "look at me and nothing else" sort of way.  The result is a wearable dress. 
 Here is the pattern cover.  I made view B.
 As the pattern is written, the dress has a zipper, but I left it out.  The fabric I chose has a tiny bit of stretch and I made it with enough ease that I can easily put it on without the zipper.  Part of me would have liked to make it tighter and involve foundation garments, but I needed to make it practical.

Here is the only thing I didn't like about the pattern.  It is the front tie. 
 It looks terrible and I couldn't find a way to tie it nicely.  It looked like five kinds of bad no matter how many you tube videos I watched on how to tie a bow.  Clearly I am missing a skill I am aware I should have picked up in kindergarten.
 I ended up cutting the ends and making a fake bow.  Much better. 
The facts:
Fabric 1.50/yard x 3 yards = 4.50
Interfacing 1 yard = 3.00
Total = $ 7.50

I think I will sew this again with a thicker wool for winter and in a smaller size so I have less ease.  I'll back one notch or two looser than  Joan from Mad Men "I can't sit down" level of tight, but tighter than the "I have to sit in an office chair all day and I want to breathe" level that it is.

8 comments:

  1. You look terrific in this dress. Fabric at $1.50 - really? Wow!

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    1. I got the fabric from Wal-Mart. I pass by the fabric section when I do other shopping... it is hit or miss in the clearance section. When they have a deal, I buy the whole bolt. At that price, it is under $20.00. The lady at the cutting counter said they get the last pieces of larger fabric orders from big companies... they get only the last bolt left that doesn't go to larger stores.

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  2. I can't tie bows for sh*t either, so good thinking with the fake bow! It looks fab ;)
    The whole dress is really nice, and you can't beat that price tag!

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    Replies
    1. Glad I'm not the only one! Who knew the bow would be the hard part of this pattern?I had enough fabric to make a jacket... I am almost finished with it, but I don't think I like it. Oh, well.

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  3. I totally love this dress! It looks business like, elegant and cute all at the same time! I also like the fit; it's great to have comfortable dresses!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks. I do enjoy breathing during my work day. :)

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  4. Love it and it fits you well.

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  5. I'm making view C and the collar is giving me trouble. I don't know if I made it too small or I'm not attaching it correctly or what. Did you have this problem at all??

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