Retro Butterick Dress ('52)

Well (and that's an emphasized "well!") - I have just finished my "summer" sewing project, this 1952 Retro Butterick pattern (newly printed, old pattern). I love the styling of the dress, especially the full skirt and the scooped neck in back.

This dress was a snap to construct - it's only three pieces. The hard part, for me, was in the edge finishing. It uses LOTS of bias tape, around the arms and along the sides, both front and back. You see it better in the drawing than on my version. I just couldn't get the bias tape to work. I kept having little pockets of fabric not caught between the tape sandwich. The DH noticed that one of my grandmother's aprons was lined in bias tape, so I took a closer look. She used a zigzag stitch, catching the tape and the fabric with each stitch, so that's what I ended up doing and it helped. Does anyone have hints for sewing bias tape? It's a skill I need to improve!

The dress fit pretty well for me, except for the upper torso. The bust area was a little roomy, and next time, I will take that in a bit more. For this go-round, I'll just wear a push-up bra and call it good! ;-)

I didn't have the "flappage" issues noted on the patternreview.com site, but I got lucky. I chose a woven seersucker fabric, so it looks nearly the same on both sides. The skirt definitely swishes when I walk. It's one of my favorite features of the dress - its fluidness - but I can see how it might look unsightly with a printed (vs. woven) pattern in the fabric. The inside of the skirt is likely to show.

I may also wear it for Halloween. I have the perfect little pillbox hat. I just need to find some white gloves!