Butterick B5603

Hello all!  Here I am outside my new house.

 

 

 

 

Only joking!  I wish it was though.  I am really in the gardens of Mount Stewart, a National Trust house in County Down.

 

Photo from National Trust website

 

Why was I there?  I was at my lovely friend Nicola's wedding on Friday.  Nicola, if you recall, is Bucket and Spade Designs in the link on the right. 

 

I decided to make my dress, and after a lot of thought, chose Butterick B5603, View A (the yellow one in the photo below) because I'd seen so many lovely versions of this on the blogs.  I used just over 3 metres of cotton poplin from Minerva Crafts (I can't find it on the website).  I didn't want to use anything with a sheen in case it looked a bit to bridesmaidy.  The bodice lining came from my Granny.

Photo from Butterick website

I made this around Easter, and I tell you what, it was not without it's challenges!  Basically the instructions for making the bodice are about as clear as mud.  I had so much trouble with the V at the back.  It was such a faff putting the neck band and neck band lining together; and as you can in the photo below, the insides aren't exactly neat.  I didn't see the point of having a separate neck band attached to the lining, it would definitely have been easier to have this as one piece.  Maybe there's a reason for it, I don't know!

 

 

Also I think I must have cut one of the strips for the V too long, because I ended up having to hand-stitch it in.  I could have taken it apart and cut it shorter, but I had already attached and trimmed the two strips to make the V, and was afraid of making a bigger mess of it. 



 

You can see on the left of the V where I had to hand-stitch the excess fabric in.  And completely beside the point, this photo makes me realise that my hair is a lot redder than I ever think it is, and this is a good thing!  Also, those white roses behind me smelt gorgeous.
 

  

The front of the bodice gathers under the bust, and doesn't have any darts.  I needed to do a Full Bust Adjustment of 2cm, and remembered seeing a tutorial on the Colette Patterns blog for a FBA on the Rooibos dress (which I will be making for the winter).  Here's a link to the tutorial, it was absolutely perfect for this pattern, and worked like a charm.

 

I am including this photo to show you the new dart.  I humbly apologise for the creases, but the dress was pulled out of the washing pile to take some photos this morning!. Oh, the shame!  I thought I had taken some photos when I finished it, but clearly I hadn't.  You can see that the zip is in the side, and it also shows the band that goes under the bust.  On the pattern, this band is only on the front of the bodice, but I continued it around to the back. 

 

I wore it with a crinoline petticoat that I bought here on Etsy.  I did try and make one: twice.  But in the case of Lynne versus tulle, it was Lynne 0, tulle 2.  I really don't know how anybody works with this stuff, it was a nightmare!  This petticoat is lovely, it has three layers of tulle, and a cotton under skirt, and I take my hat off to the person that made it because it is perfect.
 

Here's what it looks without (left) and with (right) the petticoat.  Again, apologies for the creases!

I made a size 6 at the shoulders, and a size 12 from the underarms down.  But in wearing,  it was a bit big at the sides from the underarm to the waist, so I'm going to take it in a bit.  I did a Sway Back Adjustment at the back waist, and shortened the pattern by 15.5cm.

 

I loved my dress, and the petticoat made it really sitty-out and swishy!  I will definitely make this again, but I would lower the neckline slightly, and not do the separate neck band.  I also like version C with the cross-over bodice.

Everybody had a brilliant day at the wedding.  It rained in the morning, but it was dry and a bit breezy in the afternoon, as you can see in the photo above.  Nicola was gorgeous, as ever, and we all danced our legs off at the reception.  A good time was had by all!

 

Have a great week,

 

Lynne