Pattern Review: Butterick 5880 - Classy birds

I've been meaning to blog about this project for a while. As I mentioned earlier in the year, I have a lot of weddings to go to this year, and this dress was made for A&B's wedding in May.

The fabric (deep red with a pattern of pheasants) was given to me by a family friend (it had belong to her sister who was also a family friend), and I really wanted to make something special with it. I fancied something retro, and while flicking through pattern books I came across Butterick 5880, the original design is from 1951.

I really like the pattern, and given that the fabric is quite busy - I thought the simple lines would work quite well. I wasn't sure about the draped piece at the front, but in the end I didn't have a choice as my fabric wasn't wide enough.

The dress is fully lined, so I used the lining as a muslin to test the fitting, as it is a while since I've used a Butterick pattern. I cut a 14, and the fit seemed fine, so I went on ahead. But it retrospect I probably should have graded between a 12 on the top and 14 on the bottom.

Its not my usual style of dress, I tend to go for the fuller skirt, but it was good to have a change and I got some nice complements when I wore it. Conveniently it goes with my lovely blue shoes, and even better with the jacket I made back in January for the first wedding of the year.

Pattern:  Butterick Retro 5880

Fabric:  Red medium weight fabric, pattern with flowers and birds. It was a gift from a family friend, and has probably be around for a while. Red lining fabric, which came with the fabric.

Notions:  Zipper, also came with the fabric. (I would love to have known what the original purchaser was planning for the fabric)

Does it look like the picture on the envelop?  Well the top does, but without the skirt frill piece its not possible to do a full comparison.

 

Were the instructions easy to follow?  Yes.

 

Pattern alterations?  I took off the front skirt frill, and I used my (now) usual method for inserting the side zip - I'm loving the side lapped zipper, such a nice feature. I left in the cut out pieces from the neck, but I'm not sure it was the right decision. They are not very noticeable in the patterned fabric,  but would probably work better in plain fabric. Also, I didn't make the matching belt.

Would I make it again?  Yes, I think I might give the pattern a go with all the design features, maybe in a solid colour? Although, I'm not entirely convinced it is the style for me, as I didn't manage to take any pictures of me in the dress, I can't even ask your opinion.

What did I learn from this project?  Its quite a straight forward pattern, even the cut out pieces from the neckline were easy to do, thanks to the clear instructions. 

 

Did it meet my sewing resolutions?  Well, it's not an every day dress, but the fabric, lining and zip all came from my stash so it helped with reducing the stash.