Front view of the finished product:
Back view of the finished product:
This great variation of the classic walk-away dress was pretty easy to sew. Of course binding everything with bias tape took some time, but I have a tendency to do that to pretty much every garment I make to protect the hem, so it wasn't too bad. The only tiresome bit was putting bias tape on the collar. The yellow satin fabric really had a life of it's own, which it made sure to point out as soon as I placed the pattern pieces on it - I'll never use that kind of satin again! After using about a gallon of water to steam the collar into shape, I finally won. The fabric used for the skirt and the midriff is some kind of synthetic wool blend and was as easy to work with as the satin was difficult.
Tip: I recently bought another Butterick wrap dress pattern pattern, probably from the same year. This one also has a somewhat square neckline bound with bias binding and it calls for a facing. I highly suggest making a facing for Butterick 6914, the collar just isn't that stable by itself. I'm currently considering re-doing this dress.
One of the most popular dresses from the 50s! The skirt drapes beautifully, nice snug midriff - Lovely work! The wool plaid is a great contrast to the yellow satin bodice. Nice to be warned about satin; I would have thought it would have behaved better than that. Do you have the perfect pair of shoes to wear with this dress? ;D (that's always my problem).
ReplyDeleteI think it would have been easier to work with, had it been the regular kind of satin that's shiny on one side, matte on the other. This satin doesn't have the same texture, it's much smoother and also much lighter in weight, so it was hard to keep in place. It almost feels like silk crepe. I have some black satin ballerina-style flats that ought to go nicely with the dress :)
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