April Garment of the Month - Dress for Easter

Pattern Review: Butterick 4443

Happy Easter!

After spending Saturday in sunny Brighton, today in London is a such a contrast. Grey and miserable, but the perfect excuse to curl up in bed with a coffee and catch up on sewing blogs.

So here is my April garment of the month - another version of Butterick 4443.


I have made this previously here and I really love the style of the dress. I picked up this crepe like fabric from Goldhawk Road priced at £3 per metre sometime last year. I knew instantly that it would be great for another version of the dress. It drapes perfectly. As the fabric was quite thin I underlined all of the pieces with some stretch lining picked up from Simply Fabrics in Brixton, priced at £1 per metre. 


I cut a size 14 and made my usual alteration to take in the waist and under the bust. I was very proud of myself as last time I made this dress I altered the skirt to make it shorter and remove some of the fullness. For this I traced a new skirt piece (something I don't usually do) so it meant that making all of the alterations was really quick. This dress is rated easy, and it is, but I always find that it does take some time for me. Underlining all of the pieces is time consuming, I took my time with the fit of the bodice, I french seamed the skirt and hand sewed an invisible hem. It was totally worth it though.


The only thing that I am unhappy with is my zip insertion. I feel like I am having some kind of mental block with them at the moment. When I sewed this dress previously the zip went in fine, but recently I have been struggling to get them in properly. I have vowed to work on them over the coming months to get my technique down. It's such a shame to take time with finishing techniques to then have a rubbish zip. 

Anyway, overall I love this dress and pattern. I am sure that it will go into my TNT pile. 
You can view my Pattern Review here.

I am unsure of my May garment. I am toying with Butterick 5949 or Simplicity 1810. I think that I am feeling overwhelmed by my stash, so many nice fabrics that I am unsure which one to go for first! 

How do you guys decide when you have the same stash situation? 

Happy Sewing!

Comments

  1. princess.precious20 April 2014 at 05:06

    I love it! It suits and fits you so well. (also loving the shoes ;-)).

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Winter~Queen20 April 2014 at 05:17

    Love this Dress Natasha!
    And we've had the same weather here in Cornwall. Lovely yesterday, but oh dear, what has happened today.....? :/ Happy Easter :)x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marianne20 April 2014 at 05:25

    Beautiful dress! Last year I made a similar dress, also underlined, and went for a handpicked zipper (some other methodes failed horribly) By the way, great shoes!

    ReplyDelete
  4. KellysSewing20 April 2014 at 05:51

    Perfect fit! It is very flattering on you. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Eileen20 April 2014 at 06:29

    Great dress! Makes me want to make it :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. freshcityfarm20 April 2014 at 07:11

    Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nancy20 April 2014 at 09:34

    What a wonderful dress. I have already added the pattern to my wish list. It is beautifully made and looks so nice on you. Gret job!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sewingfunthings20 April 2014 at 12:36

    Your dress is beautiful! I suggest that you look at some of the YouTube video on inserting an invisible zip and see if that helps. I'm impressed at you pressing through each challenge and continuing to learn and not give up. It is so much fun at that age (yes, I remember) being able to enjoy your own creations.

    ReplyDelete
  9. prttynpnk20 April 2014 at 14:42

    Really sharp!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Unknown20 April 2014 at 14:44

    Very pretty dress, great fit and the effort taken to underline looks to be worth it

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous21 April 2014 at 04:42

    Lovely fit. In that fabric it looks a really versatile dress, suitable for casual or more dressy occasions.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous23 April 2014 at 06:01

    This looks lovely on you! Shame about the zip. Keep practising...it really is true with zips practise makes perfect. And do keep looking for tutorials on the web to try until you find one that works for you.

    ReplyDelete

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