A quick fix

Back in April I finished my first (and so far, only!) #vintagepledge contribution for this year, Butterick 4384. I felt at the time that I'd made it too long, but as it was a winter dress in a thick cotton, there didn't seem much point in spending time on alterations in the spring. So now that the weather has turned colder, I decided that it was time to fix it. In the end I took off 10cm / 4".

The original and the shortened version

I'm still not entirely convinced about the braid placement (and my hair still looks a mess!) but the just above the knee look is far more in keeping with the 1967 pattern.

Far more period-appropriate

#VintagePledge - Butterick 4384 finished!

I really need to get a bit more clever about timing my sewing projects. Last year I managed to finish a summer dress in late September, and now I have finished a long-sleeved dress in a thick cotton just in time for the (I hope) warmer weather!

When I last posted about this dress, it felt as though there had been a lot of sewing for very little effect. However the rest of it came together quite easily. As ever, I hand-picked the zip, then attached the collar to the dress. It fastens with hooks and eyes at the back.

I wasn't entirely happy with the buttons which I had bought for this dress, but they were the best I could find at home. Then when I was in Somerset in March I came across this fabulous wool shop in Wells. It looks tiny from the outside but don't be deceived; inside it opens up into a surprisingly large space crammed with wools and haberdashery, including an extensive stock of buttons. I found the perfect buttons for this dress, and for my next project, too.

Collar and buttons

Most of the dresses and blouses I make have short or three-quarter sleeves, so it's a long time since I have made anything which required sleeve plackets and cuffs. In fact, when I checked I discovered that it was almost five years; I made my Folkwear Armistice Blouse in August 2013. Happily my technique for hand-sewn buttonholes has improved a lot since then.

Perfect button and reasonable buttonhole

So here is the finished dress, and the first part of my 2018 pledge to make up at least three of my vintage patterns from the period 1960 - 1989 (the pattern dates from 1967). The verdict on my first foray into a new (for me) time period? Well, I'm not entirely happy with the braid placement; because I used five rows of narrower braid rather then four of a wider one, I think that the shaping around the bust darts is far more noticable than on the original.

How the braid placement should look

I made the dress longer than the illustration, but now that I know that it it destined to always be worn with thick tights, I might shorten it. The collar feels quite snug by modern standards, although you soon get used to it. But it is very comfortable dress, and I expect it will get a lot of wear. In the autumn!

The finished dress

Butterick 4384 - part 1

When I first looked at this pattern my initial thought was, "Hm, buttonholes down the front. Not my favourite thing". But look closely (Butterick kindly put the back views on the front of the envelope) and you can see that there is a zip fasten as well. It is a false front placket, so the only buttonholes are on the cuff of the long-sleeved version.Yay!

Front and back views

I'm using a thick but soft plain purple cotton for this dress, and going for long sleeves. The pattern calls for 1½" wide lace, which is attached right across the front and shaped over the bust darts.

Pattern, showing lace placement

The only lace I could only find that wide was nylon and unattractive, so I went for a braid instead. However it is only 1⅛" / 3cm wide, so I added a fifth row and changed the spacing. It took a bit of fiddling to get it so that the rows of braid don't overlap.

Front with the braid attached

The braid did tend to gape away from the fabric, so I ended up sewing round each circle - fun! Then I decided that I needed to remake the front placket because I wasn't happy with it. Fortunately I had some fabric leftover, and recut the pieces with the front slightly larger than the back so that the seamline doesn't show when they are stitched together.

Front, placket and buttons pinned onto Nancy

I've decided to go for the purple buttons rather than the cream, partly because the cream ones will look odd on the cuffs. The purple buttons do have quite long shanks though, and stick out from the placket a bit.

The collar pieces are sewn onto a band and then this is attached to the dress. I keep forgetting that the opening is at the back; I even cut the collar interfacing out on the fold as usual, and then had to split it!

Collar and band made up

So far I feel as though I have been sewing this dress forever and not got anywhere, but hopefully the end result will be worth it.