A LBD: Butterick 5672

I have finally remedied a large gap in my wardrobe.  I have made a little black dress!  We were invited to a Christmas party and I decided that a LBD would be perfect attire.  I made Butterick 5672 with some Black Ponte knit that was a Fabric Mart Crazy priced fabric on Black Friday.  It was $3.99 a yard, and I bought a bunch.

Butterick 5672

The bodice and skirt back are all cut on the bias, with the lining cut on grain.  The pattern calls for a tricot lining and an invisible zipper on the left side.  Since the left side had all of the pleats, I thought it would be better to relocate it to the opposite side, since invisible zippers aren't great when crossing bulky seams.   Before sewing the zipper, I checked to see if it was really necessary.  It wasn't.  Next time, I won't even plan on putting one in. 

I cut a size 14 for the bodice and did a 1" FBA, which added a bust dart to the right side.  Since I have a narrow upper back, I followed the cutting lines for the size 12 across the upper back.  My pattern only went up to a size 16, so I needed to grade out a bit for the skirt.  I added about 4" to the hip circumference. 

I lowered the neckline by 1.5".  As drafted, the neckline is a too high for my liking. 

I did make a muslin and quickly discovered that I needed to add some width to the bicep.  I actually added with to the entire sleeve, with 2" added to the bicep and 1" added at the sleeve hem.  Now that I have worn it, the bottom of the sleeve should be a little more snug.  Right now, the sleeves fit a like tee-shirt, which isn't classy enough for a LBD.

Here is the finished dress (photos are lightened so you can see some details)



Odd facial expression due to 8 y.o. photographer

 

The dress was incredibly comfortable.  I do like the lining, so I will keep that in the future.  I will slim down the sleeves a little bit and use my coverstitch machine to do a chain stitch for the hem.  I used a double needle coverstitch for the sleeve hem, which adds to the "tee shirt" sleeve vibe.

As others have mentioned it their reviews, I think the dress could be tighter through the waist which would help pull the darts smoother across the tummy.  I consider this dress to be  quite a success.  I anticipate making another version at some point soon.