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Monday, December 22, 2014

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.


10 comments:

  1. Looks lovely and a good fit. I think your right a tweak to the sleeves and this will be the perfect LBD

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  2. It's gorgeous! That ruching interest adds a touch of extra djudj to a simple, black dress. :)

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  3. This is awesome. I think we are almost identical with sizing in patterns, I lean slightly bigger to a 16 bodice often with grading up for the hips as well... and I even have to do an upper back reduction. Great LBD, you're going to wear it loads. Make a saucy bright red one... I can live vicariously through you :)

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    1. You are right Kathy. I consider you one of my virtual fitting twins. :)

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  4. looks fab. we must be pattern and shape twins! we have lots of the same patterns. now it looks so great on you i will have to make it soon.
    thanks xx

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  5. I'm commenting late on this but this looks amazing on you! I'm sending my husband off to Hancocks to get the pattern for me since they have Butterick on sale this week.

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