First of all, thanks for the great response to yesterday's post about a potential Hudson Valley sewing retreat! There was tons of interest, so I'm going to start getting price quotes and such. (Actually, Jeff is going to do that. He's an event planning wizard!) I will keep you updated as we go along.
I also wanted to share with you my progress on
Butterick 5953, one of my latest designs in my pattern line.
I had hoped to finish it to wear to ASE (I love to set myself needless deadlines in the middle of stressful times for some reason) but that didn't happen. Now it will probably hang out mid-process while I do the sewing for my book.
It was actually a good thing I didn't finish it for the expo, because I found the perfect buttons there! 1960s carved pearl, in excellent condition.
Anyone else working on this pattern?
Can't wait to see the finished product!
ReplyDeleteOMG!!! I love that dress. It is so gorgeous. I already have it on my list when Butterick goes on sale this month, but I am so going to make it right away when I get it so I better start gathing my supplies. AMAZING! I love it so much.
ReplyDelete....and can I tell you how excited i am about your annoucement about planning the retreat because there is plenty of interest! I think I am definitely going to make this happen if you get it all pulled together. I think its time I get a weekend away :) What would be better than a sewing weekend?
Not working on this precise pattern (which is lovely BTW, and no doubt your version will be gorgeous!) but I recently finished B5895! (pictures on my blog if you happen to be interested!)
ReplyDeleteAnd good luck with the sewing for your next book, can't wait to read it!
I just bought my contrast fabric fir this and plan to work on it after I finish up a dress and skirt that are in project purgatory. Love this dress!!
ReplyDelete*for, not fir. :)
DeleteI hope to make this. I adore the bit of contrasting fabric.
DeleteI am halfway through. I have it on my dress form and I'm really liking it without sleeves... I used a lighter fabric so it's a bit more spring looking... but I'll do a full review hopefully by this weekend!
ReplyDelete-That's Sew Amy
I have a really light weight wool boucle fabric that I was thinking of underlining with silk batiste. Should I find a different project for that fabric?
ReplyDeleteWow Gertie, this is a gorgeous dress. Nice fabric choices.
ReplyDeleteOh that is so cute!! I love the strong contrast. I just bought the pattern and now need to jump on making it. I just ordered a boatload of swatches from Mood (yeeeeah...dangerous!) so hopefully one of those will work. I also am determined to make your coat pattern this year so we shall see...
ReplyDeleteGorgeous, I love that colour combination! I have _such_ a long "to sew" list at the moment (especially since I went and promised my whole family that they're all getting me-made Christmas presents this year!), but this is definitely on there! I'm thinking maybe a subtle look, with a dark blue suiting for the main fabric, and matching blue satin for the contrast, so it's all one colour but with a matt/gloss thing going on?
ReplyDeleteI love this dress and I was planning on purchasing the pattern to make for myself, but your photos highlight something I hadn't noticed as much in the photos on the Butterick page. The bit that crosses over the front will make it a bit challenging (for me anyway) to do an FBA. Any advice? I'm a large girl with larger knockers and I'm afraid I may have to skip making this one for myself. But I'll likely purchase the pattern anyway to have and potentially use elements from in other projects.
ReplyDeleteFunny, you should mention that as I too have this pattern and am full busted. Whilst looking through the blog printouts of FBA's that I'd completely forgotten about, I came across this one...
Deletehttp://threedresses.org/full-bust-adjustment-fba/gerties-coat-dress-fba/
The cross over bodice outine for Butterick B5953 is a bit similar to the coat dress from Gertie's book. So I think I'll use the principles from this tutorial to adapt it to fit the bust.
Another blog I enjoy getting FBA tutorials from is lazy stitching.
I love the neckline on this pattern and think it is very flattering. Joann's is having a Butterick pattern special October 17-19th, that is when I plan on picking this pattern up. Hoping my size will be there during that sale. :-P It would make a lovely holiday dress.
ReplyDeleteMy local store didn't have it last month. I am hoping it is in stock this month it would be a great holiday dress. MizzSmartyPants I have to do a full bust adjustment, too, but I don't think it would be that difficult.
ReplyDeleteWell, my concern is that the "flap" in the front doesn't leave a lot of room above it. So even if I was able to adjust the fit properly, that flap would end up needing to go right across the breast line to keep the line of the contract fabric intact and I don't like adding any extra bulk in that area if I can avoid it. I don't have a ton of experience altering different types of patterns, so I very well could be just not visioning how it would work out. I would be very interested to see how you (or anyone else) end up adjusting it.
Deletethis is a gorgeous dress! The color... the neckline... and the buttons are PERFECT! ~Laurie
ReplyDeletethat purple is so striking! i bought some slightly darker Lisa Ho double knit which im not sure what to do with just yet. I cant wait to see yours finished!
ReplyDeleteI love the purple! But... when the photo popped up, all I could see were big eyebrows over the girls. Very distracting. I would definitely not want to go quite as contrasty for my version. Now I can't stop seeing it. Doh!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great work appropriate dress, where I still like to be vintage-esque but not overtly so. I really loved the checked version on the pattern, with velvet contrast. But we are coming into spring now and so I'm looking forward to finally trying out the capri pants and maybe even the shelf bust dress! Thanks for bringing back these coveted looks.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I popped into Dior the other day just to stroke their clothing and the assistant kept raving about the suit jacket, how the hips are interfaced etc. like the original Bar suit. And I was thinking, I know. Gertie's pattern is going to help me make one, just as good as Mr. Dior's :-)
Wow, it's looking beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to add that doing an FBA on this dress is going to be a serious challenge so any advice would be grand.
ReplyDeleteI love this dress, you've chosen a great colour combination too!
ReplyDeleteI love this dress, you've chosen a great colour combination too!
ReplyDeletei can't wait for your next book :-) your butterick pattern and dress look stunning too! i would love to come to your sewing retreat and learn from you, but living in europe, that's not going to happen. your blog and book both helped me to go out and find a good sewing teacher. sewing and learning on my own for the last few years taught me to unpick seams very fast, tough :-) oh, and i want to see your dress, combined with your haircolour!
ReplyDeleteThe more I look at it, the more I think I NEED this pattern! The next time I go fabric shopping, this pattern will be mine!
ReplyDeleteYours is a lovely colour way.
ReplyDeleteI am half way through mine and also struggled with making a bust adjustment so any tips on this [once you have finished your book sewing] would be great
Yours is a lovely colour way.
ReplyDeleteI am half way through mine and also struggled with making a bust adjustment so any tips on this [once you have finished your book sewing] would be great
I love this pattern and that dress color is so vivid its awesome. I recently purchased this pattern via clubBMV when they had a great sale. I'm still debating my fabric choices. I really like those buttons.
ReplyDeleteI have got this pattern. Not Started working on it yet, as I don't have the right fabric yet. Thinking of adjusting it and making the sleeves longer and making it into a blouse, that ends at the last button. Not sure how I will that but will try. love your choice of fabric though.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is a true guide for understanding the clothing sense. I love to know about clothing fit guide.
ReplyDeleteMark
http://www.apparelnbags.com/t-apparel-buying-tips.aspx
Hello to you all! I am starting to fancy this pattern... it seems like it is gonna make me have some femenine silouette... and these kind of very feminine, shaping dresses ara always succesful when I wear them, even if they look old-fashioned (and people don't get the retro-touch). So I will start sniffing for the correct fabric. A cold wool would be nice. Gerthie, you could list some fabric possibilities with every project, that would tach us about fabric types, and would help us shop in the internet. In a real life store is easier for me, I only have to touch a fabric to know if it is right, but in the net it is trickier.
ReplyDeleteI sympathise with the event deadline mania. I have been doing that all my sewing life. My husband looks at me astounded as I stress myself over the event deadline as if there were nothing else in my wardrobe for that ocasion, hahaha!
I finished this pattern and love the outcome. I made it in a fall suiting fabric, poly-cotton blend (sorry fabric purists, I'm a wash-and-wear kind of girl,) very similar colors and pattern to the envelope pic. I call it my coat dress. It was SO fun to sew. I have never seen a dress go together quite like this; it was like putting together a not too hard jigsaw puzzle. The details are fabulous! I would warn away a beginning sew it's, but if you have sewn in facings before, do buy! Do make!
ReplyDeleteI've finished the pattern! Check out my review: http://www.thatssewamy.com/past-projects/gerties-fall-dress-butterick-5953/
ReplyDeleteGreat pattern Gertie!
Good job! I love this dress! It's something that I would design too :-)
ReplyDeleteYou've done an amazing job on this dress! It will look absolutely stunning on you. But you might want to change your hair color from pink if you want to wear it soon. :) Platinum would be retro-gorgeous with this dress.
ReplyDelete