Butterick 6582 and Sew Chic Saturday Blogger Invite

Hi Sew Retro readers!

Here is my version of Butterick 6582 I am blogging about here.

Also If you would like to join in on my sewing linky party please stop by!

Justine

Butterick 6582

I just finished this blue summer dress from Butterick 6582!

It was quick and easy and its already becoming a summer essential, see my blog for more details!

introduction

Hello, I've technically been a member here for wee bit of time, but have been neglectful of making an introductory post! But here I am today, armed with a photo of a vintage-esque handbag I made over the weekend...


I began working on Butterick 6582 http://store.sewingtoday.com/cgi-bin/butterick/shop.cgi?s.item.B6582=x&TI=10002&page=7 over the weekend and made this bag, also from a Butterick pattern, out of the leftover fabric to match. It's some sort of poly made to look like a poor man's silk. All I've got left to do on the dress, I made the sheath version by the way, is to finish up the hem and do some other hand finishing bits. It was a very quick project and will make a lovely outfit for a themed Thanksgiving dinner. (and I believe that I can count that as my November Project of the Month?)

Anyhoo, my name is Caroline, I live right now in Atlanta. I've been sewing for about 17 years or so (I'm 28) and am beginning to feel fairly proficient. I wear a lot of actual vintage--both clothing and accessories, though I'd wear more clothing if I were thinner. I would also sew with actual vintage patterns if I thought I could find any to fit my size 14 figure, so I love all the reproduction and retro styled patterns out on the market now.

I prefer the Vogue patterns to the Butterick because I find they fit me better with less alterations, but I'm beginning to get the hang of altering the Butterick. Here's a not so great photo of my Butterick wrap dress:

Once I finish the teal dress for Thanksgiving, my next project will be Vogue 2402 http://store.sewingtoday.com/cgi-bin/voguepatterns/shop.cgi?s.item.V2402=x&TI=20006&page=3 in a red and tan houndstooth print crepe. I bought a few more Vintage Vogue patterns on sale over the weekend, so I have plenty to do once I'm done with that one too...

True ladies know...

I once read a caption in a Vogue fashion spread that said something like: "True ladies know that leopard print is a neutral." So in deference to capital 'F' Fashion, here's my version of Butterick 6582, one of the company's re-issued vintage patterns.
I couldn't remember the last time I had used a Butterick pattern, so I was a little nervous about the fit, etc. The dress turned out really well though. I didn't make any alterations except to the length, which I took up a couple of inches. I also lengthened the slit in the skirt so that I can still ride my bike in it. (True ladies know that biking in dresses is always in style.)
The fabric is a 100% polyester and was remarkably easy to handle and sew. The belt is purchased, although View C of the pattern (which has a full skirt) does have self fabric belt instructions. Overall, I'm really happy with how it looks and fits.
As you can see in the picture, I'm in the middle of cutting out another garment (an empire waist sleeveless top - unfortunately not a vintage pattern in any way). Once I get through it, I'm hoping to delve into some of the vintage dress patterns I recently bought from ebay.

Another Version of Butterick 6582 Retro Dresss

I know many have sewn this Butterick Retro pattern mostly the wiggle dress version.  Since I like a full skirt and am a little too self-conscious for the wiggle dress, I made the full skirted version.  This is how it turned out: 

I am fairly happy with it particularly since it was one of my first vintage sewing projects.  However, it did not come together either easily or quickly.  It took months and months to finish simply because I did not understand parts of the directions.  I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I ripped out the same seam just because I could not get the facing in properly.  Nevertheless, I am glad I finished the dress because it is a nice addition to my wardrobe; it even got worn to work today!

Note:  Picture is without crinoline.  It looks better with a crinoline.

Read more about the trials and tribulations of putting this dress together on my blog or check out the status of my new project.

What Should I Wear?

To a Hollywood Gala that ISN'T the Oscars or similar but IS an awards ceremony at which it is possible I might be honored with 2 other individuals? I need something that isn't too trendy or spendy and is relatively easy to make (as there will be little time to accomplish this) and would have to travel well (I'm on the opposite coast)?

The starlets in evening gowns were *overdressed* last year and Shirley Jones wore a Chanel suit and was *underdressed* last year. HELP!!!!

The choices are Simplicity 0558 the middle view in black dupioni silk for the bodice and red merino wool for the skirt with some killer 4" Naughty Monkey heels,

Butterick 5032 (the light blue one on the right) or Butterick 6582 view A (the black one). What say you all?

Any advice on possible fabrics for said outfits would be extremely helpful. :-)

New Member Here

Hello,

I am a new member and just wanted to post and say hello. I am once again a stay home mom that loves to sew, has a passion for quilting, occasionally crochet, a little embroidery thrown in where I can. I have four children, DD 28, DS 25, DS 21, DD 13. Oldest daughter has blessed me with two wonderful grandsons aged 7 and 2 months. Youngest daughter is the only one living at home now, she just started high school this year. When youngest son moved out, I took over the extra room for a sewing room.

I love retro or vintage styles, am currently working on building a new wardrobe. I love reading all the great post on this site.


This is my latest project. The photo isn't the greatest, I apologize for that. Also, the fabric is just a little too busy to show the gathered details of the shoulders. I used Butterick 6582 which is a reprint of the original pattern from the 60's. It is also called a "Wiggles or Jackie O" dress.

If you are interested you can read more on my blog at CrftySAHM

Party Dress Entry

As another member said recently, having silly season party dresses made from cotton is an absolute must in Australia! My dress looks a little casual compared to some of the gorgeous taffeta creations we've seen so far, but it's a party dress none the less! Friends and I are going out for mai-tais as soon as exam results are out (whether it is to celebrate or drown our sorrows remains unclear as of yet :/ )



The pattern is one I'm sure many of you are familiar with - Butterick 6582. The facings left me in tears, but I pushed through and am overall pretty happy with the results (as long as you don't look too closely!) Stories about how others tackled this dress would be much appreciated - I'd love to get some hints before I try making the full skirted version :)

Read more at my blog: http://thebarnothing.blogspot.com/

Dressember

I wasn't sufficiently prepared for Frocktober so I'm declaring now, with plenty of warning, that the last month of this year is Dressember. I'm going to wear a frock every day for the whole month. It's partly Melynda's fault with her catchy 'summer of the dress' concept. Mostly it's because I make a bunch of frocks then manage to talk myself out of wearing them... besides, everyone gets a bit casual and silly around Hexmas time so I can get away with it.

So there is Much To Do to ensure I have a sufficient smorgasbord of summer dresses. This one, finished this morning, is now part of the arsenal.

It's made from supremely awesome sateen from the Spotlight sale rack ($5 a metre! I bought it all!) and frankensteined from Simplicity 3774 at top (again, Moggy is my guinea pig and anything she digs, I generally think is worth a bash) and a vague interpretation of the fill skirt from Butterick 6582 below. The back picture I include to show my truly astonishing pattern-matching which is completely out of character with the rest of the frock which is rather shabily constructed because I got cranky and impatient. What, moi?

Anyone else interested in signing up for Dressember (probably more appealing to those of a Southern Hemisphere persuasion, but all are welcome) then come play in the flickr group.

OH! And a follow-up. Remember the multi-stage dress disaster in purple? Well, first I wanted to thank everyone for your comments... I've never had such a response to a posting. But neither have I had such a polarised response. We hate the pockets. We love the pockets! The fabric is great. The fabric is utterly dreadful! The old frock was better. The new frock works! The new frock doesn't fit. Etc, etc. Well, I finished it - and sorry pocket-haters, I put them on. I also put some buttons on the pockets and the bust. It is still a sucky dress but I WON AND IT QUAKES UNDER MY MIGHTY DRESS-FINISHING-AGAINST-ALL-ODDS POWER.

As a punishment for its mediocrity, I have sworn it is a strictly a house-and-gardening dress which is why I put the pockets on (those suckers are handy for seed packets, stake ties, and the like). But lesson learned. If you don't utterly love the fabric, why bother?

New Years Dress?

Does anyone else dread New Years Eve? It fills me with anxiety.

However, it is a good excuse to make a glitzy dress. This is my 3rd time sewing Butterick 6582 (my favourite vintage reprint!). Here it is in bargain bin metallic linen:

This dress always reminds me how much I hate sewing attached armhole/neck facings!! Such a pain!!! Feel free to read more about it on my blog.

Thanks for looking :)

Other holiday party dress

This is my second taffeta party dress of the season. This one is made from Butterick 6582; a reprint that's shown up quite frequently on this blog.

This time I made the full skirt version. I actually really like the way the skirt is laid out. It's not clear in the photo, but the very front is not gathered, while the sides and back are. It creates a very nice effect.

My Sister in a dress I made

I love my sister and I love this dress it was made from Butterick 6582 and the bolero which I made reversible was from an OOP Simplicity pattern 3748.

I hate her in a good way for being so beautiful!

For other great fashions that I may not post here you can visit my personal blog.

Floral Retro Wiggle

I had a wedding to attend in August and I really didn't feel like wearing any of my over-used wedding-appropriate dresses, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to try the Butterick 6582 reprint pattern. I used some lovely retro-y stretch cotton sateen that has a 50's style paint effect rose print in turquoise and magenta. I really loved this fabric when I saw in an Essex fabric shop last year, but I try to use secondhand or stashed fabrics so walked away from it. My mum, bless her, noticed my reaction to it and went back and bought a couple of metres and gave it to me for my birthday!

I can't give this pattern a fair review as I frankensteined it with a tried and true pattern which I had already perfected the fit of. But I can say that I'm really happy with the results, despite a couple of niggles which I am able to over look. It would be fun to make this pattern in an authentic vintage fabric from the era, but such fabric would be unlikely to contain any stretch content, and I can't imagine spending the whole day in a wiggle dress without stretch in it. Not when eating and dancing are required!

More more info and pics on this creation, please check this blog post.

Happy retro sewing people!

Zoe xxx

The Good, the Bad, and the Extremely Unfortunate

It's been far too long since I last shared, and I have no good excuse. I have at least a half dozen things I've finished, so I'll parse them out in a few posts over the next couple of weeks, and 4 more things that just need finishing.

First, the Bad (modeled by my homely, homemade assistant, whose freakish figure makes it look even worse):



This dress (Butterick 6582) fought me the whole time. It's one of those I look at and only see the flaws. The bodice was too droopy, so I had to shorten the straps, which I then mangled, so I covered the seams with a faux-bow tie thing. This covered the flaws, but the ties are now very thick and the arm holes are tight. The front seam is (very obviously in the photo) wonky--it's both crooked and puckered. The pleats...it's a blessing the belt hides where they meet the bodice.

The jacket is actually a bodice from a different pattern, Simplicity 3829, and not all that bad, except for my attempt at homemade covered buttons. They're not terrible, but the technique needs a little work.



The Good is the belt, Vogue 9648 (the bottom view on the patten envelope). I'm quite pleased with it, and have worn it with other things. The size is way too small but it was a breeze to resize, and it went together fairly easily. The one trick was finding a good weight canvas to use as interfacing. I left off the "tail" of the bow and cut the bow a tad bit bigger to make it look more dressy.



And the Etremely Unfortunate? The petticoat. I'm not even going to show you that one. I made it up as I went, sans pattern, and, well, it does the job, but the less said about it the better.

Next post I'll share one of my more sucessful projects!

LibrariAnon (Formerly Peregrine)

My fashionably late introduction

Hello! My name is Monti, I'm married with 3 children. I love sewing, but never have enough time. This sew along has really gotten me motivated.

For my dress I'm going to use Butterick 6582. View C is my favorite, it's the yellow dress.

Happy sewing to all!!

New Pattern Purchases

JoAnn's was having a sale on Butterick patterns for 99 cents each. They have a pretty good selection of retro patterns. These are the ones that I purchased. I somehow copied the patterns in out of order into this post. So in the order they are pictured, they are Butterick 5209, 5033, 5032, 4792, 4513, and 6582.









Visit my blog to see what else I've been up to.

Frock Lobster, ooh aaahh!

Before I show you la frock, I would like to send a special, personal, heartfelt thanks to the genius creator of the twin, collaborative splendour that is a) the blind hem stitch and b) the blind hem foot. Never again will I hand-sew a hem. Circle skirts, you no longer intimidate me. Bring on the metres and metres of hemline because I SHALL CONQUER THEE!

Anyway. I bring you the Frock Lobster.

This is the Butterick 1960 reissue, Retro #6582. Some of the gals on Pattern Review slammed it so I was a little wary, but she came together a treat. I got some terrific advice from you Sew Retro folks about how to adjust darts when you lengthen the bodice... which I ignored, accidentally, because I went ahead and sewed them before I had read your comments. More fool me. But somehow, it worked. Next time I'll do it properly though and I thank you all - what a great community this is.

A couple of comments. One of the Pattern Review complaints was that there was a whole lot of fussing to create a drapey crossover neckline that didn't justify the not-very-drapey results. I decided to structure it with three carefully placed pleats at the shoulder instead of the rather haphazard gather in the instructions. See below - I think you'll agree it worked rather nicely.

Secondly, isn't attempting the impossibly unnatural pose of the models in the pattern illustration half the fun of photographing the finished item? The classic stance - pelvis thrust forward, shoulders rolled in a coy fashion, arms all angular and hips twisted - cracks me up. This particular illustration has a vixen propped up on what seems to be an invisible bar, waiting for her martini. I couldn't do that one without falling over.

I want to recruit an army of femmes in killer wasp-waisted frocks like this one to hit some really trendy part of town en masse where The Cool People are decked out in shapeless smocks. We'll show 'em how silly they look. Yes, in a dress covered with lobsters, making THEM look silly. Hmmmm.

The Naughty Librarian Dress

Hello! This is my first post. I have been sewing for about two years and have slowly amassed a collection of patterns, some of which are vintage. I own a number of vintage dresses, shoes, and hats and am looking forward to creating my own. My first post highlights a Butterick reprint, #6582, from the 1960's. I call it the Naughty Librarian Dress, because, with a little tweaking of the pattern pieces, it just came out so form-fitting. You can read my full review at my blog Sewer Sluts.

Hello! and Mad Men Entry

Hello! This is my first post on this site. I've been visiting the site for a little while now and I've just decided to join in. I've been really into sewing vintage for awhile now. I was really into sewing period evening gowns when I was in high school, and I've recently returned to the art to explore other vintage sewing opportunities!

I'd thought I'd introduce myself to the community by posting a few entries for the Mad Men contest. I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the photos; I only have an old, low quality digital camera at my disposable.

The first dress would be a Joan business dress, brightly colored and form fitting. She would most likely wear it with a stylish brooch, but I substituted an orchid:




This was made from Simplicity pattern 4298




The next would be a Joan evening gown. I've seen a lost of versions of the Butterick reprint 6582, and this is my version.



It's made with a bright green satin and I added the shoulder bows for the added early 60s feminine flair:





Lastly, I'd like to show what I'd consider my Peggy party dress. The color is a bit bold, but it's conservative enough to work, with a cardigan perhaps.






This last one was made from Simplicity pattern 3346



I look forward to participating further on this blog! I'm excited to be a part of it!