Butterick 6185 in Blue

This poor Butterick dress has been cut and waiting to made since the beginning of July. Other projects kept leaping ahead of it!

But if I wanted to wear it while the summer weather was still here, I knew I had to get busy. So I sewed it up this week, while listening to an audiobook of Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. I can't usually stand audiobooks, but this one was good!

I had a length of thrifted mystery fabric in my stash that reminded me of the cover look for this coordinates pattern, so of course I went for the dress view.

It's a loose a-line dress, and the striking feature of it is the double collar. I had to piece the back centre seam of the collar to fit it onto my remnant of fabric, but I don't think it shows too much with the irregular dot pattern. And I had a lovely white linen scrap that worked perfectly for the undercollar.

The only issue I had with the collar is that four layers of collar (and interfacing), one layer of dress and one of facing makes it very bulky at that neckline seam. And with the light weight of the fabric, the collar feels a little bit heavy. I think if I made it again, I'd experiment with making the collars both one piece and just hemming them neatly, to reduce two layers and interfacing. You can see that my collar isn't perfectly even, but I thought it was good enough not to redo!

I'm not 100% sure of this one. It feels a little housedressy to me, really loose and casual. Maybe with a belt or sash it would feel a tiny bit more structured. But it is awfully good for a hot day without any waist constriction! 

Of course there are side seam pockets, even there weren't any in the pattern I'd have added them. I did extend the length slightly -- and I am short. If I'd had a bit more fabric I would have added another inch, but it's wearable. I just like my knees covered, it feels more secure to me with my short legs!

 It's a loose fit but not super baggy. Here I am twirling, and you can see that there is not an excess of fabric in the skirt. It slips on easily over the head. This morning I did take in a 1/2" wedge from under the arm to about the waistline area on each side, because it did feel a little too loose in the bust area - I had cut it at 16/18 according to measurement but should have stuck to my more usual 14/16/18 combo since my shoulder area is narrower. I find that if something fits in the shoulder/bust it can be as loose as you want elsewhere and still look like it fits.

 I think I like this back view best! It really shows off the cute print. I was worried that this dress, with its dots and wide collar, might be *too* cute, but it's growing on me. I have a little navy sweater to wear with it when it's cooler and that also tones it down a little. Still on the fence though. Wear it? Cut it off to blouse length? I'll have to see.