Butterick 5559 view B done, plus catsitting!

Thanks again for your wishes about my health, esp KID, MD!   I might very well take all the pix of my films and post them on flicker for your review!

Last night I started Butterick 5559 view B.  I spent most of today working on it and I think it's finished!


AmandaS also made this dress, but in winter white.   Check out her version here.


Here's the pattern envelope.  Instantly I could tell those sleeves would be too tight for my biceps.  So I made the sleeveless view B.



I used navy blue ponte roma knit from Joann's.  It's $12.99 a yard, the buttery soft stuff!

I sewed a 14 grading to a 16 at the hip.  It worked out.  Phew!

Instead of using the facings that are for view B, I used the neck facing for view A, then twin needle stitched the armholes.  I also twin needle stitched the hem.

This dress has a lot of tucks, and some tucks have darts underneath them.  I read reviews on Pattern Review that said to make sure to carefully trace the darts and tucks.  That is true; otherwise they won't line up on the side seams.

Here's my left side; they mostly line up.



And my right side; they line up except the top one under the armhole.  That's because I wound up taking a triangle out of  the armhole down to the bust (on both sides, actually).


Here' s the back.  This dress actually has a great opportunity for a swayback adjustment as the dress is actually cut as a top and bottom that's then sewn together.  So the horizontal seam is already there in the back for swayback adjustment.  However, by the time I remembered, I had already put the tuck in.   I didn't do a swayback adjustment and it doesn't look too bad.  I don't know, maybe I'll unpick it and fix it later.



on emma, front


on emma, back.  Actually I sewed down one tuck in the back almost all the way across to see what it would look like.  If you look carefully, you can see it.  I will unpick that.


But just as cool are the inside of the tucks, as I realized when I turned the dress inside out last night as I was working on it.   The tucks are supposed to be ironed down but they don't seem to stay down; if that annoys you, sewing the tucks to the inside is a neat effect:


I am catsitting chez moi.  Here's Viktor, also known as Buddy, or my fuzzy therapist: 


He has already perused my fabric stash:


and spent a lot of time looking out the window on this incredibly rainy day


touch my belly


Inspecting the bathroom sink


and then taking a nap, half on the ironing board and half on the cutting table.  Looks comfy!


Be well and good night!