#11 Dress. The Black Bird Dress

#11 Dress. I’m excited to say that I finished this week’s project, Butterick B5209 Retro ‘47
“The Black Bird Dress.” I’m excited that I made some very interesting changes to make it my own. The dress is fully lined in black cotton, boning in both the front and back midriff. This is so funny trying to describe this dress. A friend of mine called me this morning asking how the dress was coming along. By the time I started describing this 1947, “Black Bird” with inner cotton lining, boning and build in corset, we both started laughing uncontrollably. The more I described the details of the “1947 Dress,” the more it sounded like a "1947 car model." It’s hysterical!

Anyways, back to sewing, seriously! I shorted the front midriff by one inch towards the upper angle only. That made a big diffence in keeping the dress straight without any gaps on the fabric. I also like the feel of the back of the neck collar with the extra black contrast added to it. I like how it stands. Feels cozy. The whole dress is very fitted. The skirt made all the difference.

 

I ditched the skirt that originally came with the pattern and replaced it with another from Butterick B5951. Nice full skirt without any gathering. Keep me away from gathered waistlines. Just isn’t for me. The black midriff contrast makes the dress very slimming and elongating. The sides too, make for very interesting visual lines. The whole dress feels great. I can see why women get addicted to haute couture. Believe me, you know the diffence when you put on something that is custom made to your body. It’s very personal. It’s like wearing your own flesh poured out in fabric.

 

As for the boning, I regret that all my dresses don’t have them. I hope to explore more with working them into every dress I make from now on. It is so carefree to wear. It’s not tight at all. It just supports and keeps your body in good visual shape. Any woman can appreciate that. You don’t have to fuss about what to wear underneath. It’s all in there. It’s pretty much sewing in built in corset. Yes, it makes for an expensive dress. I not only fully lined the dress, but also added an extra layer to make it all work into the existing seams. A pattern is only a guide, the rest is just free form sewing. I like that. I like the challenge. But most of all, I like taking all the experience to the next dress.
 

 

Which brings me to next week project…I will be using the same pattern, Butterick B5209 Retro ‘47 with a total different fabric and plenty of polka dots. Doesn’t that sound like fun?