Friday, March 9, 2018

Butterick 6055: The 'Ice Princess Dress'


Move over Elsa, there's a new Ice Princess in town.  I am beyond excited to share my most recent make on my newly relaunched blog (*squealing with excitement*).  As with a lot of my upcoming makes, this was an 'unfinished object' or UFO in sewing world lingo.  I originally started cutting out the pieces to this dress during December 2016!

I used a Butterick reissued retro pattern originally from the year 1950.  I just fell in love with the bodice shape, the collar, raglan sleeves and the pockets...oh the pockets!!


As many of you know, I sew primarily with true vintage patterns and have hit or miss success with reissued or new pattens.  But this pattern is PHENOMENAL. I adore it so much (already dreaming of all the pretty fabrics I could make it in as well as SOLIDS with contrasting bows...gah, the possibilities are endless!)


The fabric is a great polished cotton snowflake print that I picked up in the Philippines in 2016.  The fabric is gorgeous --beautiful and sparkly.  This poor fabric and pattern were sitting in my projects storage box (oh yes, I have several projects started but not finished).  Then something extraordinary happened. It snowed A LOT in Edinburgh.  This is pretty rare. I know you think it would snow a lot here since we are so far north but that last time I remember snow that stuck for multiple days was in 2010.


Suddenly this project sprung to the top of my sewing queue and with gusto! I really wanted to finish this great pattern and capture the beautiful fabric with a snowy Edinburgh backdrop.  I seriously felt like I was back in my 'Sew Weekly' days with adrenaline pumping to finish this dress before all the snow melted!  It was such a nice change to be so focused on one project.


I'm so giddy with how it turned out. I just adore the pattern and fit.  And those pockets with the adorable little bows (which thankfully don't have to be turned inside out to be sewn. phew! thank you Butterick!)

I didn't really spend much time on pattern matching since the snowflakes are a bit asymmetrical across the fabric.  I also really like how the pockets blend in slightly until you see that sweet little detail.

The dress closes with a side zipper and I'm really pleased with the bodice fit.  The collar got a bit tricky but only because I used some fusible interfacing that got a bit wrinkly and required lots of coaxing with the iron to straighten out.


Looking at the fit of the back, I could probably have taken a quarter of an inch off the back to prevent the wrinkling...but not bad overall.  And unlike the early 1940s patterns – attaching the bodice to the skirt is super easy (right sides together unlike the overlapped and topstitched early 40s patterns).


And boy, did Edinburgh cooperate with the naturally beautiful backdrop. I literally feel like a snow princess in these photos which were taken by the seriously talented @Dashiee (on instagram) in Holyrood Park.  It seriously looks like we are deep in the Highlands!


And the dress (and backdrop) match my vintage accessories. I got the late 1920s ermine cape from Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair in Edinburgh about a year ago and I literally bought the white muff on a whim two weekends ago from my dear friend Rachel's vintage store (Carnivale Vintage) before this dress was a serious contender for finishing.  I'm so glad I did--isn't it cute (and very functionally warm)?


Yippeee....LOVE this dress and look forward to making more with this pattern.  And a perfect project to celebrate the relaunch of my blog :)

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5 comments

  1. That’s beautiful, and I adore those pockets! Enjoy the snow!

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  2. I'm glad you are back! That is a very pretty print and the style is one that would be lovely in a bright floral or other seasonal print. Perhaps flowers that bloom in your location :)?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yay! This dress is great and you are back!

    ReplyDelete
  4. As we would have whispered back in the day, “Pardon me- Your slop is showing”

    ReplyDelete

I read each and every comment--thank you so much!

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