Butterick Dress B6318

I have had this pattern in my stash for many years. Having turned 60 this June, I decided to finally make this retro dress pattern from 1961 to celebrate. After all, we were both created in the same year!
It is a very easy dress to make, especially as the sleeves are an extension of the top rather than set in. A full skirt makes it a very comfortable and feminine dress, whilst the attached belt gives a flattering waist line.
I chose to make some alterations to the pattern. First I added pockets (totally essential) to this dress. I set them in slightly towards the front, rather than at the sides, so that the fullness of the skirt was evenly distributed. I have previously made other retro patterns that did this.
I also added 12 cm to the skirt pattern, as I wanted a longer more elegant length.
When I make this pattern again I would certainly make the ties much longer so that they can tie at the front of the dress. I would also consider lining  them for a better finish.      
I made the dress with a cotton furnishing gingham that was 160 cm wide (62”) purchased from my local market for £2.40 a metre. I could not find a suitable plain contrast cotton, so I chose to use two sizes of gingham, which I thought worked well.
One thing to note, is that I had masses of fabric left over! I do not know if it was because my fabric was wider, or the way that I cut out the pattern, as I often do not follow layout instructions finding them wasteful.
If you choose to use a contrasting fabric for the ties, it does not deduct this from the main fabric quantities. It calls for 1.20 meters for the ties, however the longest sash length was 105 cm for a size 22 and my size 14 was 95cm. You can actually cut it from the width of fabric rather than the length. You actually only need 40cm for the belt! I had a piece of fabric left measuring 130cm x 1.20 cm.
For the dress I had a piece left over 62cm x 224 cm & 94cm x 36cm. This was with adding length to the skirt and including pockets. It was so wasteful, I actually made a skirt and three tops from what I had left over!
I will definitely make this dress again when I see a suitable fabric. I would be tempted to make an evening version.
A very quick and easy dress to make which is great for summer days. I would however definitely check your fabric quantities. I worked out that if I had made the standard pattern, I could have cut all the prices (including the ties) out of 2.40 meters. My fabric was a bargain, so it does not matter, but I would have been upset if my fabric was more of an investment.
I do love the final outcome though and highly recommend it.

The Butterick B6318 is one of those patterns that lots of people have tucked away in their collection - it's probably on your 'to sew' list too, but is always overtaken by other projects - am I right? Well I would urge you to dig it out, because it's an absolute winner and I bet you will love it!

If you are used to 'big four' instructions then this is a super simple make. Those more familiar with the detail and clarity of indie patterns may find the instructions quite sparse, but wouldn't find the construction itself difficult. The sleeves are grown-on and the bodice is designed to have a 'relaxed fit', which makes this a very straightforward sew.

I think the reason this project gets put on the back-burner by many people is because of the quantity of fabric required to make it. I looked at some beautiful linens, but as they were narrow I would have needed to spend about £60 on fabric - not a price I'm prepared to pay for a pattern I've never made before. In the end I found this pretty striped linen from Seasalt - it's 150cm wide, so 3m was just enough and I waited until it was reduced from £55 to £32.50 in their sale - a much better price!

I made a calico toile of the bodice in a size 8 to get an idea of the fit and I could only just do it up at the waist (mine measures about 27.5"). I decided to make a size 10 bodice and grade to a 12 at the waist to make sure the dress was comfortable, knowing that even if it ended up being too big, the waist ties would give me a nice fitted silhouette. I think next time I would make a straight size 10, as there is plenty of ease at the waist and the bodice fits very comfortably.

The only slight change I made to the pattern was to double the length of the waist ties. I wanted to be able to wrap them back around to the front instead of tying at the back and have plenty of length to make a nice long bow!

I'm so pleased I finally got around to making this dress and I definitely think I'll make it again. I love the vintage vibe and how such a simple pattern can look so effective with a good choice of fabric.

I made this dress as my entry to the Little Red Dress project. I wanted to finally use this lovely red cotton that has been in my stash for two years. Since it is such a special fabric, I decided to make a toile of the bodice of the dress. Glad that I did so. I needed to grade between sizes to have the fit right. In the end it was worth the extra effort. I think this dress fits very nicely.

This is a fairly simple and quick dress to make. Since it doesn't have separate sleeves, pockets or anything else extra, the construction is simple. However, it does have this nice belt that gives the dress some character. It has a vintage look but not too much so. I think it is well suited for modern life.

I would recommend this pattern to anyone who loves vintage dresses. Just note that it is worth the effort to check the measurements couple of times and make a toile.