Butterick 5598 - Pattern Alterations

I mentioned a couple of posts back that I want to spend spring sewing some of the new patterns I've purchased...especially since I was really impressed with the variety of patterns that Butterick recently produced for plus size sewists.  For my first foray into transitional spring/summer sewing, I've really been aching to make this dress:

I love that it's on trend...that it has an a-line skirt...some pockets and I'm also loving the tie belt and button placement...well almost all of the button placement.  I've decided to leave the top two buttons off.

So it was with some trepidation that I pulled the pattern sheets from the envelope.  I mean I don't use alot of new patterns.  Every once in awhile something will strike my fancy and I'm willing to make the fit and pattern alteration journey.  However, I was pleasantly surprised with this pattern.  Because based upon the finished body measurements for a size 24, I would need to make very few pattern alterations.

Since there are no sleeves, I don't have to make a bicep alteration.  Since the dress skirt is flared with extra ease built into it, I don't have to enlarge the skirt to make room for my abdomen and bottom.  After placing the front pattern piece to my body and standing in the mirror to see how it fell, I determined that I only needed to lower the waistline because it's 2" too high.  So that was the major alteration I made to the pattern pieces.  The front and back pieces, as well as the front side & back side pieces were all lengthened by 2". 

I also made a note on the hemline of all the pieces to cut them out with an additional inch added to the hemline...and that's it.  That's all the alterations I made to this pattern.

 
Now there is an interesting design feature to this dress that you can't see in the line drawings or the pictures of the dress worn by the model. What I thought were seam lines in the front and back of the dress are actually tucks.  

These tucks bring the fabric closer to the body at the waistline then gently releases it into the skirt.  An interesting detail that was somehow omitted from the fashion drawings.

I've picked fabric (a Ralph Lauren tan tropical wool purchased from Fabric Mart), buttons (tortoise-shell like buttons - 10 not 12 as the pattern suggests) and a nutmeg bemberg rayon lining for the dress.

This weekend I will cut the fabric and begin construction...so stay tuned because I know this is going to be an adventure! *LOL*

...more later!