I'll admit it. I have fat days just like other women. Days when I don't want anything too tight or too constricting on my body. I have several dresses in my wardrobe for both fall & winter to wear on those days. You've even seen a few:
Butterick 5179
Butterick 5247
or these spring time versions:
Vogue 1091 New Look 6779
So I deliberately chose Butterick 5415 for a fat day look. Now I know that the pattern envelope shows a slim looking dress...but I'm not really a slim girl...and I knew that if I made this dress up in my measurements with enough ease to gently skim my protruding parts that I would end up with a fat day dress.
I have a few requirements for fat day dresses:
1. They must have some interesting detail that the eye can focus on. They can't just be large rectangles.
2. They should be made from a distinctive fabric...so the eye has something to engage it.
3. It must not be long in length...can we just say dowdy!
4. It must not constrict any body part or it defeats the purpose of a fat day dress!
5. And it absolutely must be fashionable!
*LOL* That's alot right! So, here's a look at Butterick 5415 - my newest Fat Day Dress:
(please excuse the date and the glare from the necklace
I was using my daughter's camera because mine isn't working)
Some stats:
Fabric:
100% wool from Mood Fabrics
Black accents wool/poly blend from fabric.com
Lining:
Black Rayon Ambiance from Elegant Fabrics
Notions:
20" black invisible zipper
Construction:
1. I did a pivot and slide on the front piece to add 2" to the waist and hemline.
2. I added 1/2" to the center back starting at the waistline and going to the hem.
3. I added 1/2" to both side seams on the sleeve gradually increasing from the underarm seam.
And that's it...since I was going for a loosely fitted dress, there weren't a lot of gyrations to perform.
The actual sewing of the dress is pretty straightforward. I did add a lining to the dress. That is where I experienced my only challenge because the pattern instructs you to sew the front facing to the wrong side of the garment and flip it to the front. Since I sewed the lining to the right side and flipped it into the dress, I had to improvise adding the facing.
It's okay...not great but workable and it will highlight a great pin or necklace...of which, I have both! The pattern also advises using a back facing in the same contrast fabric ~ I omitted that. I only wanted the facing in the front.
To me this is actually a pretty fat day dress primarily because of the choice of fabric. And it will make me feel good on one of those mornings when I wake up feeling bloated and achy and not wanting to work to hard when getting dressed.
So there you have it...Butterick 5415 - My Fat Day Dress!
...as always, more later!
