Finished! Butterick 5882, the Shelf Bust Dress

Whew! That was a whirlwind. I made this dress over the course of a week, flew out to Dallas to wear it to a wedding, and flew back home the next day.

To catch you up, this pattern is part of my line of retro designs for Butterick Patterns, "Patterns by Gertie." (And they are all currently on sale for $1.88!) This particular design is number B5882 and was inspired by a 50s style called the "shelf bust."

Here's how my process works: I make the pattern and sample garment (all in a size 10), send it in to Butterick for grading and photographing and all that stuff. When the pattern is officially released, then I get a copy and can make it for myself in my own size (which is a 14, for reference).

Here's the model-y version.

And the Gertie version.

I added pockets!

And just happened to have the perfect shoes in my closet, never worn.

They're by Poetic Licence (the style is called "Faithfully"), and they are black on the outside and white on the inside of foot! Perfect for my black and white dress.

It was unseasonably cold in Dallas (I spent the outdoor reception huddled in Jeff's jacket) and crazy windy. Hair at the beginning of the day:

Hair one hour later:

Yikes!

Anyway, back to the dress, with a few construction details.

I added 3" wide horsehair braid to the hem. I bought this horsehair from Steinlauf and Stoller by the 36 yard roll. That's how much I love it. It's the best quality horsehair I've come across, very firm with a strong cord for pulling to shape the braid. (If you're curious how to use horsehair braid, here's tutorial to help you! I also have a segment from It's Sew Easy if you're more of a video person.)

The unmentionables! I added bra cups to the bodice. I just tacked them in by hand.

The waist stay is a wide petersham ribbon from a millinery supply store. The bodice is steel-boned all the way around. I made the boning channels by cutting two bodice linings, sewing them together wrong sides together, and then stitching lines to make pockets for the boning. (I detailed this method on my yellow dress from 2010, the days of yore. Thankfully I've figured out a better way to cut steel boning since then, which I will share one of these days.)

I borrowed a pocket pattern from a skirt pattern I own and sewed them into the side seams.

The fashion fabric is a silk and cotton brocade with flocked velvet polka dots from New York Elegant Fabrics. AMAZING. The contrast is a silk satin shantung from Paron Fabrics. I lined the whole thing in a lightweight cotton-poly blend from Metro Textiles, and finished the hem on the lining in black contrast narrow hemming on my serger.

Lapped zipper.

Okay, about the straps. I wrote a post about how I originally intended them to be worn, which is with the band flipped down under the bust and then twisting at the upper edge of the bodice.

And after all that, I ended up sewing mine differently. I kept my band flipped down all the way around the bust, no twist. I just liked how it looked on me when I tried it on.

I tacked the band down just where it turns into the strap, to keep it in place.

Whew! I think that's it! Overall, I'm really happy with the dress. It's a special kind of thrill being able to make my own pattern design. Here's a couple shot to end with.