Finished: A 1940s Hawaiian holiday dress (Butterick B6380)
Summer is nearly here in Sydney – we’ve just had a bunch of really hot days, and it’s reminded me that I need to make some rayon dresses suitable for work.
Spotlight sent me a bunch of samples from Gertie’s latest fabric range, and this tropical Hawaiian print jumped straight out – hibiscus and pineapples!
The pattern is Butterick 6380, Gertie’s 1940s-inspired dress, and it’s perfect for drapey rayon.
While the pattern went together really easily, I did make a lot of modifications to get the fit I was trying to achieve.
For the front bodice:
- Full bust adjustment
- Cut the chest tabs (that gather the fabric across the bust) slightly longer to hide my bra straps
- Lifted the neckline by an inch at the front for modesty
For the sleeve:
- Large upper arm adjustment
- Reduced some of the puff in the sleeve heads
For the back:
- Cut back on a fold and put zipper in the side instead
- Raised back neckline by an inch
General mods:
- Tapered in the waist
- Changed skirt for half circle skirt
- Reduced the waistband height by an inch
In total yardarge, the dress used about 1/3 m of plain black rayon for the bust, and about 2.75m of print for the rest.
Overall, I’m thrilled. The fabric is buttery soft, colourful and will be
I have a strong suspicion this dress will become one of my favourite patterns very quickly!
Sue Rostron
Hi Becs this is gorgeous and makes me want to make one.
Hey I recently bought a 1940’s tailored sewing booklet with patterns intact at an Op shop and would like to send it to you. Shall i send you a pic of the front cover to see if you can use it. I just couldn’t bear to leave it in the shop.
subversivefemme
Oh Sue that’s so lovely of you! I’d definitely love to see it 😀 my email is subversivefemme @ gmail.com if you’d like to xx
Gwen
OMG! I thought that tropical fabric looked familiar! So happy to see it in action. I can’t wait for this new line of fabric to be released!!! xx Gwen
Jacinta
Fabulous! Will have to make one for my daughter.
sarah monks
I am about to make this dress for my bestie. She like the neckline so we are doing a test run and if all goes well she will have this bodice for her wedding dress, yay!
I am not sure how to go about doing the FBA when there is no bust dart can you please tell me the method you used/point me in the direction of a tutorial.
subversivefemme
HI hon – you don’t need a dart to do it, you just cut the FBA lines where a dart would approximately live if that makes sense? And spread the excess into the gathers below the bust?
sarah monks
Sorry that wasn’t super clear. I have done non far FBA before but I don’t want to mess up the gathers.
Lisa
Oh my goodness! That’s delightful!
Tierney
That hat is incredibly precious!!! ? Where did it come from?
subversivefemme
Thanks hon! I actually found it in an Op Shop!
Gay Housden
I love the mixture of black and floral, it is very skillfull and flattering
subversivefemme
Thankyou!