Comments on: Butterick 4790 Vintage Dress

By: Noile

Noile — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:58:36 +0000

It’s right there in the post, at the bottom, just above the update. One thing I try to be very careful about is attribution. I try never to leave a pattern number, or source, out of a post.

By: Scheri Manson

Scheri Manson — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 04:42:13 +0000

What is the pattern nmber of the New Look you used for neckline variation?

By: Noile

Noile — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:13:38 +0000

Thanks for your note, Jenn, and good luck with your costume!

By: Jenn

Jenn — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:28:19 +0000

Oh my gosh I am using that same pattern for a 1950s costume, and have just realised that the necline isnt flattering on me either! I was trying to imagine how I could modify the neckline but keep the dress in the right theme! But the other modifications you mentioned are going into it too! thanks for your help, and now that I have discovered your website i might just haunt it too!

By: Jess

Jess — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:48:46 +0000

I MADE THIS LAST YEAR! in my grade 12 sewing class. yours looks way better though :p

By: Noile

Noile — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:25:29 +0000

Hi, Christina — sorry I didn’t get back to you faster; we’ve been traveling and without Internet access. I probably should have cut a size 14 in the pattern, but cut a size 12, which was almost right, but a little large in the waist.

I overlapped the front and used an adjustable hook in the back to take up the difference — worked fine, though the overskirt doesn’t flare open as a result. But most other sewists reported that theirs didn’t flare when made according to the directions anyway.

The real fit issue may be the bodice, which is broad and flat above the bust, and definitely fits in a true retro way. It kind of naturally looks a bit large, even if it technically isn’t. You can probably check that fit just using the tissue, though.

Does that help? I’m thinking that you’re right about the 14 for you. It’s simple enough that a tissue fitting may give you all the information you need. It’s a great dress!

By: Christina

Christina — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:42:54 +0000

You did a great job! Did you notice if the pattern has a tendency to run kind of large? I bought an 8-10-12-14, and was planning to make it in a 14 (to give you some idea of my size, I wear a 12 store-bought, which is like a 16 or 18 in patterns) and I was hoping that a 14 would work. Have any insight?

By: Noile

Noile — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:32:50 +0000

Thanks for your comments, all! wundermary, Cotton is such a wonderful fabric when spandex is added — so forgiving. Your mother was right; until I attached the buttons to the bodice, the dress was just about unwearable. But not any more!

Issie and Lorraine, I was just plain lucky that the neckline worked so well, but I’m really glad it did. There’s something so cool about a dress like this one that doesn’t become a dress at all until you put it on.

By: Lorraine

Lorraine — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:30:34 +0000

Wow Noile, you did a great job with this. The neckline just rules!

By: Issie

Issie — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:10:58 +0000

Hi Noile,
Just discovered your blog from the Dress a day site. Excellent job on the dress, really love the fabric and neckline.