I am a sucker for advertising. Though I'm sure that their designs are well developed, I always steer clear of Butterick and Kwiksew patterns. It's just that the pattern illustrations look so dowdy and frumpy. So by extension, I assume that the clothing to be produced from said pattern will be dowdy and frumpy. Perfect for, say, making
robes as gifts. Not so perfect for what I want to wear everyday.
I am also weak. I am completely out of black and white thread, so decided to stop by Joann Fabrics after climbing since I would be in the suburbs anyways. It turns out that there is a $0.99 Butterick pattern sale, so I had to check out what was available.
My preconceived notion that Butterick patterns are intended for a Woman of a Certain Age has been turned on its head. Or perhaps, I have reached a Certain Age myself (I actually think that chronologically speaking, I have about 10 or 15 more years to go.)
I got two dress patterns. A
Maggy London design, Butterick 5559 and a
retro design, Butterick 5281.
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| Butterick 5559. I love the front and back seaming details. |
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| I will probably make the elbow length sleeved dress as shown on the model. |
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| Butterick 5281 with interesting seam details. |
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| I am actually a little worried that it may be on the matronly side in real life. |
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| But the envelope illustration (and I am a total sucker for this) looks amazing! |
Butterick 5292 almost came home with me as well. I love the asymmetrical collar on the jacket. But I decided that I need to be honest with myself -- I have a long list of projects already, and don't need more patterns!
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| Butterick 5292 line drawing. The jacket of interest is C. |
My mom and I both got 5559 too! I love those seams and can see it working well at many ages and figure types. I agree with your preconception, though. I tend to think Butterick and KS are dowdy, but sometimes they get it right!
ReplyDeleteI've got way too many lumps for 5559 but it is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteIn my minds eye I would look great in 5559 but in reality I'm afraid it would just be a sad, sad story. I can't wait to see it all made up.
ReplyDeleteI've had my eye on the Maggie London pattern because I wanted to try and recreate a certain dress from Ann Taylor that had gathers and seaming across the bodice, but I needed a pattern that is for a woven (knits scare the crap out of me for dresses). I can't wait to see how yours comes out.
ReplyDeleteButterick is just Vogue, cheaper. Minus the most expensive designers, but minus the most expensive prices. What's not to like? That said, none of the big 4 fit me without a struggle, so I'm more likely to look for a similar Burda than to embark on any likely Butterick.
ReplyDeleteI always had similar feelings about Butterick, until I saw some made-up on various blogs. I finally tried some during a pattern sale and am so glad I did. The results were some of my favorite tops ever. I'm slowly learning how to get past the awful pattern illustrations. Unfortunately, they often don’t look much better when there is a photo. I bet if you made the retro pattern, you could get non-matronly results. As long as the basic lines are good, it can work.
ReplyDeleteMy Joann didn't yet have the new Buttericks when I went to pick up 5559. So annoyed! I am going to have to pay attention to when the next Butterick sale is. I'm thinking black with white topstitching on the tucks.
ReplyDeleteOoo.. those are great finds!
ReplyDelete@Juanita, I hope that my retro pattern turns out looking chic and current... that's my hope, anyways. :)
ReplyDelete@Slapdash, that's going to be an awesome dress. Can't wait to see it!