Do you ever read a pattern that says easy and think this will be a walk in the park? Only to face a nightmare sew? I believe the pattern companies label the pattern’s difficulty by the number of pieces. It is true that with less pieces there is usually less work to do but sometimes, the design of one piece can cause hours of headache. Such is the case with Butterick 5708.
It is so tempting to buy this pattern, look at that full skirt! Multi Ties! It oozes 50’s class and sophistication. Sure it doesn’t have many pieces but they do have issues. Let’s start with the peaked waist, pivoting to make that lie flat is near impossible. It will look a bit off no matter how many times you seam rip and re-try – believe me, I tried. Then there are straps….you need a personal assistant to help you change them. It is mission impossible to tie them nicely while you are wearing the dress. My husband was not up to the task so mine will forever look imperfect when I wear this.
I will admit one error on my dress that was 100% my fault. As the pieces are all cut on the bias, my fabric wasn’t wide enough to cut double at once. I had to cut every piece on it’s own multiple times. I cut 3 of the back and only 1 of the front and didn’t have any spare fabric to recut the front. I used a soft pink linen to line the dress instead. I think it adds a bit of dimension to the straps because the linen shows so I am not too upset about it but I did take some time to swear a bit when I realized my mistake. I had tonnes of fabric but this pattern took so much, there was no room for error.
Style Sewciety 