A denim worker dress- Butterick 6655

Because May Day 2019 is both international workers’ day and an office work day for me, this past weekend, I made a denim worker dress.  Denim is a workhorse of a fabric and appropriate for the tough jobs.  We all know and love denim for many reasons: it is perfect in all seasons, washes and dries and ages to a beautiful patina, goes with almost everything, and it’s blue.  This particular denim has some stretch which gives it even more super powers in my book.  Denim fabric is easy to track down.  I found this fabric at Treadle Yard Goods

I snatched up this new Butterick pattern in a hurry during a pattern sale because of the appealing asymmetrical buttoning.  I didn’t realize it was actually a faux button-up- until I cut out the pattern!  Completely my fault for not reading the pattern description which clearly discloses this is a mock button front.

Button fake out!

And even though I was initially a bit disappointed by the mock button trick- I am super pleased with this pattern and results.

The fit was perfect.  Because this dress is a simple shape, I could do a quick comparison to my trusted dress (makeshift) sloper and determined this dress would fit well- and it does.

I made absolutely no changes to this pattern- which is unusual for me.

I envisioned sturdy brass worker buttons and after some hunting- tracked them down at JoAnn.

Mild mannered moto jacket

I have always been drawn to leather moto jackets- they are so chic- but I never felt I could pull this style off authentically.  When I stumbled across the moto jacket in this Butterick pattern. I decided to give it a try in a softer, gentler fabric choice.

I used a boiled wool from Emma One Sock. There are plenty of these boucle fabrics around- you can find them in 100% wool- typically more expensive -or in an affordable wool rayon blend like I used. 

The fabric is drapey- so the jacket looks a lot less structured than in the pattern pic. It was easy to sew up, but I ran into TWO fit related problems.  Even though I cut the jacket in the smallest size- it was too large and sloppy in front.  So, I took the jacket apart. Yes- this was after it was put together AND after I had already topstitched the seams -ARGH!  I scaled down the front bodice pieces and kept the body pieces of the back and sleeves mostly intact.

Second- you will notice the hem extends beyond the zip- once I tried it on, I wanted more length.  I may be short, but I have a long waist.  I ended up using a knit binding to face the hem for additional length. Because the look is soft and sweater-like, I didn’t add a lining.