Butterick 4967 Pattern Review

Wedding dress option #3

I was putting off this dress option because I could tell it would be more work than the others.  It had no sleeves and the sizing wasn't quite right for my oldest who is growing tall and thin.

But I sat down to make it and after about a weeks work it was done.  She loves the dress and I was able to make it out of fabric that I had in my stash, so all it cost was 1 zipper and my time.  I might go to the fabric store to buy stuff to make the sash that goes around the waist as seen in the pattern.  I'm sure she'd love it to be fuchsia like her shoes.

 I put it on her and told her to go in the other room to check it out in the mirror, when she came back she was so excited. I asked if she loved it and she said that it made her feel like a princess.  I was so glad because last month I tried to make a shrug for her and when she tried it on she was grumpy and told me it made her feel like "a fat old woman."

  I'm not sure where she heard that kind of talk because we never say fat in our house in hopes that it won't promote a poor body image.  (If I'm dieting or something I always try to say "I am trying my best to eat healthy so that I feel good." stuff like that.)  Anyway, it must have come from school.

Cons to this pattern

• It was just not made for my oldest's body type.  I read some other reviews online that complained about the same thing.  She wears a size 7 dress, but i had to make her the size 5 and add 4 extra inches to make it fit.  (2" to the bodice and 2" to the tiers)
• Another place that obviously needs to be adjusted if I make this dress again is the neckline.  If she grows out of this dress quickly it will be because it is choking her.  If I make it again I will need to adjust the neckline by and inch or two so she has a little more room up there.
• It didn't have a sleeve option.  So I just used the sleeve from the last dress I make and it turned out great (New Look 6930)

Pros to the pattern:

• My daughter LOVES IT!!!
• I love that it doesn't look babyish.  So she gets to feel grown up without looking too grown up.  (I think my husband will like it for that reason :)
• The tiers are so cute and playful.  They move beautifully because they have a circular shape instead of being a straight strip of fabric that is ruffled.
• I learned a lot of new techniques (How to PROPERLY finish a circular hem, how to add a sleeve before sewing up the side seems, and more about how to sew delicate fabric.)

Overall, This is a cute dress, I love that it has a lining, but if your daughter doesn't fit the sizing very well, keep shopping for a similar pattern from a different company that might be more suited to her body type*.  It will just save you a lot of time.

*After reviewing the different pattern companies the only other pattern similar to this one is made by McCalls, but they seemed to be owned by the same company as Butterick and have the same size charts.  So I don't have a similar dress to refer to, but I reviewed the patterns of many of the popular company's and I noticed that Burda has a lot of patterns for girls that I liked.  When I looked at their size chart it seemed to be more suited to my daughter's body type.  I think I'll give them a try next time I am pattern shopping.