MelodyMae.co.uk » London Calling -- A Plus Size Vintage Sewing Project

So hey guys! Happy Valentines Day for yesterday! I hope you all had a lovely day regardless of what you were doing or who you spent it with. Personally I went to work and then came home to watch QI before getting an early night. The joys of having a partner that works nights! But it’s not so bad, we celebrated our 2nd anniversary earlier in the week together which is much more important. And we also took some photos of my latest plus size vintage sewing project, too!

It’s been a ridiculously long time since I’ve sat down to sew something. I still love creating my own clothing, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t have the energy or the organisation to get through the projects that I actually want to make!

Even though this is a recent make that was finished in December, I actually started the dress back in 2017 and abandoned it. So it’s been sat around cut into pieces for so long now — I’m sort of surprised it got made at all!

In my arsenal of vintage sewing patterns I have a few I always return to (Mostly the Butterick B5880, though) since I know I can pretty much rely on previous versions to quickly make a dress. And I’m lazy and want instant results, so I want a dress and I want it quickly! This is the Butterick B5209, which I used before in my Moody British Picnics dress from many, many years ago. Spoiler alert; it did not help much.

Plus Size Vintage Sewing

Unlike the earlier version, I added a box pleated dirndl to the pattern instead of the usual gathered skirt. I like incredibly full skirts, and these pleated dirndl styles really compliment my shape more than traditional flared skirts. Plus, pleats look incredible, don’t they?

I did, however, use the same sleeved version as the previous Butterick B5209. I do love the 40’s style bust, but trying to get it to fit a modern bust (bras were SO much higher then!) as well as a plus size frame is always a nightmare.

To be honest with you, this dress isn’t a massive success. My alterations from the 2014 version was a bit skewed, and I ended up with a dress a bit long in the waist, tight on the arms, and a little bit too full on the bust. But you know what? I still love this dress anyway. I think it perfectly sums me up as a sewist — a little slapdash but looks good overall!

I managed to completely forget to add pockets in my excitement of finishing it at the end of last year. Which is basically a cardinal sin in clothing for me as pockets are essential. I’ll go back and add some patch pockets one day (in-seam pockets would be better, but the skirt only has one back seam!), but never hold your breath.