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Tasha Could Make That

Tasha Could Make That

Vintage knitting, sewing, and a lifetime of craftiness

Sweetheart cowgirl birthday dress

April 10, 2016 by Tasha 25 Comments

Happy birthday to meeeee!! In keeping with the tradition that I started for myself three years ago, I’ve sewn a dress for my birthday.

It’s my birthday cowgirl dress, featuring a Western novelty print and a sweetheart neckline, modeled in our Southwestern themed den!

cowgirl-birthday1

The pattern is Butterick B5748, a reproduction of their vintage pattern from 1960:

Butterick B5748

I’ve had this pattern for ages but only got the impetus to sew it when I had a false start trying to muslin the By Hand London Kim bodice. I love that cute big, open sweetheart neckline and wide-set, narrow straps (Roisin always kills it in her versions, making my super envious). But none of that worked on my body, and with the type of bra I like to wear, and with it having princess seams both front and back that make moving straps inwards difficult. That’s a critical trifecta: if a casual day dress doesn’t work with my daily retro shaped bras (which are kind of like toned down bullet bras and typically have pretty beefy straps—Bali Flower and What Katie Did cone bra), I’m just not going to wear it. Kim was cute but required more modern round-boob bras (I have an ancient post discussing this topic), and those just aren’t for me.

Anyway, the other thing I liked about Kim was the scooped back, and then I suddenly remembered this retro Butterick pattern, which has it too. So I did a muslin for the Butterick pattern after Kim, lowered the neckline slightly, and raised the back neckline just a tad. I had a couple of tweaks to make but easy ones—lowering the bust darts, and fixing the shoulder seams. For some reason the shoulder seams were rolling forward (odd, as my shoulders roll forward so if anything, I expect seams to go backwards) and the straps were too long. Once that was settled I got to thinking… hey… I could totally make this into a sweetheart neckline!

In the below photo, the yellow stitching (where it’s clipped) is the original neckline (which remember, I’d lowered slightly to start). The purple is where I drew on it where the line of my bra was when I was wearing it, so I didn’t cut past that. And the orange stitching is the sweetheart neckline, which I copied from the Kim bodice, although next time I’d probably lower it a bit more than that, closer to where I made the purple asterisk. But I decided to play it safe at first.

neckline-muslin

I’m quite pleased with the sweetheart neckline I cooked up, and with covered bra straps to boot.  Not the diminutive straps of Kim, but quite lovely in its own right.

cowgirl-birthday2

I trimmed the neckline with large rick rack just for fun (thanks, Mom, for the suggestion of turquoise instead of the green I showed on Instagram!). That’s no easy feat when you’re only doing it on the front bodice, so it ends in the shoulder seams (I did a center back zipper and didn’t want to fuss with the rick rack and zipper). But in the end it came out pretty perfect!

Sweetheart cowgirl birthday dress

Like the v-neck of the dress I made from Gertie’s book, I stabilized the front neckline well to prevent it from stretching out and to keep it hugging my body: staystitching to prevent stretching when handling, stabilizing with fusible stay tape since the fabric was pretty lightweight, and then easing stay tape a tiny bit shorter than the seam, into the seamline. Very very slow process, but totally worth it in the end.

sewing-neckline

neckline-rick-rack

As well as changing the front neckline, I raised the back just 3/4″, and I really love the way it fits. I already know I want to make more of this dress, since the straps stay put, aren’t too wide set, and the back neckline is so pretty!

cowgirl-back2

(Yeah, I’m inside, outside and now inside again. My camera just wouldn’t cooperate outside! So I had to move indoors.)

cowgirl-birthday3

And a look without the belt bunching things up on my back:

cowgirl-back3

I matched the pattern across the back and I’m totally laughing that I didn’t move that white horse’s nose over a bit so it wasn’t on the seamline. Sorry horsey dude, your nose is on two sides of the zipper!

zipper-cowgirl

I only matched the print on the bodice, not on the skirt, which I subbed out from the pattern’s circle skirt because of the directional print. I wanted to try and get the fences placed nicely on the skirt. I couldn’t match them at the side seams (and there are actually three rectangular panels, an idea I got from a vintage pattern) but it’s so busy, you can’t tell. And I really like where the fences fall!

cowgirl-birthday6

Like the vintage pee wee cowboy boots I’m wearing? I got married in them. 😉

cowgirl-birthday5

Isn’t the fabric the best? It’s a print I got from on Etsy (here), and it’s Nick and Nora fabric, which makes me think somewhere there’s little kids sheets or pajamas made out of it. It’s definitely like a sheeting or lightweight cotton, which is a weight that I like to wear but just doesn’t hold a crisp press for long, which disappoints me a tad. It’s a lot better in person but I always find those cottons (like my Gertie dress and various other things I’ve made in Lecien Japanese cottons) never look quite pressed enough, especially in photos. It’s hard to explain… they press creases well, but then always look immediately kind of… unpressed. But like I said, a lovely weight to wear, and buttery soft.

Anyway, moving along, I think the only other thing I have to tell you about this dress is that something caught me off guard: I shortened the bodice for the muslin 1/2″, but was so busy paying attention to the shoulders and neckline that I forgot to see if it was hitting me in a good spot. It turns out the dress sits a full 1″ higher than my waist! Which also means the skirt hits above my knees. No matter—the waist can be solved with a wide belt (and easily fixed on future versions), and since this is a pretty warm-weather print, I don’t mind that it’s above my knees.

cowgirl-birthday7

So that’s all she wrote about my cowgirl birthday dress! I’ve been having a lovely few days leading up to my birthday today, capping it off last night going out with friends to celebrate with tasty Italian food and cocktails. I plan to have a pretty relaxed day today, probably working on plans to organize my sewing and craft studio space in the basement (finally after four years in our house, sooo excited!), do some knitting, and have a lovely day at home. 39 feels fine! 😀

I’ll leave you with this outtake from my favorite photo bomber who jumped up on the sofa behind me at one point! 😉

cowgirl-birthday-pia

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

outfit details

dress – made by me
1940s pee wee cowboy boots – eBay (for our wedding)
turquoise bracelet – gift from Mel
earrings – Meteor Jewelry Co.

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Filed Under: Sewing, Vintage Wardrobe Tagged With: birthdays, butterick, dresses, finished projects, outfits

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Charlotte Newland says

    April 10, 2016 at 8:39 am

    you look wonderful – love your style! Happy birthday!

    Reply
  2. looloolooweez says

    April 10, 2016 at 11:01 am

    What a fun print for a dress! And the neckline is lovely, the dress looks fine with or without the belt, and your choice of red petticoat to peek out for below is perfect. Anyway, Happy Birthday!

    Reply
  3. Kathy says

    April 10, 2016 at 2:33 pm

    Happy Birthday! Awesome dress – it looks great with your hair. You’re a very youthful looking 39 ?

    Reply
  4. Catherine says

    April 10, 2016 at 6:17 pm

    Happy Birthday! Adorable dress, looks just great. (Did you make the red petticoat, too? I need a petticoat…)

    Reply
  5. Stacy Paisley says

    April 10, 2016 at 6:21 pm

    You are so creative and talented! Love all that you do. This dress is adorable. You look great!

    Reply
  6. Jessica Barton says

    April 10, 2016 at 11:47 pm

    Happy birthday! It’s my 39th birthday today too!?
    Love your birthday dress.

    Reply
  7. Lemon says

    April 11, 2016 at 5:17 am

    Happy birthday! Hope you had a magical time. Adore the dress, so very much. The ric rac on the collar makes me super happy. x

    Reply
  8. Hélène says

    April 11, 2016 at 12:07 pm

    Happy birthday!! This is another totally awesome dress — I definitely don’t see the pressing problems you mentioned. A+++, especially on the fit and the great neckline modifications.

    Reply
  9. Sammi says

    April 11, 2016 at 1:44 pm

    Awww Happy Belated Birthday! This dress is SO much fun (I especially love the ric rac around the neckline!). I hope you had a wonderful day!

    xox Sammi
    http://www.thesoubrettebrunette.blogspot.com

    Reply
  10. susanna says

    April 11, 2016 at 4:30 pm

    Love this cowboy dress so much!! Happy birthday!

    Reply
  11. retro rover says

    April 12, 2016 at 12:26 pm

    Totally gorgeous dress and print

    Reply
  12. Deanna says

    April 12, 2016 at 1:49 pm

    I’m so glad you posted this! I have the same pattern, with Alexander Henry’s Lost at Sea and some cute sloths from Cotton and Steel earmarked for it. Your dress is delightful, thanks for the inspiration! I may have to get some ric-rac now…

    Reply
  13. Jessica Cangiano says

    April 12, 2016 at 4:12 pm

    Joyful birthday wishes, sweet Tasha! That’s a marvelous tradition to have. I always treat myself to a new (usually vintage) garment for my birthday, too.

    I hope that you had a splendid celebration and that the year ahead will be a fun filled, fabulous one for you.

    ♥ Jessica

    Reply
  14. Andi says

    April 12, 2016 at 9:42 pm

    I love your neckline mod! This is one of my favorite patterns, but I haven’t played around with much other than swapping out the skirt. Your dress is making me want to try changing things up more. It looks so nice on you.

    Reply
  15. Jane says

    April 13, 2016 at 8:47 am

    I’m behind with my blog reading so a very happy belated birthday dear Tasha! Hope you had a wonderful day. Fab dress too, I love the shape of that scooped back! x

    Reply
  16. SJ Kurtz says

    April 14, 2016 at 12:51 am

    I love a sweetheart neckline and a cowboy print! The waist might be too high, but the bodice/skirt/neckline proportions are perfect just the way they are.
    This makes you the Sweetheart of the Rodeo (okay, where is that record?)

    Reply
  17. Emma says

    April 18, 2016 at 2:39 pm

    Happy birthday , scrumptious dress , bodice fits you like a dream
    Look forward to seeing your next one !

    Reply
  18. Lauren says

    April 18, 2016 at 10:25 pm

    This is so, so fun! You’ve done a beautiful job pattern matching. I just took on the technique for my newest dress and it’s not easy! So bravo. You look super cute in the western wear!

    Reply
  19. Melody says

    April 19, 2016 at 9:58 am

    Honestly, just perfect!!

    Reply
  20. Leila Henley says

    April 26, 2016 at 2:49 pm

    Wow, this dress is gorgeous! I want to make one for myself!

    Reply
  21. Lynn says

    April 28, 2016 at 8:34 am

    Oooo! I just bought that pattern a couple of weeks ago after months of, “Do I really want that or not?” I don’t have any immediate plans for it but now that I’ve seen yours I am feeling more impatient to make one myself.

    Reply
  22. Noel Cruz says

    May 1, 2016 at 3:46 pm

    Great Dress! Happy Birthday

    Reply
  23. Tami Von Zalez says

    May 2, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    You popped up on my explore through Feedly – got you on my feed now.

    That dress is to-swoon-for adorable! I have been kicking around the idea of making a dress from one of my retro patterns, what a great idea utilizing a CW pattern and blue rick rack.

    A gal after my own heart wearing cat-eye glasses ~

    Stop on by for a visit some time – http://www.thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Ultimate Sheath Jumper | By Gum, By Golly says:
    February 5, 2017 at 8:53 am

    […] the back neckline an additional 1 1/2″ from the 3/4″ I’d raised it before (in my Sweetheart cowgirl birthday dress), since I liked the scoop but didn’t want to show that much shirt underneath. I also lowered […]

    Reply
  2. Special birthday dress for London | By Gum, By Golly says:
    April 10, 2017 at 4:01 am

    […] for the last handful of years, I’ve sewn a dress for my birthday (last year’s was my sweetheart cowboy dress). This year, I knew I wanted to make the dress a little bit more special, because of our trip. And […]

    Reply

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