quick fix: a (finally) finished object Butterick B5984

This is just a quick finished-object post because it happened to be unseasonable cool enough to wear this plaid flannel dress I started in the fall of 2014 as a wearable muslin for Butterick pattern B5984, which is incidentally on sale right now for $1.99. (I really had to stop myself from browsing the out-of-print pattern sales on Vogue and McCalls patterns right now when I was looking for the link to this bad boy.)

I made the full skirt version, with a gathered skirt instead of a circle skirt & the 3/4 sleeve option.  The neckline proved a fitting challenge for my short torso, so I had to re-cut the shoulder pieces to be smaller. This made the sleeves larger than intended, so I just gathered the sleeve head in a bit more than the original pattern called for to make a cute little pouf sleeve that fit the new shoulder piece, rather than cutting a whole new sleeve. I also ditched the original neck to made a curved shape rather than the square neck with the little collar detail.

(In the photos, it's doing a little funny thing at the bust, but it actually fits fine & was just bunched up under my arm a little.  It was cold and rainy, so we were in a hurry too.)

With everything done but the hem, I was not into this dress at all.  It felt like a bad Pioneer Days costume. So, I set it aside in a pile for over a year, till a few weeks ago when I was organizing my sewing things and I decided to see if it could be helped.  I ended up chopping about over foot of fabric off the hem, so it falls just above the knee now.

The shorter hem really perks it up, immeasurably.  It is much more vibrant and fun to wear with boots on a cool day, than with the long skirt & I particularly like the way that I cut the center piece on the bias.  This pattern has a enough pieces that it gives you some room to be creative with print.

Considering the grand scheme of things, I probably won't make the pattern again - but I am please with how I salvaged the wearable muslin.