1940s cotton dress with long sleeves (Butterick 6485)

Another dress made using the same Butterick pattern I previously used this summer to make my first retrò creation ever. Going towards the late autumn/early winter I was looking for a long sleeved dress so I gave this pattern another chance since I really wanted to try out the long sleeves option. I grabbed some green cotton from stash and with some wise pattern placement I was able to cut my brand new dress using a veeeeery limited amount of fabric, which this time was long enough to use the full length of the skirt pieces. Alas the sleeves turned out a little bit shorter than I expected but it's not a big issue since I would have used gloves to fill the gap.

As with the other dress, the instructions were absolutely easy to follow and being my second time with this pattern I didn't read them. The hem is approx 5 cm wide to add weight and structure.

To complete my seasonal look I decided to use true vintage accessories from my closet, including a new (modern) pair of seamed stockings. I have a problem with nylon stockings/tights and so on because I find them incredibly uncomfortable (how can you wear them everyday? Lucky you!) so I suffered a little to take these shots but the result was really worthy.

The only difference with the other dress as you can see is the sleeve option, the skirt length and the zipper placement, which here is on the left side and not on the back (big mistake...you really need  that opening to wear the dress so don't skip the back zipper or your head won't pass - I had to make my neckline much lower to allow it). The rest was made exactly as the summer version.

I'm very happy with autumnal look and I can't wait to make another version of this dress, this time using another great feature of the pattern: the changeable front/shoulder pieces! They can be made in different colours to allow a multiple combinations of styles and, why not, to use small remnants of fabric we have at home. Stay tuned!