One Hit Wonder # 1, Butterick 4978 Dress

Yep, I more of these in my closet than I would care to admit. Are you familiar with this phrase? A "one hit wonder" is a musical group or artist that had one hit song and were never heard from again.  The dressmaking equivalent is a garment I made, wore once, liked enough to keep, and then have never worn again. When Karen was here, we did a tour of my closet and she was a bit shocked when I showed her so many items that had seen the light of day only one time.  So at her urging, I am revisiting some of these items, posting about them, and will try to put them back in the wearing rotation.  


First up is a dress I really liked, and have thought about remaking in a less eye-searing fabric.  I think the reason some of my "one hit wonders" get a single wearing is because they are such memorable prints and I don't want to wear again if I see the same people. Which can happen, since it seems I make these type of dresses to wear to a wedding, often family, and of course I will see them again!  OK, a little bit of vanity but that is a great part of sewing, always having something new.  Plus there is always a new dress pattern I want to try.

I think this dress is about 4 or 5 years old.  I wore it to my cousin's wedding in downtown San Francisco. A lovely church ceremony, a great party with dinner, live music, fun! Now she is a mama so time flies. 

Here is the pattern, Butterick 4978, probably out of print. It was quite easy to make, had a bit of hand stitching on the inside, to finish off the binding. I bought this fabric at Stone Mountain, it is 100% silk, not sure exactly what type.  It is very lightweight, but not sheer, presses beautifully but doesn't wrinkle.  It would make a great blouse, maybe it is a silk twill?  I seem to recall that the skirt is cut on the bias which makes it fall nicely.  I saw it reviewed the other day on Pattern Review, which made me remember this one.  Since then I have been looking in my pattern boxes, and I can't find the paper pattern. I keep all my patterns, unless they are dogs - then they go in the trash. But otherwise it should be somewhere. . . still searching. 

A look at the neckline, which is very pretty.  This dress has the slightly cut-in armholes which I really like, plus that little v-opening in the center front is a nice touch. The amount of gathering was just right and the pattern went together very well. The only part that is interfaced is the midriff section. The lining is sewn around the armholes and turned to enclose, then the neckline is closed with the binding.

Here is a look at the inside, I lined it with white poly since there was white in the print. The lining fit beautifully, you can see it is smooth so it supports the gathers on the silk fabric.

Rather bright colors, don't you think?  Even for me this is kind of electric, which is unfortunate as the dress is super comfortable since the fabric is so light and floaty. 

I think I will try to find some occasion to wear this again, it might brighten up someone's day (ha ha).

Sadly, I have more where this came from, so you will see a few more of my one hit wonders this summer.  Some analysis is in order - I need to review which items get worn a lot and which don't.  However that sounds like a lot of brainwork - and it is too hot this weekend for any deep thinking.  

Next weekend is our bay area sewing meetup at the Gaultier exhibit at the De Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.  Sat. June 23, 10:00 am. Here is the blog post for more details - no limit on numbers, please join in if you are in the area and want to meet some fellow seamsters.

Today's SunnyGal garden photo - this little birdhouse has been hanging in the apple tree the whole time I have been here - who knows which previous owner put it there. Each year I hope to see some occupants. Finally this spring, a tiny bird family took up residence, so cute. I have been watching them from afar for a few weeks, and today I got this picture. 

Happy Summer Sewing,  Beth