Butterick 6787, 1980s Dress with piped mock wrap closing

Butterick 6787
c. 1980s
Misses' Dress & Belt

Loose-fitting dress four inches below mid-knee with or without patch pocket has shaped standing collar, mock wrap closing, elasticized waistline with or without side hemline slit, shaped side front pockets, extended shoulders or dropped shoulders with full length straight sleeves, self tie belt, with or without purchased or self contrast piping trim. Topstitching.

Another great thrift shop find. By raising the dropped shoulder, shortening to the length to slightly above the knee, and choosing a piping color that doesn't contrast so strongly, this dress could easily be worn today.

There is no copyright date included on the pattern, so it could be either late 1970s or early 1980s. I suspect it's early 80s based on the strong contrasting colors - both in the illustrated print and the pipings - and the piping trim. I remember sewing a number of items around 1980 or so that included piping trims.

Did you notice that the middle model only has one shoe with an ankle strap. Whether the red strap was drawn in by the previous owner or it was an error in the original drawing remains a mystery until I locate this pattern elsewhere.

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Butterick 4121, c. 1980s, pleated front dress, or jumpsuit

Butterick 4121
c. 1980s
Misses' Jumpsuit, Dress & Sash

Very loose-fitting, straight-legged jumpsuit and dress three inches below mid-knee or in evening length with front hemline slit has shawl collar, front and back stitched pleats, waist pleats, shoulder pads. Top stitch trim. Views A&C: have dropped shoulders and full length tapered sleeves. Views B,D&E: have extended armholes. Self tie sash has shaped ends.

Another thrift store find. There's no copyright date on the pattern. I guessed it to be early 1980s based on the fact that 1) a jumpsuit is included, 2) the abstract print shown on the jumpsuit, 3) the collar is a shawl collar, 4) the waist is defined with a shaped wrap belt/sash, 5) the armholes are extended, and 6) the design includes shoulder pads. Granted the design only calls for 1/4" pads, but all trends start small and become exaggerated before they finally fade away.

I actually like some of the design elements on this dress so I'm going to tuck this pattern away and look at it again when warm weather is once again in the forecast.





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