Fidgety fifties dress - done (Butterick 4790)

So hey,

Life looks so much better without a stomach ache. -_-
I guess it was the takeout Chinese food I had for lunch. Or just some stomach bug lurking around. I did quite a bit of sewing today and while I was busy I sort of blocked it out, but now that I've stopped it's got my full attention. Maybe blogging about sewing will make it go away :-D

Anyway. I finished sewing two dresses - the Sew Retro Bombshell Dress and the Butterick Retro dress (4790). It's time for lessons learned! So let's start with the Butterick dress. I promise to post photos tomorrow!

What I liked about this pattern
First of all it's a really pretty dress. It just catches you, all feminine and retro and fun-looking. No wonder this is one of the most popular patterns of all time. It's got a cool gimmick (the back wraps around to the front), and it is seemingly simple to put together. I love the full circle skirt and the vintage feel. I also enjoyed binding the edges with bias binding and I think my choice of fabric (both the color and the weight) worked well for this pattern. It came out OK and it's obviously a rather unique look.

What I didn't so much like about this pattern

I fidgeted so much to get this pattern to sit right. Although supposedly it does, it just doesn't. The back part, which is heavier, falls backward and slowly the bust darts go up and the shoulder seam slides back. I had to amend the shoulder seam in the first place because I wasn't happy with it. I'm not happy with how the pattern has a very broad back - falls off the shoulders and has too much fabric at the back for my taste. I'm also not so sure I like the neckline. And finally my fatal sewing flaw - the seam around the waist (the back piece that connects at the front with snaps) is missing just a teeny bit of ease. If I sit down and inhale, it feels like a piece of string tied around my belly. Mind you, if the dress didn't slide back and forth (for example, the front was attached to the back in more than just the shoulders), then this waist seam would have sat up at a more convenient location and would have allowed me to breathe more freely. I am done fidgeting with this pattern and I don't intend to fix it.

In short this is a pretty dress but I'm kind of disappointed that it's not perfect, and that I'm not comfortable wearing it (not because of how it looks but because of how it fits the body). Maybe today is a "me being a negative perfectionist" day, or maybe it's the stomach bug talking... 

For the record, I still think this dress by glasseswearer is the best I've seen so far for this pattern. Look at the lovely polka-dot fabric...! It's just... Quaint. And lovely.

look how pleased she is! As she should be.

So what's your take on this pattern?