Butterick 6213 Sew an Asymmetric Zipper:

Let’s sew some exciting transition pieces with Butterick 6213 by the McCall Pattern Company and designer Katherine Tilton.  Enter Fall.  Time for layering and bundling up–sort of in our 80-degree fall weather.

Time for reflection on the year and almost time for hibernation (I wish!).  It’s time for me to rev up the sewing and make the most versatile pieces of the season. 

Color Palatte for Butterick 6213

I’ve chosen my palette.  Have you?  Traditionally Fall involves orange, brown, red, and deep green hues.  The leaves don’t change here, but my clothes change and often reflect the beauty of the season–Autumn– that I don’t see.  

One of the colors I’ve chosen is this beautiful feminine garnet wine tone.  I’m in love with it thanks to Rihanna’s Fenty Flamingo Acid mattemoiselle lipstick I’ve been rocking since the end of summer…

I digress, now back to the pattern and sewing.

So as a Minerva maker I received this fabric from Minerva.com, and when it arrived, I just stared in awe at it for days. 

Fabric for Butterick 6213

 It’s so much more beautiful than the picture or anyone could describe. 

 It immediately reminded me of Fall, and the dress pattern I picked out for the fabric initially was way too dull and wouldn’t do it any justice.

Enter designer Katherine Tilton’s dress.  It’s a wacky, yet sophisticated asymmetric dress that makes you turn your head sideways and ask questions, right? 

Pattern features

I researched the pattern, and almost EVERYONE had eliminated the thing I loved the most about it, the closure of a zipper or buttons on the right side of the dress. 

I love the zipper placement but it did make me a little nervous that no one posted a completed dress with a finished zipper or buttons.  CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

This pattern is listed as easy.  I would say that if you are a beginner, this is not the place to start.  Generally speaking, this is not a difficult pattern.  

There aren’t a whole lot of pieces but they are large in size and because of the right-sided closure the construction order is different than a basic pattern.  

Also, most beginners don’t start with zippers or buttons.  Do not skip markings such as notches or line placement markers, especially if it’s difficult to distinguish the right side of your fabric from the wrong side.

I definitely achieved the look I was going for.  I think this dress would look good in a solid black or navy but the tie-dye print is much too much fun to resist.  

Pattern adjustments

Petite Adjustments:

Shoulder seams – (minus 2 inches) -> which shortened the dress and also brought the neckline up to my liking.  

Hem – (minus 1.5 inches, but I could have taken much more)

Design changes:

I put the zipper in, but with a super soft jersey like this, you can just pull the dress on and off without ever messing with the zipper; for me, it just became a cool design element without much function.  I also created a closure at the neckline to keep everything nice and flat.

Future hacks/changes:

I want to make this dress out of a heavier weight Ponte and maybe use different colors to bring out the beauty of the pattern which gets almost lost in the monotony of a single fabric.  You could also use a zipper with brightly colored zipper tape as a fashion accent–so many choices.

Sewing Skillz:

Working with knits

Pattern adjustments to petite the pattern

For a tutorial on zipper insertion==> Click here