During the 1960s, the big pattern companies enlisted the help of the hottest young designers to bring the latest fashions to their catalogues. This is Butterick 5912, designed by Mary Quant, whose patterns were licensed by Butterick well into the 1970s. I have a sneaking suspicion that this design is about as old as me.
I’ve been on a mission to track down a copy of this pattern in a size that I could actually wear. Unfortunately it looks as though it was only manufactured up to a size 14. Sadly, because of the way clothing sizes have changed over the years, I haven’t got a hope of fitting into a 1970s size 14 dress pattern.
I suppose the thing to do now is to look for a modern pattern for a short princess-seamed dress, then re-draft the top so that I can add a collar. This one from New Look would probably do the trick.
Mind you, I should probably have a rummage through my own pattern collection first. There must be something suitable in there somewhere!