The new dress from Butterick 5879 is for the romantic at heart. When I wear this dress, I hear the delicate sounds of Moonlight Serenade and smell the sweet scent of roses in the air. The delicate flounce flutters softly on a gentle breeze and you'll find yourself whispering “I love you”...to your new beautiful dress, of course. Go ahead, make this dress and see if you suddenly fancy yourself strolling in a moonlit rose garden.

The envelope of Butterick 5879 gives you a choice of creating a flirty, modern dress or something clearly inspired by fashion of the past. We choose to focus on making dress C, which I think is lovely enough to wear to an elegant event. It has beautiful capped sleeves and flowing flounces. Using lighweight sheer fabrics, such as chiffon, will add to the lightness of this dress. It also has lining which gives you another option in playing with the design. I chose a cream chiffon but decided to go with a mint green lining. The dress is fully lined so even the bottom flounce has a lining. This tutorial shows you everything you need to know, from beginning to end, so you can recreate this lovely dress. (One alteration I did make, after completing this dress, was to remove the flounce lining because I really wanted the flounce to be soft and sheer, much like the sleeves. It was just my own personal preference.)

This dress is meant to be worn with a purchased belt and I couldn't find one that I liked. Instead, I used my leftover lining fabric and the belt pattern from Butterick 5880 The Classy Dame Dress to make my own matching belt.

This dress is one of our more complex dresses to make, so I would not recommend it for someone who's looking for their first project. That being said, it is a dress to strive for after you have a few projects under your belt. With our help, you'll be able to do it and bring a little bit of romance to your wardrobe.

For a chance to receive an extra copy of our Butterick 5879 pattern, please leave a comment below. We'll be drawing a winner at random on April 9th. For more giveaway details visit this page.