Lutterloh Patterns Come Alive!

Supplement 337 Model #197 - 2025  

Sleeveless Maternity Dress

 

   Hi there fellow Lutterloh enthusiasts. Summer is in full swing here in California and my mother to be needed a dress that would keep her cool at work. I was thrilled when I saw that the latest Lutterloh supplement had just the right maternity pattern! 

 

Pattern Hints:

   You may notice that my dress turned out longer than the fashion drawing suggests. The angle of the photo is deceiving but this dress is indeed about mid calf length. I enlarged this pattern to specifications and did not add any hem allowance because I thought it looked long. Sure enough, even on my 5'9" model, this dress is considerably longer than the Lutterloh drawing. This is something you might want to consider if you plan to make this for a shorter than average person.

   The other discrepancy I found was for the placement of the pockets. The photo below shows the pattern piece for the front skirt with the dotted line marking the waist.

I assumed that the "ca. 17 cm" meant that the waist was 17 cm down from the top of the pattern piece. I now believe that this was the direction for the pocket placement. I placed the pockets my standard 2.5 inches below what I thought was the waist and ended up with pockets that were way too low. Oh well, she can still use them but she certainly won't be walking around with her hands in her pockets. Ooooops.

 

Design Changes:

   I only made a few minor design changes to this dress. First was to leave off the tie at the empire waist and I used 4 smaller buttons in front rather than 3. I also added a 1.5" wide shield behind the buttons in case the elastic button loops got strained from stretching.   

 

Fabric Used/Suggested:

   This pattern is designed for a knit fabric and I would agree that at least the bodice needs to be a knit. My navy with white polka dot knit is a vintage, 100% cotton knit from 1989. I know this only because it was printed on the selvage. The bodice lining is a thinner cotton /poly blend. You could likely get away with a drapey woven fabric for the skirt because of all the gathering under the bodice. This would be lovely with a stretch knit bodice and a rayon challis skirt. It would probably be even cooler than my all cotton knit version.

 

Closing Hints:

   If I were to make this dress again I would definitely adjust the pocket height. I would probably shorten it too but the mid calf length would be nice for a fall/winter version. By then I'll be working on nursing tops and baby clothes so I'll just draw it out again in an updated size if needed. I still have one more vintage maternity pattern picked out so you'll have to stay tuned to see that one.

Until next time then.......

Happy sewing from,

Ann in Calif.