Rediscover The Walkaway Dress

In 1952, one Butterick pattern caused quite a stir when it was released. Sales were so great, that at one point Butterick ceased manufacture of all other patterns until the back-orders for this design could be filled. The wraparound style was christened the walkaway dress, because it was so easy you could “Start it after breakfast… and walk-away in it for luncheon!”

The New Look

The country was still celebrating the post-WWII boom. And a sense of euphoria and optimism prevailed. The iconic designers of the era; Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, and Cristobal Balenciaga, had reimagined couture by showcasing silhouettes of hourglass shapes that accentuated rounded shoulders, nipped waists, and full skirts.

The 1950s was the heyday of home sewists. New stylish yet affordable attire was available thanks to a wide array of sewing patterns. And Butterick’s Walk-Away dress, an apron-style garment with butterfly skirt with a nipped waist caught everyone’s attention. The frenzy was based around the simply concept that any sewist could start after breakfast and “walk away” in a new dress a few hours later.

The Walk-Away Dresses were so popular that Butterick halted the production of all its other dressmaking patterns until backorders were fulfilled. The original sewing pattern, known as Butterick 6015 was published in 1952, along with many variations. It was reissued as B4790 to be made by a new generation of makers.

In 1953, Vogue Patterns published their own version of the Walk-Away Dress (V1864) – also re-sissued recently. Butterick also re-issued the vintage sewing pattern for the versatile side button style Butterick B6 8 89.

Modern Demand

Decades later, the demand for the Walk Away Dress has remained strong, it’s a regular topic with Vintage/Retro Fashionistas and Home Sewing Influencers. In 2015, the Walk-Away Dress was featured on Season 3 Episode 3 of The Great British Sewing Bee with contestants sewing the garment using 1950’s sewing machines and techniques. The show’s release inspired fashion sewists across the UK to create the B4790 dress which culminated at Walk-Away Dress Afternoon Tea Celebration at the Knitting & Stitching Show in the Alexandra Palace in London.

The Walkaway Dress is designed for the easiest construction possible. It only requires three pattern pieces, which are darted in front and back and have back waist and shoulder seams. The back wraps around to the front for a sheath-and-overskirt look. The project requires the sewist to sew on bias tape. The Walk-Away Dress can be fashioned from an array of fabrics—from crepe, taffeta, duchesse satin, and faille to chambray, cotton, linen, silk, and beyond. The Walk-Away Dress can be created in one fabric or two for those who prefer to have the front sheath flaunt a contrasting colour.

Founded in 1863, Butterick Patterns was started by Ebenezer Butterick, a tailor, and his wife Ellen Augusta Butterick in Sterling, Massachusetts. They are credited with inventing the first-ever graded sewing patterns, initially for children’s clothing, later expanding to adult sewing patterns in 1866.