Sunday, August 06, 2017

New Look 6340 - Woven Summer Dresses

I bought this pattern during the spring to hold onto for summer sewing. Inevitably it gets hot, humid and sticky here and all I want are loose and flowy dresses to make it easy for a breeze (any breeze) to blow through the dress.


After a romp through the collection, I found two pieces of fabric that fulfilled my requirements for the dress. I wanted something printed, woven and lightweight. The two fabrics I chose fit the bill!

Pattern and Construction Information ~
- The pattern only goes up to a size 20 and I'm a good 22-24 with adjustments in the Big 4. 
- However, since it's a loose fitting pattern I used some of the ease from the dress to fit me. 
- I did add a 5/8" to the side front and side back pieces. 
- I also sewed the dress with 1/2" seam allowances from the waistline down.  
- The shoulder seams and the seams in the bust area all have 5/8" seam allowances. 
- Oh, be careful of the bust darts...make sure that they work for you because they are kinda on the low side. 

Those are my only pattern and construction changes. Here are my finished versions of the dress.

The Purple and Lime Floral Dress ~


This fabric is from the collection via Fabric Mart. Since this was the first one, I omitted the loop and button at the back that the pattern calls for and added a 12" invisible zipper in the back seam.  I hate button & loop closures so I ALWAYS look for a way to replace them.  However, the neckline is so wide, a back opening is totally unnecessary.  So I sewed the back seam closed for the next version.

I did add a ribbon that I'd saved from an old Godiva chocolate box as the tie for the back of the dress. Besides a little interfacing in the facings, that's all of the elements in this dress.

Here are a few photos of this version...




The Rogue Linen Print Dress ~


The fabric for this dress was bought during SewExpo 2016 from the Marcy Tilton booth. Because I'm extra, I added red piping to the neckline and armholes to accent the red print in the fabric. For this dress I omitted both the back loop & button closure and the tie. Even though I did buy some red grosgrain ribbon to use for the tie. I just decided after trying it on that I wanted a simple a-line dress. Adding the ribbon was one step too much for me.

Here are a few photos of the dress...




Conclusion ~
This is a really simple sew complicated only by my addition of the piping. However, these are great dresses for that time of the year in NYC where it's hot, humid and sweltering. Wearing a loose flowing dress is the only way to be comfortable in the heat. I also think that a great print is what stops these dresses from looking like house dresses. Of the two, I prefer the Rogue Linen Print, the piping gives it a sophistication that the first one is lacking. Also, I've already worn that one and it was so comfortable to wear alone or with a sweater in the air conditioning.

I have one more that I made using a great border print that I found in the collection when I was looking for these fabrics!

Parting shot ~
The girls were with me and my daughter while we took pictures. My daughter took this shot of us walking back to the house. If you can't tell pink is their favorite color and they always have some pink on!



...as always more later! 

27 comments:

  1. Both dresses area beautiful and you look great in them! Perfect for the summer heat.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The fabrics for both dresses have given me fabric envy! I like both dresses, perfect for hot, sticky weather! Lovely fabrics!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely :) Always look forward to your posts!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love love LOVE the Rogue linen! You bring forth such beautiful garments from fabric!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great dresses! I love how you used the Tilton linen. (And, no, I don't know how I'll use mine yet.) The pic with your granddaughters is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shams - I knew you would appreciate that comment! *LOL* It's a great piece of fabric and I'm glad I found the perfect garment for it. Almost every garment we shot has one of those pics so I've included them for the next couple of blog posts. It was a good day with my daughter and the grands.

      Delete
  6. Both dresses are just lovely, Carolyn. I adore the lime and lilac dress . . . perhaps because of the Godiva tie. :-) The photo with your grands is precious.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You have the best fabrics ! The simple design is perfect for them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the Rogue print and I am so pleased to see this review because I have this same pattern. Now I have more info about it so it will be an easier project. Both dresses look just great and very nice pics too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think both of these are great. And thanks for pointing out this pattern. I don't often pay attention to New Look (no idea why) and I am going to make sure I get this ASAP.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Carolyn, do you think that I could get away without doing an FBA in this pattern. I am a DDD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Connie - I didn't do one because I normally fit into a pattern without having to do one if the pattern has side darts as this one does. But as a DDD I would suggest you do an FBA, unless you tissue fit or make a muslin first to determine if you need one.

      Delete
    2. Thanks Carolyn. Almost every thing I do is actually a muslin, hoping for wearable muslins. I buy fabric at the thrift store mostly because $$$$$.

      Delete
  11. I love the last photo. It makes me smile.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You nailed both looks-I especially like the Tilton fabric. Your posts are so inspirational.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love both of these! Perfect for the dog days of August. And that picture with your little ones is just priceless!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great looking "stay cool" dresses. Both are fun prints. Good to know I am not the only one that saves ribbons from the Godiva boxes. (Truffles are my favorites)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Both dresses look great, and I love that you used a Godiva ribbon for the accent. What a great idea!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Both dresses look lovely (and cool!) though the Rogue print is my fave. The shot of you with your granddaughters is such a sweet picture.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful dresses, and such a sweet photo with the little ones.

    ReplyDelete
  18. As luck had it...I was making this pattern as your post came in! Thank you! I made the v-neck version. I did an fba, raised the neckline quite a bit, and yes, the darts were off for me as well......

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love that you save ribbons from chocolate boxes and incorporate them in your creations.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I could swear I commented on these dresses - but maybe that was over on Insta. Anyway - I love them - all of them. I'm so glad they worked out and you have the perfect dress for the sweltering heat - buy the way, why didn't you warn me about that? g

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm new here. Can you explain an FBA? I really like the fabrics. Aren't grand babies grand? I just love time spent with them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrea - I don't normally do FBAs since I fall within the pattern specs. I would suggest you google "full bust adjustments" and I'm sure there will be loads of links to follow on how to perform one.

      Delete
  22. Another beautiful dress so inspiring to read all the comments. You look amazing too.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Very pretty and looks great. Just what I was looking for!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! It is so appreciated!

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails