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!