Long V-Neck Maxi Dress

I follow Lafayette 148 on Instagram and this picture appeared in their feed. It immediately checked off all of my new work from home wardrobe requirements. It's loose-fitting, flowy, easy to wear and maxi length...wfh gold! 

On the days when I don't have any Zoom meetings, I just want to throw on something long and flowy to work in while sitting in front of my computer.  

If we go back to our offices in NYC, it will be in the fall. I won't need summer clothing at all. So I'm adjusting what I'm sewing again. May I state one more time - I don't really like wearing pants. I wear jeans in the winter because I don't want to be cold but if I lived in a more temperate climate, I would wear dresses and skirts ALL.THE.TIME!

To get this look I started with New Look 6340 which I've made several times. One of the things I want to do during this season is reuse some of the patterns that have been successful for me. I know we tend to be one time pattern users in the sewing community but I love a good TNT pattern. I just won't discuss my thoughts on how the one-use practice is pushed upon us by the Big 4.

Now my previous versions all used a different neckline. But luckily for me, there is a v-neck option in the pattern...so the only pattern alterations I needed to make were for length.

Okay I added a little more space to the side seams for more drama...

This maxi is made using a piece of mid-weight polyester print purchased from Fabric Mart back in the 1990's for $1 a yard. It means that this deep stash piece is about 30 years old. Also, I bought this in three colors. I gave two pieces away and this is the only one that remained in the collection. Guess it was time for it to be used!

I added an invisible zipper to the back of the dress to make it easier to step into it instead of pulling it over my head. A strip of interfacing was added to the back seams to stabilize the fabric before inserting the zipper. There is also navy blue piping added to the neckline of the dress...needed to bind that busy print off a little. The side seam pockets were also omitted.

Since this is a wearable muslin, I pressed, turned under and stitched the underarms. For my next version I will use bias binding to finish the armholes. 

A Few Pictures ~

As I said this is a wearable muslin because I needed to work a few construction and pattern alterations out. 

For my next version ~

o  I will lower the underarm seam. I traced the wrong seam line when making this version.

o  Remove some of the width of the dress below the hipline to the hemline so the pattern pieces will fit easily onto a piece of fabric without having to do a wedge insert. What I did to make the hemline work on this version.

o  A 1/2" will be added to the upper center back to give it a little more room.

o  1/4" was added to the front below the v-neckline. The bodice while wearable is tight.

o  Also removed 2" from the hemline because it was way too long.  

I would like to make 2-3 more of these because I love the comfort factor. This dress will work well in my present work from home wardrobe. If you have a copy of this pattern in your stash, I highly encourage you to pull it out and use it! 

...as always more later