Re-made New Look 6723

Here is a link to my original post on this dress. I was very happy with it when I first made it. But due to it having so much ease (even with me taking out however much I did at the time) it was ridiculously comfy, but also impossible to wear underneath anything. No problem says I! I bet i'll wear it in the summer when I dont have to wear a cardigan/jumper. What fool am I? I may be one of those crazy people who enjoys the british summer but even I have to admit a dress that I can't wear layers with wasn't going to get much wear.

So back to the drawing board! I took off the sleeves, brought the neckline down by an inch or so, completely took out the underlining (I didn't feel it was necessary really) and instead bound all my edges with bias binding (my favourite finishing technique). I heightened the waistline by another couple of inches (apparently I have a super high waist), and last but not least changed the gathering to two extra large pleats, I think this is more flattering as it doesn't create the same bulk at the waist it had before. This was the result!

I have lost some of the super pattern matching from the first rendition, but I haven't stopped wearing the dress since I refashioned it so I think it was definitely worth it. You can still see the original pattern matching in the back by the zip though, makes me happy.

Hope you've had a good weekend so far :-)

New Look 6723.... success!

I have completed my wallpaper dress!

I learnt lots of things whilst making this dress, one of which being it doesn't matter how careful you are at measuring, you can still end up with a dress that's about 2 inches too big for you. I will take a note of this and (probably) end up making this in a size smaller next time. I think I've seen bloggers mention this problem before, have you encountered anything like this?

I'm still really happy with it though, I like the casual element that the slightly bigger size gives. But I'll try and make a smaller one next time, to see if I like that aswell.

In the picture to the left you can see me taking advantage of the pockets that I added to the pattern (all dresses/skirts should have pockets).

In these pictures you can see the shared garden in our Edinburgh flat... and the light disappearing from it even though it's only 1pm in the afternoon. I'm going to really miss this outdoor space, but I'm not going to miss that it loses light so early in the day! Hopefully I'll have a garden all of my own in our new house

  

Overall I'd say this pattern is easy enough to make, the instructions are clear, and there are no confusing extra steps to trip you up. However, it annoyed me that it didn't come out the size that it said it would, so it loses points on that score!

If you'd like one that might be a little more accurate, this pattern looks quite similar to the Peony from Colette patterns. There is a project on at the moment called a Sewalong, which you can join in to make your very own Peony, bloggers will take you through the process step by step and everyone can add in hints and tips for making this dress the perfect fit. I had already started my dress, so have missed out on the chance, but if you want to give it a go, click on the logo at the bottom of the page to have a look. Happy Sewing!

Deborah