Sparkly New Look 6936!

Yes, I've made yet another New Look 6936!

I do love this now sadly out-of-print pattern. This time I tried out a new view, the faux wrap bodice of View B, with ruched shoulders.

I'm not generally much for wrap dresses or even wrap bodices, as I find they don't fit me too well what with my uneven shoulders and short waist. But since this was a pattern I was familiar with already, and it is knit, I thought I'd give it a try. Also because I wanted to make a wrap dress of some kind to join in on the #SewTogetherForSummer hashtag on Instagram!

So I wondered if this might be the perfect opportunity to use an odd piece of remnant knit in my stash -- a lighter weight striped knit which also has raised lines of gold. It's pretty sparkly, and was a bit shifty to cut due to the gold blobs. But sewing turned out to be pretty easy since the fabric clung to itself when face to face. Since I know that this pattern has a crazy amount of bodice ease, I cut my usual size 12 at shoulders/bust, grading out to a 16 at the waist.

I found some shiny black ribbon to use in the shoulder seams and also added in side seam pockets, sewn from the same fabric but with some seam binding sewn in along the pocket seams to reduce any stretching. Even matched the stripes on the side seams!

I did end up attaching the bodice crossover a little more than marked on the pattern to give myself more coverage -- probably only about an inch either way -- then stitched everything down. The method of construction is a bit funny on this one in order to have finished shoulder seams acting as casings for the ribbons - you finish off the bodice and arm and neck edges before attaching it to the skirt.  It meant that I could really fit it to my preferred coverage before finishing though. I did still add a little pin to the crossover point when wearing this to work, though.

It turned out better than I expected, and I actually really love it. I may still hem it to remove the black stripe at the bottom of the skirt, but I haven't decided if I should yet. I do like it a bit long this way. This is a fun dress that is adaptable; you can ruche the sleeves up to be almost a sleeveless look if you like that - I like my shoulders covered a bit so left them less ruched. Definitely a great pattern that I've got a lot of use from!

New Look 6936 in Denim Knit

As many of you know, last weekend was Pattern Review Weekend 2018, and it was held right here in my town of Stratford, Ontario. I was lucky enough to be one of the organizers this year and we had a wonderful time coming up with a program and fun activities for everyone to enjoy.

It was enormous fun and all the hard work paid off -- I had such a great time meeting new sewists and visiting with those I've met before. If you weren't able to attend, check out the #PRW2018 hashtag on Instagram for some great photos, and of course, also take a look at PatternReview for a roundup of the event, coming soon.

Anyhow, one of the things I did for Pattern Review Weekend was try to finish and wear some new makes. Now it is time to review some of those pieces!

I'm starting with a repeat of a pattern I've made twice before, New Look 6936. I think this may be out of print by now, unfortunately, because it is the best secret pyjama pattern ever. Especially in a fabric like this one!

I found this very stretchy, quite thick denim coloured knit on the remnants table at Fabricland ages ago. I've been trying to use more of my stash fabrics this year so I matched this bit up with this pattern -- perfect combo. The knit is very soft and stretchy, but heavy enough that it holds it shape and doesn't cling. The denim colour matches with everything! I've worn it with red, cream and purple accessories and each time it looks great.

Of course I added pockets - a very easy addition using my favourite pattern piece from another dress which I've traced and keep pinned to my corkboard in my sewing space in order to reuse it whenever I need to add side seam pockets to a dress. This time I used scraps of the very stable knit from my recent Margot Peplum top for the pocket pieces.

Because of the amount of fabric I had in this remnant end, I did have to add a centre back seam to the bodice in order to fit the piece onto my fabric bits. That was simple enough to do, and is barely noticeable in wearing.

Because of the weight and stable nature of this knit fabric I just did a quick turn-under-and-stitch finish on the hem, sleeves and neckline; usually I avoid that quick and dirty finish but it seemed reasonable to use it here. I've had no puckering, stretching or waviness so it seems to have worked well. I'm all for the easy route if it seems like it'll work out.

One thing to watch with this pattern is the bodice length - the seamline is quite high so if you don't like an empire-ish waistline be sure to adjust to your taste. Also, there is extravagant ease in this pattern: I cut a 12 at shoulders and 14 at bust, instead of 16, but did grade out to 16 at the hip/derriere area. So be sure to figure out just how much bodice ease you really need.

But once you have those little things sorted, this is a workhorse pattern. So, so comfortable and flattering, with a number of bodice and sleeve options. Great way to use up a nice knit!