Sunday, April 13, 2014

New Look 6261 Sheath Dress

My New Look 6261 sheath dress is done! I wore it yesterday and went out with my daughter who chose to wear similar dress by accident. 

New Look 6261 on me (left) and RTW knit dress on my mini-me (right)

Side and back view:

New Look 6261 Side

New Look 6261 Back

Pattern: New Look 6261 View B with Sleeve C in Size 8



I shortened bodice by 1 1/4", skirt by 1", narrowed back by 3/4 ~ 1". These are my usual adjustment, and as a result, back and skirt fits well.


HOWEVER...


My fundamental mistake on this project was that I did not make a muslin.

The neckline gaped so much that it looked like an ill-fitting armor... I ended up pinching excess fabric out on the wrong side and sewed it. 



In addition, there are pleats formed at waist darts. I took the most laziest approach and just let those pleats be pleats. Haha. With the center pleat running down, these pleats may look like a part of the design... no? 



Another thing to note is that horizontal design would not match above bust darts. 



Lingerie Guard:

Although the instruction does not call for, I wanted to add lingerie guard to this dress. I have never made it before, so first I observed RTW. The photo below is a lingerie guard of my Elie Tahari dress:


You need snaps and thread loops to replicate this. I came across this wonderful post at www.coletterie.com. Sarai demonstrates how to make thread loops by machine.

Coletterie   Tutorial: Making Thread Belt Loops with Nancy Zieman  

Using zigzag stitch to make thread loops seemed to be a brilliant idea. I gave it a try. To be honest, it was a little tricky to zigzag over six strands of thread. Here I used three strands instead and it still worked.


You will need large-eyed needle to work with this thread loop.


Here is my first me-made lingerie guard.



Conclusion: Despite some fitting issues, I love this dress. This stretch cotton fabric was great quality and very easy to work with. I have gotten many compliments yesterday including one by a total stranger - this probably means that those pleats did look like a part of the design! Of course flaws are less noticeable in this busy print. Just one more reason to love printed fabric!

6 comments:

  1. What a cute name for a blog! Your pleats look intentional and the bra straps look great too. I have been making mine with ribbon but I'll have to try your technique sometime.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I found using thread loop is great when you don't want to add any more bulk. Welcome to my blog, Kyle :)

      Delete
  2. Sorry, I don't believe you. I think it must be a typo. She's your sister and not your daughter, right?!!! ;) The dress looks wonderful as all of your work does.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rhonda, if there were a typo, it would be where I call my DD who's taller than me 'mini-me' ;P Thank you for your kind words!

      Delete