New Look 6968 again, and again another winner

Thursday 21 July 2011
I've found another reason to love New Look 6968 in addition to the great fit and cute neckline options: it's very economical too.  I bought this gorgeous Japanese cotton from Tessuti's last year when I bought the fabric for my failed entry in their annual competition:


I originally bought it to make a dress for Anna, but then I thought the fabric was too nice for a 2 year old's dress who would either grow out of it quickly or ruin it so I decided to make myself a top instead, probably a sleeveless shell top like one of these I made recently.  Luckily I didn't get around to making something from the fabric too soon, because after making that last New Look dress I thought a dress would be better because then the fabric in all it's prettiness could be seen instead of being hidden under a suit jacket.  See there is a good reason for stashing your fabric!

Since I had originally planned an eeni meeni toddler dress, I only bought 1 metre and it is the usual width of 112cm, so I didn't have too much fabric to play with but thankfully it didn't shrink too much after pre washing it.  Choosing the sleeveless and collarless version of this dress, and cutting one pattern piece upside down (there's no nap to the fabric so it was ok to do that) I managed to eek out this dress:



Please excuse the flash photos, but we're having torrential rain and extremely grey days at the moment so it was the best I could do.  In fact I cranked up the heater just to take this photo, and I have no idea when I'll be wearing this dress out, although I could layer it up big time and just dream of summer weather.

To say that I love this pattern is an understatement, Carolyn and Judidarling you are both so right when you say this could become my TNT dress pattern!  I managed to cut out and sew this in two evenings (about three hours in total) because it is such a simple but well fitted pattern.  Because I only just squeezed the pattern pieces out I didn't even try to match the print figuring that the print was so busy no one would notice, so that saved a fair amount of time (and sanity!) just sewing the side seams without trying to line up the print.

Besides which wearing a belt helps in hiding any noticeable pattern mismatching at the waist seam:




although to be honest it's probably only perfectionists that sew our own clothes that would either notice or care.  But I do think that a dress with a waist seam looks better with a belt or tie of some sort around it, so I'll wear it belted regardless.

The pattern called for lining the bodice only, and sewing on neck and sleeve facings, which I found a little bizarre because from what I could see the lining extends to the neckline and the facings are just sewed onto the lining. Instead I chose to fully line the dress, leaving off the facings and constructed it using the sleeveless dress lining method (ie sew at the neckline and armholes, turn inside out, sew the centre back zip and then the side seams absolutely last).

So all in all I am extremely glad I made this pattern acquisition, even though my pattern stash is out of control and I am trying hard not to buy more!

Jacquie - I'm ashamed to admit that I rarely leave Spotlight without purchasing a fabric, even if I have only popped in there to get a zip or some thread! They do have a large range of fabric which makes me feel sad for all the cotton and other fibres that were sacrificed to create such ugly fabrics, but at the moment they do have a lovely range of stretch cotton sateens and some printed cotton lawn that they are claiming to be Japanese.  I'm also lucky that my local Spotlight is relatively new so it is spacious, well laid out and generally tidy so you can actually see all the fabrics.

Katherine H - I too love Cue and I have a few of their suits because I think its worthwhile investing in a well fitting suit, but otherwise I find their clothes extremely expensive for what they are.  But thank you for the lovely comparison!

KID, MD - thank you for naming the 'ink blot' tests, I never knew what they were officially called but now I do.  And Jean, you crack me up!

And Cidell and Sewingprincess, what can I say? Thank you so much for the very flattering comments - you both made my day!

35 comments:

  1. This is another great dress with perfect fit on you. LOVE the fabric. Good call on saving it for yourself!

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  2. Great fabric! And the dress really does look amazing on you

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  3. I love the fabric choice. Looks great both with and without the belt. I love it that you paired you belt with your necklace. Chapeau!

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  4. The fabric made up great in this dress. It fits great.

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  5. This dress is another winner! I am pulling this dress out of my stash this weekend. Thanks for the inspiration and tips.
    Angela

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  6. I think this has to be my favorite iteration of this dress yet. It looks fantastic & I'm glad that Anna lost out on this one!

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  7. this dress fits you perfectly, and is very flattering to your figure. great fabric!

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  8. I absolutely love this dress! I also think the belt makes it look even better! Good call on the fabric hoarding!
    Michelle

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  9. it's perfect. And perfect on you.

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  10. The fabric makes this dress shine, and I am a New Look fan myself. I especially like the dress with the belt! Great job!

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  11. This dress looks great on you. You have done a fantastic job.

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  12. The dress is lovely on you. The fabric is gorgeous, much better for yourself!

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  13. Wow such a beautiful dress, and out of just 1m. It's perfect.

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  14. Another super dress! It looks so professional and perfect on you.

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  15. You made a whole dress from 1 metre of fabric?? How tiny are you? :)

    It is beautiful fabric, and you've made a lovely dress from it. But 1 metre? I couldn't get a top out of 1 metre of fabric!

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  16. This looks amazing. I'm so pleased you also got this from 1 meter of fabric. I'm a bit of a fabric tightwad, so need patterns like this in my stash. Speaking of which I have asked my pattern lady for this one and I should be receiving it today. I've also got my eye on some stretch sateen at Spotlight, but I'm waiting for it to go on sale. Thanks for the review

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  17. Lovely dress! I can't believe you got it out of only a metre of fabric though, and 112cm wide!

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  18. I WANT THAT DRESS! My favorite one of all the dresses you have ever made.

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  19. What a fantastic dress! The fit is superb and I love the print.

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  20. Another winning garment!! It fits so well!! You're on a roll!!

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  21. Love the Japanese cotton and this pattern is a gift for you. I have a very similar Vogue pattern that I must try out. You could easily add sleeves for the total all year round pattern. Have you been to the Lincraft sale? Everything is half price.

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  22. Great dress! And I wouldn't worry too much about the pattern matching-- I used a very similar print for a knit top I made back in the spring or something, and while I tried to line it up, it was super-hard to do so.

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  23. you can't be talking about the Rockdale Spotlight that has just lost half of its floor space! Birkinhead Point? Anyway, the Tessuti fabric is beautiful and you look great!
    lore

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  24. Can you now see a wardrobe of these?! Because this is another wonderful rendition! Solids, prints and in various fabrications and no one who sews will know that they are all from one pattern.

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  25. Probably my favorite one that you have made so far. :) I LOVE the fabric!

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  26. Nice to know that I entertain! Lol..
    Your dress turned out nicely. You can put soo many colors... i.e. jackets, sweaters etc... oh, and belts too!
    Great job, fabric... everything!

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  27. Nice to know that I entertain! Lol..
    Your dress turned out nicely. You can put soo many colors... i.e. jackets, sweaters etc... oh, and belts too!
    Great job, fabric... everything!

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  28. Another beautifl New Look dress. The fabric is gorgeous!

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  29. Another beautiful dress! It just fits you like a glove. How perfect that you managed to squeeze it out! I don't match patterns other than stripes/plaids, and would never notice if another print was or was not matched.

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  30. Win. Win. Win. You are on a roll.

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  31. Oh, I just love that dress on you! Great print, great fit!

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  32. Darling dress! That fabric is great, I think I wouldn't have used it for the two year old,either.

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  33. Hi Kirsty,

    I absolutely adore this dress on you! Would it be ok with you if I featured it over on Sew Tessuti?

    That was one of my all time favourite Japanese cottons!
    regards
    Colette

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  34. Just saw this on the Tessuti blog - LOVE it! The fabric is divine and I'll be investing in the New Look pattern ASAP. I don't think anyone would notice the print not matching up with such a tastefully mutlicoloured, geometric design. I've been sewing dresses forever and wouldn't even think to check, it's such a knock-out dress!

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  35. Wow, I'm adding this pattern to my wish list. The two versions you've made look great!

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