The Strawberry New Look 6262

This is my latest dress and I'm so pleased with it! The pattern is New Look 6262 which I first made last summer. The fabric is from the market stall in St Albans, a bargain at £6 a metre. I noticed the market man had the same fabric in white yesterday, maybe I should get some more?

The front bodice has side and waist darts, and the back bodice has waist darts. The skirt is gathered and attached at the waist and an invisible zip is inserted.  

There are also options for cap sleeves, short sleeves and a v-neck.  The dress can also be made with a lace overlay so it's a pretty versatile and simple pattern to have in  your stash.

I made a size 14 as with my previous version  but this time I made some fitting adjustments after making a muslin of the bodice.  I am totally converted to making muslins now as I think you get such a better fit.  I also think it is worth investing in a book about fitting.  I am currently using "Dressmaking to flatter your shape" by Lorna Knight which I have out on loan from my local library but I think I will be investing in this book as it's very user friendly and easy to understand!

In my muslin, the front neckline gaped quite badly around the neckline.  I used a method from the book which involved removing the excess from the neckline  and rotating it into the side dart.

I also used a method that I found in a tutorial on the excellent By Hand London blog to fix the gaping back neck.

The result  is an excellent fitting bodice and no weird sticking out at the back neck! Result!

I also made a bow belt to finish the dress off as I didn't have a suitable black one.

I made the bow belt from my copy of "Learn to sew with Lauren" by Lauren Guthrie of Sewing Bee fame. It was easy to make and really sets the dress off  I think.

I will be making some more of these belts I'm sure. It's a good use of the leftover fabric too.

The neck has a facing and the armholes are finished with bias binding. I made my own bias binding strips using the same fabric as the dress as I like it when the binding matches. I find it's nicer to sew than shop bias binding also.  I would like one of those bias binding making gadget though.

The skirt is gathered and an invisible zip inserted. I'm getting better at inserting invisible zips and I think the trick is to iron the tape so the coil lies flat. I do hate changing the foot on my machine though!

I didn't pattern match at the back but I don't think it matters.

I still find gathering tricky though. I turn the tension low and sew two lines of gathering stitches, using a different colour thread. Somehow I have trouble getting the gathers to stay in place and getting them even. I'd love to hear any tips on how to perfect this.

I left the length of the hem as per the pattern as I liked it as it was.

Have you made New Look 6262? Or can you recommend any similar patterns in this style as I think it's super flattering. I'd love to hear from you.

Catherine x