Creating A Little Black Bias Dress With New Look 6244

So not forgetting that my ultimate goal is to recreate my dress, which I had originally sought to have made in Hong Kong, I turned to New Look for my next pattern which I liked a) because of the range of styles on the front and b) because it was rated as easy to complete!

Trust me to then select black satin fabric, which I later discovered was a real challenge to mark.

In addition, cutting satin was quite difficult as it's very slippery and after wasting more fabric than I care to dwell on, I finally discovered that the key to cutting was to just let the scissors loose on the edge of the marked line, snip, apply a bit of pressure with the blade and the tear runs away by itself in a straight line!

I elected to create version "B" from the pattern which was a short, slip dress which could also be worn under a main dress, and I started by laying the fabric out so that it could be cut on the bias and weighted down with good old fashioned garden stones.

Having discovered that silver eye-liner was the best marking option, I drew lines around the outside of the pattern paper and after that sewing up the sides and around the top and bottom hems was pretty straight forward.

This project allowed me to learn how to create thin straps that needed to be turned inside out, and I did this by using chop sticks! See how via this You Tube video I discovered HERE

I  have always liked the way bias dresses fit me so I was pleased with the finished result,  although I had to make adjustments to the bust area (too big) and the straps were a little tight so also needed moving.

My key learning's were ;

1) To always check the finished garment size, as well as your pattern size, so you can assess how much ease has been built into a design. I had completely misread the bust size, hence the need for readjustment at the end.

2) To write notes on the back of the pattern envelope is a good idea that will assist if you want to recreate a pattern or work on other versions i.e I noted down my correct size, the ideal strap length and my preferred length for the finished dress.

3) To line up pattern notches accurately as in this project my hemming was a little off as I had not done this as well as I should.

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