Gala Dinner Dress of Yesteryear

Pattern Review: New Look 6392

This January I changed jobs! However, in my last role the company held a gala dinner in October and last minute I decided to make my dress. I wanted something that would be simple to sew but glamourous. I peered through my stash and decided to pair New Look 6392 with this fabric picked up in Boston in 2014!

I didn't get a chance to snap any photos on the night and it has been so cold that I have had to resort to indoor photos. But anyway, back to the review! The lines of the dress are really simple. It is a darted bodice with a pleated skirt. I was initially worried that the pleats would add too much action to the bum, but I feel it works with the structural drape of the fabric. 

I cut a size 14 all over and am pretty pleased with the fit. I didn't have time to do a muslin and I know that for next time I will reduce the width of the shoulders as it is a tad wide for me. You can see this in the photo above where the neckline gapes slightly. I changed the neckline to be a V neck as I felt it was too high and it also reduced the gaping. The dress is an easy sew, however, as it was an evening dress I took my time and extra care to be accurate on any markings. 

The fabric is the real star of the show here. It was a bargain at $6.98 per yard from Winmil Fabrics, Boston, USA which has sadly now closed down. It was straightforward to work with, the only slight difficulty was that it frayed somewhat. I lined the bodice and finished the skirt seams on my overlocker to avoid additional weight in the dress. 

This was a great last minute make that fit the bill. I felt the part during the evening and the whole outfit cost less than £15!

You can see my Pattern Review here. 

Anyone else made any bargains in recently? Or in my case not so recently!