About 4 years ago, when I first attempted to get back into sewing, I only made one thing: a simple summer dress. This dress is from New Look 6867.

It turned out pretty well, but I just got too busy until recently to get back into sewing.

Materials:

• Some sort of cotton (I forget...)
• Zipper
• Interfacing

From what I can remember, the materials did not cost very much. This dress does not use a whole lot of fabric (only about 2 yards of 45" wide fabric).

When I saw this floral fabric at the fabric shop, I just had to buy it and make something with it. The funny thing is, the pattern and colours are probably more fashionable now then when I bought it.


Pattern

New Look  6867

The pattern comes with a summer dress and a cute jacket with a sweetheart neckline. I'll probably make the jacket someday, but so far I only made the dress (view A).


Alterations

I made a size 14. I didn't make any alterations, except for tacking the front and back bust flaps together at the centre. This dress was a little too revealing without that. Possibly, someone with a fuller bust could keep it together better. I probably should have made a small bust adjustment or gone a size down for my bust.

From an angle that isn't too bad - it get's worse (or better in my hubby's opinion)

Unfortunately, even with this fix, it is still a little too revealing to wear around the office. Maybe that's why the pattern also comes with a jacket.

What I Learned

This dress is great for beginners. It helped me brush up on my sewing skills that I had neglected for over a decade.

At the time that I made this dress, I was unsure of how to finish the seams. So, I just pressed them out and left them at the 5/8" width. After 4 years, they are still holding up fine, so I guess fancy seams aren't always a necessity.