Last Summer Wedding – New Look 6429

18 Sep Last Summer Wedding – New Look 6429

If you have been reading Goodbye Valentino for a while, you might remember my blog started as a reaction to all of the money I was spending on dressing for weddings. Whether it was my daughters’ friends’ weddings or my friends’ daughters’ weddings, shopping for weddings was sending me to the poorhouse.

Six years later we are still in the wedding stage of our lives – not that I’m complaining. I truly love weddings, and am always honored to be included on the invitation list. Weddings are such special family events that I make it a priority to dress festively and appropriately for each one.

Over the weekend I attended the last wedding of the summer, and it was time for a new dress. My pattern is New Look 6429 but first let’s talk fabric.

The  white sheer Spanish organza,  from Promenade Fabrics is made of 100% polyester and features a lime green lifted geometric pattern.

To date, I’ve only used silk organza as an underlining or a press cloth.  While the fabric looks delicate, it is quite strong and durable. I considered several patterns and styles including….  a wrap, a loose jacket and a partially lined A-line midi skirt, but the dress won out. I lined it with a high quality polyester white lining, so the entire dress is 100% polyester.

Last summer I sewed the New Look pattern which served as a great test run for this rendition…(blogged here).

Since I was sewing from a woven rather than a knit (last summer’s dress), and because I lined this dress, I made a muslin which led to a few  alterations.

1. There are no provisions for petite adjustments in the pattern due to the French darts. The waistline was too low which through the entire fit out of proportion.
2. Rather than alter the French darts, I added 1/2 inch to the side seams beginning at my waistline and tapered to just below my hips. It was an easy alteration and the bodice fell into place. 
3. The bust was too large leading me to take in 1/2″  inch on each side. 
4. To get the fitted back, I extended the back darts upward by 3 inches. 

5.  This pattern is unlined. To add a lining, I cut and sewed bodice pieces as I did for the fashion fabric and attached the two pieces right sides together.

I understitched  the seam to prevent rolling.

The only tricky part was inserting the zipper without disrupting the construction order. By this time I was so far removed from the instructions that I had to do my own thing. Partially attaching the back neck pieces allowed me to insert an invisible zipper all the way up the back.

Next I basted the lining and bodice together and sewed the lining to the zipper tape. The front neckline then was sewn to the back neckline pieces and at last the the entire neckline was attached to the bodice.

I was relieved that I had not outsmarted myself during the process, but next time around I’ll think seriously before adding a lining to this dress. Underlining, maybe.

So here’s to the end of the Summer Wedding Season. Pinks become rust, alfresco moves inside, basil disappears, dresses are darker but romance remains in the air….

Welcome Fall 😉

 

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