New Look 6097

If this fabric looks familiar, its because it is :) ! I had recently used it for a version of Vogue 1314  I was so in love with this fabric, I decided to get more and use it for New Look 6097. Although, I'm decently pleased with the outcome,  I won't be sewing this pattern up again anytime soon. My review on PR here.

I am just *smitten* with this fabric! I can see myself being lame and buying more to make yet
*another* dress :)

Chewfoot on my fabric. He likes it too :)

Correction, I won't be sewing the *top* part of this pattern anytime soon. I really like the skirt with the great pocket detail (I highly recommend including the pockets :).

I had originally planned to sew this dress without the pockets but after reading so many favorable reviews on PR, I decided to include them. I'm so very glad I did, because they were one of the few redeeming qualities of this pattern. The pockets went together pretty well, though it took a bit of extra time for me, reading over the instructions carefully and taking my good 'ol time constructing the pockets to make sure I was doing it right.

A few reviewers noted that the bodice took some adjusting, but there were plenty that found it "perfect". I rather naively assumed I would fall in the majority and would have little altering to do.

Boy was I wrong ...wrong, wrong, wrong! (Did I mention wrong?). I've *never* been so frustrated with a bodice pattern! I figured at most, I would have to take in the side seams, but unfortunately, it wasn't that  simple :( . I decided to forego the cuffs and narrow the sleeves (that were quite baggy) and make them 3/4 length.

 I really should have made a muslin first, of the bodice at the very least. The skirt was fine, though I did end up taking it in 1/2" on each side seam which was a very easy adjustment. I can definitely see myself using the skirt pattern again and using a different bodice pattern with it. I'll adjust the skirt tissue piece for next time.

I'm not completely satisfied with the crossover of the bodice, and anyone getting a close look would notice how imperfect the side-seams are as well. The resulting neckline is a bit lower than I'd like. If I wasn't so smitten with this fabric, I would have been tempted to scrap it. 

After so many great reviews of New Look 6097, I'm disappointed that I had so much grief with it. But hey, it happens! Just because a pattern works for a lot of people, doesn't mean it'll work for everybody. I'm sure there are patterns I've loved that have caused headaches for other sewers!

I wouldn't tell anyone to "not" try this pattern, considering how many women have loved it (and I honestly intend to use the skirt/pockets pattern on another project. I will give a "proceed-with-caution" warning. And do yourself a favor and make a muslin first (especially of the bodice). It'll save you a lot of frustration :)

Boris, helping to keep up my morale as I sewed :)

***Update, April 29, 2013***

Last week when I wore this dress to church, I used a safety pin to hold the wrap bodice in place. It was better than nothing, but not ideal, as the pin kept shifting around, and was visible at times, ugh.

Before wearing it out again, I decided on a much better solution: sewing in a snap closure. I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of using tailor's tack's to mark the area for snaps, but in case there are those who maybe hadn't thought of it, I figured it would be helpful :)

Please note, I am a rookie trying to give directions here. I did my best to explain, but you can probably tell what to do by merely observing the photos. My apologies if I'm less than clear :)

I have to be honest, I took these photos *after" actually sewing on my snap (I was in a rush to sew it on so I could wear it to church yesterday morning) so I decided to do a "mock-up".

#1 First of all, try on dress (not shown) and pin bodice in place for desired coverage :). I inserted a pin next to where I wanted the snap to be.

#2: Next, push a threaded needle through both bodice sections at the exact spot where you would like the snap to be (it would probably be more accurate if you did this while wearing the dress, be careful not to poke yourself! :)

 I think I used about a 18" length and knotted the ends together, doubling the thread.

#3 Next I cut the threads to take the needle off,
and knotted the thread ends together. Here, I'm pulling the loop up  so when I cut the length in
 half, I have long thread tails. Cut thread length in half.

So now each side of the bodice has a tailor's tack marker so you can easily tell where to place
 each side of the snap to sew in place :)

Step #4 Sew each snap on facing bodice sections. See more below...

I tried to place the snaps a little further away from the neckline, so they would be less likely to show while wearing.

I don't know if it matters which side of the snap goes where, but I placed the socket side on the front of the left bodice section and the ball side on the inside of the right bodice section.

And voila!

This simple little snap made such a HUGE difference! I was so comfortable wearing this dress :) No fear of any mishaps, and my modesty is kept intact! :)