New Look 6000, again

Finally, my sewjo appears to be making a cautious but welcome return. I've made a new dress - entirely unplanned and, for once, not in a vintage style!

It's a pattern from the 21st century!

When I went to the preview of the Bedazzled exhibition the other week, guests were encouraged to wear their most sparkly outfits. Unfortunately for me, the most/only sparkly thing in my wardrobe was the purple version of New Look 6000 view C with its beaded buttons.

The sum total of bling in my wardrobe

Given that I made it back in July 2012, I wasn't sure if I would still be able to get into it! To my amazement, I could, and wearing it again reminded me just how much I liked it. So much so that I decided on a whim to make a new version, using a stashed length of blue/grey fabric. It is suiting weight, slightly stretchy, and was part of a bundle of sewing stuff that I had bought in a charity shop because I wanted something else in the bundle.

New dress!

There isn't really a lot to say about the construction. I made the sleeves a little longer and omitted the cuffs as they are a nice feature, but bulky. Something which can't be worn with a jacket or cardi over the top was fine when I worked in a warm office - nowadays, not so much! I had also forgotten just how much New Look patterns run short on me; even though I had lengthened the skirt, it still needed a seam binding finish in order to make the hem as tiny as possible. Finally, I definitely need to learn how to do a full bust adjustment on a sheath dress, as it's undoubtedly snug in that area. Overall though, I'm happy.

#sewnshownseated

I'm particularly pleased with the button on the collar. I wanted to do some sort of beading again, but couldn't think what. Then I remembered this hair ornament which Dante Gabriel Rosetti used in several of his paintings.

Clockwise from top left, details from: Monna Vanna, The Beloved, A Christmas Carol, Mariana, The Bower Meadow

I drew a spiral freehand on some tearaway stabiliser (accidentally in the opposite direction to the original!), and sandwiched the fabric between this and a scrap of cotton to stop it from pulling out of shape. I sewed down a small cabochon at the centre, then couched a string of silver beads around this and along the spiral, and removed the stabiliser. Finally, I did single stitches in silver thread between the rows of beads, and arranged the end result over a large self-cover button. Because the fabric underneath blends into the dress, I feel that it gives a similar effect to the Rosetti ornament.

Close-up of the button

Finally, this unplanned project is another reduction on the Stashometer.

I'm amazed that I've used that much, tbh

It may only be a couple of metres, but with less than two months to go to the end of the year, I'll take any win I can get!