NewLook 6120 "The High Performance" White Knit dress!

I love the name I've given this dress!!! It kinda makes me giggle. It's all based on the unconventional fabric I used for it. I used a "high performance knit" that I found in the dancewear/ athletic wear fabric aisle at Hancocks. I feel like I could just run a mile in this dress comforted by the thought that it would wick away my sweat and keep me cool and dry! LOL!

Before I found the HPWK I had the hardest time finding a good fabric for this dress. I picked up a ponte knit but didn't like it's drape. I visited both my local Hancock & Jo-Ann's with no luck. So finally on Friday (the day before the birthday party I needed the dress for) I decided to go back to Hancock for a second look. I really was SURPRISED to run across this fabric. This fabric is SO nice and it's hard to imagine that it's used as a dance wear or athletic wear fabric. It really feels luxurious!!! Well I picked up some, got to work on it at around 6:30pm last night and churned out a dress about 3 hours later!!!! I guess based on my last post you can call me a magician LOL!!! What a rush of blood to the head! I was REALLY nervous this wasn't going to work out but surprisingly it did. Although I'm not a fan of solid white dresses I really like this one. I received numerous compliments, enjoyed a fabulous party for a fabulous friend and picked up another client.

So here's my review.......

(Front view)

NewLook 6120


Time to Sew:
It took me a little less than 30 min to cut out and about 2 1/2 hours to sew. The belt was super easy to make and took about 15 minutes to throw together.

Sewing Ease (scale 1 easy to 10 difficult):
This is a 2! Quite the EASY sew.

(Back view)

Pattern Description:
Dress with kimono sleeves, neckline variations and belt.

Pattern Sizing:
I cut the size 12 for the bodice and 14 for the skirt. I took the skirt in a little bit since I used a knit and didn't want it to be baggy.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes!!!!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very much so!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
It's simplicity and chic-ness. I also LOVED the belt. I plan to make a bunch of these out of different fabrics.

Fabric Used:
White high performance knit from Hancock fabrics. It's 86% polyester and 14% spandex. This fabric had 2 sides, one that showed the knit ribbing with subtle sheen and the other was really mat with a "peach skin" texture. I wanted to use the peach skin textured side as the right side but it's texture made it a lint magnet. So I decided to use the knit ribbing side. I'm happy I did---I won't have to use a lint brush as often.

For the gray belt I used a miscellaneous gray polyester in my stash. it's sorta striped and has both light and dark threads. It made a great belt.

(Closer view)

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
1. I added 1" to the front and tapering at the side.
2. Coverstitched the neckline by folding down and coverstitching.  I didn't want the binding at the neckline and kinda wanted to open up the neckline a bit.\ I also coverstitched the skirt and sleeve hems.
3. Omitted the pockets.
4. Added 1" to skirt length.
5. Used 1/2" elastic for the waistline so I made the casing 1". On knits I make my casing by sewing with slight zig/zag stitch 1" in from waistline edge. Then I use 4 thread serge stitche to stitch edge of waistline leaving small space open to insert elastic.

What would you do differently next time?:
I want to make this again but change the neckline and use a print.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Absolutely!

Wardrobe Versatility:
It's a white dress----a blank canvas for almost any color. I'd love to pair it with some bright color jewelry and shoes. I'ld wear this under a fitted jacket as well!

Conclusion:
Lovely dress!

Please feel free to visit my blog at www.tenthousandsewinghours.blogspot.com!!