New Look 6035

Aloha!  Thank you for your thoughts on the beach pants.  I wore them one day this week and they were great.  It was hot that day, so I ended up rolling them up for the last half of the day.  Maybe my next pair will be shorts!  I don't know about you online ohana, but even though it is now summer break, I have been busier than ever.  One thing that is occupying my time is daily swim lessons for my youngest DS.  He is the only one who can't swim, and he needs too!  You must be able to swim if you live on an island for goodness sake.  He is 7, so he is definitely capable and thankfully ready.  One of the local swim clubs offered a free 4 week "Learn to Swim" session.  We are meeting every week day at 6:00 pm for 30 minutes.  Tonight will be the end of two weeks.  I am so pleased with the progress I've seen.  Also, I just have to say a big "Mahalo!" to all the volunteers who are offering this class.  On to sewing...   

I decided to break the pants roll and make up an older dress pattern I've had in my stash for quite a while. I had a cut of rayon batik from The Sewing Studio, which I picked up during their end of the season clear out last fall, that I felt would be perfect for this pattern.  I made view A in a size 10, and only ended up taking the center back seam in about 1/2".  This dress has about 2" of ease all around which I like.  It feels cool and it's easy to move about in it.  The only other design change I made was to set the straps on the back closer to the center so I wouldn't have to worry about them falling off my shoulders.

Let's talk about construction.  The dress says "Easy Options" on the front, and this truly is an easy dress.  The bodice front is cut on the bias and is the front and front facing once you fold it in half.  Here is the drawing. 

New Look 6035 front bodice.

I am amazed that the dress doesn't gape open with the slight cowl neckline.  I feel totally comfortable wearing it.  This is where your fabric choice is crucial.  A stiffer fabric and it would stick straight off your chest! 
Here is a close up of the front.  The instructions would have you stitch the straps to the front of the dress once the bodice is finished, but I decided to sandwich them into the front and facing seam, then hand stitch them to the back.  The back has interfacing which gives a bit more of a stable base to stitch the straps to, since you will want to stitch them so they are invisible to the outside.

I also skipped the directions for inserting a lapped zipper and inserted an invisible matching for a change zipper instead.  It is evergreen in color.  I have another rayon batik in my stash and I will make this pattern again, but I will probably try the halter style of view B.  I like that one too.

In other sewing news...I have to show you another card of buttons I found on Etsy.  I have no idea what I am going to do with them yet.  But I fell in love with them.  Oh the possibilities!  Enjoy your weekend!