At a junk market this morning I spotted that most elusive of dresses… an original version of an old pattern! I knew it immediately as Simplicity 6218 which I made up in post-it note yellow a while back. Too cool. Modern Twist made a similar discovery in London recently… it’s nifty finding a connection through the decades with a mystery seamstress! I felt like I’d run into an old friend.
In other news, I made up New Look 6000 in the past week from a beautiful cranberry red wool crepe. It’s funny that most of the renditions of this that I’ve seen online have been red, just like the envelope picture. I thought it would be a complete pain to lengthen with all the tricksy side darts but it turns out they didn’t need to be moved. I just lengthened the skirt, brought it in a bit at the upper back, and cut the back skirt seam with a slight fishtail so I can ride my bike without fear of splitting a seam (guess who learned the hard way.) Oh, and I lined it too for warmth and opacity using the simple darted front piece that’s included in the pattern (thank you, New Look!)
Oh, another key thing: I sewed the left collar on backwards. It’s traditional for me to charge ahead without double-checking so who am I to buck tradition?
A shot of the kicky little cuffs that better shows the beautiful colour of the fabric…
Make it 'til you fake it 
Wow, I love the New Look dress. Just gorgeous in that cranberry colour. Perhaps I’m out of touch with dress codes, but it strikes me as one you could carry from the office to dinner without too much fuss. I wasn’t planning on purchasing this New Look pattern, but you’ve changed my mind.
Lovely New Look 6000 there. In an aaaammmaaazing coincidence I made 6000 this weekend as well – in brown ponti without the collar and with cut-on cap sleeves. Should post it, shouldn’t I?
Looks great