There are a few different views in New Look 6297.  As well as view C, that I have already blogged, there is a sleeveless maxi.  New Look offer it with a subtle high-low hemline or with a hemline that has applied ruffles.  I chose to sew it with a plain level hemline.

Once again I sewed size 10 for Clare. The fabric is a poly/spandex knit from Spotlight. Because it is a border print I cut it on the cross-grain. Although you would generally cut a knit with the greatest degree of stretch going around the body rather than running lengthwise, there is plenty of spandex in this knit and it stretches very well both ways.

This was super simple. Front, back, long strips to finish the neckline and armholes. The long strips were cut across the width of the fabric as they usually would be, from areas of the fabric where the colour was more dense. This was to contrast more with the paler areas of the border print that were concentrated at the top of the dress.

All construction was on the overlocker. The bands were folded in half then applied to the right side around the armholes and neckline, with the seam allowances secured via a zig zag stitch from the right side on the machine. The pattern also suggested a tie for the back to add more detail and bring in the armholes a little more. It’s just a rectangle of fabric sewn into a tube.

There is minimal strap exposure for a racer-back crop top, which kept me happy. The kids don’t care about straps, especially if they are brightly coloured and contrasting, and while part of me understands that aesthetic there is a stronger part that prefers straps and other elements of underpinnings to be hidden!

I suspect that the armholes are a little lower in this fabric because of cutting it on the cross than they would have been otherwise. Having the greater strength running downwards in what is also a slightly heavy fabric is possibly dragging them down a little. I’d like to see this made in a cotton/spandex or viscose/spandex. But I couldn’t resist that border print!