New Look Dresses N6341

I have had this pattern in my stash for a while, it reminds me of dresses from the 80’s. Not my favourite fashion period, but the drop waist was always flattering. There are hidden pockets with this dress which is another thumbs up from me.

This dress pattern comes with a variety of sleeve and skirt lengths. Depending on your fabric choice, this dress would work  well for the day or evening. There are not many dress patterns that can take you from a sun dress to a ball gown, but this one can! It would even make a great dress for bridesmaids too.

As regards alterations, I had to shorted the shoulder straps as I found them too long, and I also shortened the bodice a little. The drop waist is a little snug for me could do with a little extra for next time.

On this occasion I chose to make the sleeveless version for the evening.

My fabric was a hand woven silk sarong or “longi” purchased in Myanmar. The sarong came with a dramatic woven border which was ideal for this dress. The pattern calls for a lined bodice, but because this dress was for the evening, I chose to line the skirt also. I used a heavy weight navy satin, which this dress fabric deserved to take it to a luxury finish.

This dress feels fabulous when worn, and is comfortable to wear. I am pleased with my dress and feel that it is a timeless shape that I will be able to wear for many years to come.

New Look 6341 is a cute skater dress with different sleeve and length options, with a princess seamed bodice and knife pleats on both the front and back of the skirt. It also has pockets, which is big tick for me! This pattern calls for wovens like cotton or linen, but ponte is also listed as suitable fabric for View A and View B.

I opted for View B (excluding the back inset) from this gorgeous ruby red ponte, which is a viscose/nylon blend. The fabric feels thick and drapes well, and it is pretty stretchy (35% widthwise and 35% lengthwise). It is worth noting that although ponte is listed as a suggest fabric for View A and View B, all of the instructions for NL6341 are written with the focus on sewing with wovens — so be careful!  The upside was that my fabric was stretchy enough to forego the invisible zip at the back -- I am taking that as a win :)

I made a handful of adjustments, like making facings for the neckline instead of fully lining the bodice and contouring the princess seams at the bust to the waistline. I also moved the waistline up approximately 2″ above the marked waistline, as the original pattern sits at the low waist and that isn’t my personal preference.

I would recommend New Look 6341, but I would have had a far easier time if I had just found a pattern that was designed for ponte. Despite this, I am still happy with my cosy winter red dress – you can see more photos and details on my blog.

This is a great pattern. The instructions are pretty clear - they'd have to be as this is my first lined bodice and it went really well - the fit is really good and the overall shape of the dress is beautiful. I love the pleats and the lower waist seam and the scoop back is gorgeous, too.
I made a straight size 10 but I might take in the shoulders a little for next time. It's also a little snug around the waist but nothing that makes it uncomfortable. It's a very pretty dress and I have plans to make another one.
More details and photos can be found on my blog here: https://patsypoomakes.blogspot.com/2019/04/new-look-6341.html