DIY: Easy Knit Dress

I'm wrapping up all of my summer sewing projects and looking ahead to the fall.  The fall in Austin will stay pretty hot up until November, so I have a few more summer makes to share.  This New Look 6936 got my attention while browsing around at Joann's.  What I loved most about it was
that it was "easy 2 hour" pattern and I loved the gathered sleeves in View B.  To me the style has knid of a retro 70's look plus I can't say no to an easy dress to sew up for the summer. 

I cut out size 12 in View B.  The fabric is a double knit jersey that I also found at Joann's.  For the sleeve gathers, I used a cream and beige braided cord that I found in the trimming section.  It was difficult to find a cord that I liked.  I think next time I would try to make a cord out of the same fabric as the dress.  I did not add the cording to the waist band, as suggested in the pattern directions.  I felt that it might draw the wrong kind of attention to my mid-section.

I didn't make any changes to the pattern, however if I were to make this again I would add more length (perhaps an inch) to the bodice.  I must have a long torso because I'm noticing with many commercial patterns (especially New Look) the bodices tend to be fit me pretty short. 

One minor change I made while sewing is that I crossed the front panels of the bodice over more about one inch on each side.  It's got better coverage in the front like this and I didn't need to add a snap to keep it closed. 

Overall, I like this pattern and it was really easy to put together. What kinds of clothes to you like to make or wear at the end of the summer?