New Look 6582 sewing pattern review

I'm so glad to have finally sewed this fabric, which I bought more than three years ago. I've always loved it but just didn't have a pattern for it. Then this summer I bought New Look 6582 and a match was made.

October 2019

October was nuts. We had a birthday, a trip to the Amazon and our 12th anniversary. I had been in a bit of sewing rut, but this month pulled me out of it.  I made a few things for myself and sewed a lot for my kids, which was one of my goals for this year.

And now for the girls

As promised, here's part 2 of the wedding sewing.  I sewed Oliver+S Fairy Tale Dresses for the three flower girls.  I was originally going to use a posh cotton/poly satin from Mood Fabrics, but in the end I decided to save some money and bought this stretch cotton sateen from Joann's instead.  I've used this fabric a few times before and I really like it.  It has such a satisfying heft, a lovely sheen, and an almost spongy hand.  It's a pleasure to sew and it works so nicely for a special occasion dress with a nice deep hand-stitched hem.

I bought the Fairy Tale pattern ages ago, and when I sat down to cut my pattern pieces, I was dismayed to see that I only had the smaller size range.  In the end, the size 4 ended up working just fine.  I actually ended up taking Natasha's dress in significantly, nearly to the width of a 2 (I was overzealous and it ended up a smidge tight on her), but the 4 worked fine for the other two, who are both size 6 in RTW.  I added something like six inches of length to the skirt but I kept the bodice length as is.  I like a slightly higher waist in little girls' dresses.

The dresses are fully lined in white cotton voile per the pattern instructions.

The only adjustment I made to the pattern was to the sash.  The bride wanted it to wrap all the way around the waist. So I sewed up the dresses and made the sashes separately.  

 The fabric is a synthetic satin from Mood, which was the only place I could find the right shade to match the bridesmaids' dresses (Sangria from David's Bridal). The sashes are all the same width as the pattern's ties, though for some reason it looks like Natasha's folded over while she was wearing it, making it seem thinner. I rushed the sashes at the side seams of the dress.  Our sewing fairy godmother made the thread sash carriers for me and posted them to save me some time.  

As the dresses were sleeveless, the girls needed something to wear over them while outside.  I intended to just buy RTW cardigans but couldn't find anything I liked.  Then I remembered that I had a large cut of white cotton/lycra knit in my stash, and I ended up sewing three shrugs from stash fabric using this pattern that I've made before.  The pattern only goes up to a size 4, but I figured it would be ok.  I did lengthen two of the shrugs about an inch after I'd sewed the first one.   They worked perfectly (in the below photo, my niece on the right is wearing the unlengthened shrug, and N on the left, with the weirdly thinner-looking sash, is in the lengthened version).

We all had a fantastic time at the wedding.  My brother is the baby of the family and his wife came into his life literally a few weeks before our mother passed away.  There were definitely tears thinking about her absence, but it was also a wonderful family time for all of us.

The kids, predictably, were the hits of the dance floor.

After awhile the shoes came off.

Then the tights followed suit.  "Too sweaty," apparently, when you're bustin' a move.

New Look 6374 and my Larry the Cable Guy arms

There was a Hancock Fabrics on the road to the hospital where my husband spent four week in acute rehabilitation. There aren't any Hancocks near me, so I took the opportunity, when I was driving back and forth nearly every day, to stop in a few times.  I liked their selection of apparel fabrics a lot more than the selection at my local Joanns, though that may be a case of the grass being greener at the other fabric store.

In any case, it was love at first sight for me and this rayon print.  I have a thing for bright colors on a navy background - this fabric reminded me quite a bit of a navy Asian-inspired print I bought when we lived in Moscow.

I used that fabric to make these two Ice Cream tops for my girls (they were 18 months and 2.5 years in this photo!).

While I was shopping at Hancock, I also spied New Look 6374.  Mandarin collar? Front and back yokes? Front placket? Yes, yes and yes please!

But despite all of those yeses, this top never gets worn. The main problems are a) the shoulders are too wide and b) the armholes are too low.

The width of the shoulders and my fluffy upper arms make me think of Larry the Cable Guy every time I put this on (only to take it off again, having confirmed that it really doesn't look good on me).

I think the top would be more flattering if it showed a little more shoulder.  It's not an issue of me cutting a smaller size - I had already cut a 14 shoulder according to my high bust measurement.  The pattern builds in a whopping 8" of bust ease, which seemed excessive.  So I just widened the pattern to a 16 at the bottom of the armscye (for 5" of ease at the bust).  In any case, fixing the Cable Guy shoulders isn't a hard fix - the armholes are finished with bias tape, so I'd only need to pick that out and then cut some width off the outer shoulder before rebinding - I just need to find time to do it.

But there is no fix for the low armhole.  It is bra city down there.

Though as it turns out, the placement of the white flower on the pattern and my light-colored bra means that it's not that noticeable unless you're all up in my armpit.  No one ever is except Niko, though, and he doesn't care if my bra is showing.

The top features front and back yokes with gathering where the bodice meets the front yoke, and a pleat in the back.  I did not use a contrasting fabric as suggested for the front yokes,  so they get lost in this big print.  The top of the bodice did not gather as much as I thought it would based on the line drawings. The gathering gets lost in the print too.

While the end result has me thinking that this shirt was not the best use of the big print (which would may have been better suited to a simple tank top that did not break up the pattern), my choice of substrate was spot on.  I don't think I would want to wear this top made up in anything less drapey.

I should have done a forward shoulder adjustment. It's been so long since I've sewn myself a woven top that I had forgotten that I really always need a forward shoulder adjustment.  Otherwise I am constantly shrugging my clothing forward.  And finally, the shirt is just a bit short (yes, that is the waistband of my maternity jeans in the photo above ...).

All that said, the actual sewing of this pattern was very pleasant.  The placket and mandarin collar are very well drafted and the instructions throughout are quite thorough.  The pattern recommends French seams, which I forgot to do, but I imagine the inside finish would be very nice if I had done them.  The yokes are unlined and I used my serger for all seam finishing, so my insides aren't as nice as they could be.

I would consider trying this again, redrafting the armholes to fix the depth and the shoulder issue, and lengthening it a smidgen - maybe 3/4".  But who knows when I will find time.  I sewed this a couple of months ago and all I've had time for lately are baby drool bibs.

Baby (and mama) gift

My good friend Dasha had a baby this winter - her fourth adorable little girl.  I wanted to send her a special gift but it took me awhile to figure out what to make.  It had to be something that I could do well so that I wouldn't embarrass myself, as she is a fantastic seamstress.

I settled on an Oliver+S Music Box Jumper.  It is a very easy, basic pattern with a clean finish.  I didn't love the pattern until I saw a few versions with a closer fit and a longer bodice/shorter skirt than the pattern calls for.  Then I bought it and have already used it a couple times for gift sewing (though not actually for my own kids yet, I just realized!).  For this version, I chose view A in the 6-12 month size, but decided to gather the skirt rather than pleat it.  I also lengthened the bodice by 1".  I used a pretty green linen-rayon blend that I grabbed from Joann's remnant bin during our last home leave, and lined the bodice with some quilting cotton left over from an Ice Cream Dress I made for N over the summer.  I also did a few rows of topstitching at the hem, a la the Family Reunion pattern.

Since I sewed the dress with the intent that it be worn as a sundress, I decided to make a little shrug to go with it.  My mother-in-law recently sent me New Look 6236, which includes a cute little bolero pattern.  I have been hoarding this Valori Wells Karavan jersey forever - I don't know why I only bought 1/2 a yard of it - and it was just enough to make the 12-month size.  If I had planned ahead, I would have made sure the lining of the dress was a better coordinate for the bolero; but the bolero was a late addition to the ensemble.

The shrug sewed up very quickly -  I used my serger for all but the sleeve hems.  The pattern instructions don't provide for a very clean finish to the inside - it just has you sew both the band's raw edges to the shrug's raw edges and then finish them together.  I think that it would be a pretty easy fix to fold the inside of the band over to cover the seam, rather than stitching the band to the body all in one seam.  It IS nice and quick the other way, though.

Mamas are often forgotten in the mad rush to send gifts for new babies, and I wanted to make sure D knew I was thinking of her, too, so I stitched up this quick infinity scarf.  I was seriously tired when I cut and sewed it, and it is LONG.  A whopping 120" in circumference.  But the material is very lightweight, so it works.  I like the print too; it's from Girl Charlee.

I finished off the gift with a few luggage tags (pictured here) that I sewed earlier in the year - the fabric is also from the Valori Wells Karavan line.  I used this tutorial to make the tags - very fun to sew and a great way to use up small scraps.

I hope she likes it!

Slinky and the Grain

Back in January, I ordered a few patterns for me (New Look 6808, New Look 6781 and Simplicity 2447).  Around that time the U.S. was pummeled by some enormous snowstorms, which completely screwed up the mail for those of us who have APO/FPO/DPO addresses overseas.

My patterns  f i n a l l y arrived last week after a torturous wait on this side of the world.  I didn't waste time and immediately traced out View E of New Look 6808.  I drafted a size 14+FBA for my 39-31-41 self, and I rotated the bust dart down into a French dart, which I find a little more flattering on me than your standard horizontal dart.

Then I set about tossing through my stash for a suitable fabric.  I've been paying a lot of attention to fabric choice lately, and I knew I wouldn't be happy with this top in a crisp cotton.  I wanted something with a luscious drape, to skim over those wobbly bits and make me feel slinky.

Slinkiness is elusive when your kids use you as a human tissue, trust me.  But on those rare occasions when I can rock the slink, I enjoy it.  Don't you like feeling slinky?

(Although my tummy is far from flat, what you see there is the crazy wind whipping the fabric around, and not my belly.)

After some digging, I found a piece of black something-or-other that I bought eight years ago in Armenia, when I used to have clothes made for myself by a local seamstress.  I think I bought it intending to have a skirt made, but I never did and somehow it got packed and unpacked and carted around in our household effects for another four years until I began sewing.  I don't even know what this fabric is - it's definitely synthetic, matte like chiffon but a bit heavier, and has a slight crosswise stretch.

(See?  No protruding tummy).

This pattern is meant to have vertical front darts.  I sewed them in when I muslined the top (yes, I muslined, using an old sheet!) but it made the top too tight.  I didn't think too hard about why it was tight, and just forged ahead.  I thought that maybe the stretch in my fashion fabric would help out, and figured I could always sew the sides up with smaller seam allowances.

Well, the stretch didn't help me.  It might have, had I actually cut both the body pieces on the grain like I was supposed to - but somehow I accidentally cut the back on the crosswise grain, so the stretch on that piece runs bottom to top instead of side to side.  Facepalm.  I didn't have any fabric left to cut a new back, so I just went with it.



I sewed smaller seam allowances (3/8" instead of 5/8") but in the end I just left the front vertical darts off.  The back darts do provide some shape, so it's not a total potato sack.  I later realized what the problem was.  While my front FBA added width necessary to fit my waist and high hip, I had neglected to add the necessary width to the waist and hip of the back piece - I had just cut a straight 14, and I should have graded out to an 18 after the bust dart.  So my side seam is not actually in the center of my side, and there was no fabric to spare for the front vertical darts. 

I actually kind of like it without the front darts, though.  In my post-childbirth, gym-less life, my stomach tends to really show how much I ate that day; sometimes it feels like, if I eat a banana, you can see the banana shape through my shirt.  So a top that skims over the lumps helps me feel put-together.  Fabric choice was key in this, though.  Most of my non-knit apparel stash consists of woven cottons, none of which would have been as fluid and skimming.

When I finished the top, I felt like it was missing something.  So I added the lace trim to the bottom.

I am pretty happy with it top, though the collar turns out to be just slightly too wide for my taste.  It's a bit sailor-girl, which is cute but interferes with the slinky.  The collar on view D is a bit narrower.  I think I will use that collar for my next iteration.  I also plan to redraft my back pattern piece to be a little wider below the bust so that I can try out those front vertical darts.

The wind on this particular day was killer.  Chicago ain't got nothing on Tbilisi.  There were a few times I was afraid the gusts would blow me off the cliff.

Cousin It, signing off.