New Look 6093 completed - and a new venture

My fourth 6093 is finished, and looks likely to meet the fate of the dress it replaced - being worn until it's worn out! I love it. The fabric is perfect for a self-confessed fan of all things blue, and I'm very happy with the fit.

The completed dress

After leaving the facing until the very end in case I needed to adjust the neckline, I discovered that it fitted fine as it was - no need for darts at the back. Most of the extra skirt length I'd added ended up in the hem, but this didn't feel like a waste of effort as I've had to make do with tiny hems on previous versions. The biggest win, however, was the bust alteration. It was only slight, but it subtly changes the dress from 'OK but snug' to 'just right'.

Look! I can move my arms!

Taking photos gave me a reason to wear my gorgeous new hair flowers from Pin Up Curl - thanks to Ms1940McCall for the recommendation. The necklace, meanwhile, qualifies as 'vintage'; that's to say I bought it new in 1980! I remember spotting it in the window of a gift shop in the town where I grew up and saving my pocket money for several weeks, all the while anxiously hoping that it wouldn't be bought by someone else in the meantime. I've not worn it for a while, so it's nice to have a dress with the right neckline and colours to show it off.

Showing off hair flowers and necklace

Completing this dress has also neutralised the fabric purchase on the Stashometer.

Back down to a 3.8m deficit

While I was taking the photos, I remembered this article I'd read on the (now sadly ended, but still available to read) Sewcialists blog. Although pattern envelope illustrations are becoming more diverse in terms of size, skin colour and age, models are almost exclusively able-bodied, and pictured standing up. As Michelle, the author of the article points out, this means that wheelchair users who sew have to guess whether or not the pattern might work for them.

The pattern envelope for New Look 6093 is fairly standard in this respect.

Standing model, and upright line drawings

This has been the accepted mode of illustration pretty much since pattern envelopes began featuring clothed bodies rather than just completed garments. I had a trawl through my collection of vintage patterns, and even those for blouses and tops mostly feature standing figures. When people are drawn sitting, they normally appear perched on the edge of something rather than fully seated.

Almost all the seated figures on my patterns for dresses are 'perchers'

Obviously, the point of a pattern illustration is to show the completed item(s), and the clearest way of doing this is on a standing figure. Very few patterns, however, only contain one version of one garment: there are usually variations included. Where these are for necklines and/or sleeves, there doesn't seem to be any reason why they can't be shown on a second, seated figure, as on this 1940s Style example.

The only vintage pattern I own with a fully seated figure!

Which brings me on to my new venture. From now on, I'm going to include seated photographs of me wearing what I've made, as well as standing ones. I wasn't quite sure how best to go about this but fortunately Michelle explained exactly what's required. "Draped poses are not helpful at all. I need straight-on, forward-facing seated poses because when you're in a wheelchair that's what you see."

So, no to this . . .

. . . but yes to this

I'm very aware that as I rarely use currently-available patterns (even New Look 6093 is now out of print) my seated images will be of limited use to other sewists. However by including them, both on this blog and social media, along with the hashtag #SewnShownSeated, I hope that can play a tiny part in making it more normal to see self-made clothes shown off in a seated position.

Tweaking a 'TNT' pattern

Tried-and-trusted New Look 6093 is officially my most-used pattern. The version I'm currently working on is my fourth, nudging it just ahead of Simplicity 1777, which I've made three times. Plus, I used the sleeve for my New Look frankenpattern anemone dress.

My current project

Obviously, one big advantage of a TNT pattern is that you can just take the pieces out of the envelope and crack straight on. I'm actually making a few alterations this time however, both to the pattern pieces and the construction methods. I'm keeping the slightly raised neckline I tried out in version three, lengthening the skirt a little, and making the whole dress a fraction wider - those covid pounds are proving hard to shift. I'm also aware that, thanks to this change, the earlier versions are now very close-fitting around the bust. So, I'm attempting to (quite literally) accommodate this by altering the curve of the bodice piece.

My alteration for a fuller bust

I'm also completely ignoring the instructions - something which is easier to do with a pattern you know well. Much as I like the design, each version has required a few fitting tweaks in the skirt. To make these easier this time round, the very first things I did were sew the centre back seam and put in the zip. Then, I attached the skirt side panels to the front and back.

I'm making view A - again

Next, I added the bodice pieces (discovering in the process that I hadn't thought to check how I’d positioned the pattern piece on the fabric, and as a result I have perfectly positioned boob flowers - oops!).

The real reason why you should 'avoid large florals'!

The shoulder seams came next, then adding the sleeves. Now I can just pin up the side seams, and use the zip to try the dress on for fitting.

I have deliberately left the neck facing off so far, in fact, I haven't even cut out the back facing yet. New Look patterns do sometimes gape around the neck on me, so I want to get the fit right before making and attaching the facing. I might need to add neck darts, a fit detail which appears quite often in my vintage patterns but seems to have been abandoned now.

Naturally, all of this has been noted in my project notebook, in case I ever need it for version number five!

Swings and roundabouts

I was originally going to call this post "Triumph and disaster", but that did seem slightly overdramatic!

The tie-on pockets are completed; all I had to do was finish off the binding and then add the waist tie. This was simply a long piece of white cotton tape, folded in half lengthways and sewn together. The pockets were attached within the fold, which covered the raw edges at the top. I'm really pleased with the end result, and have used them several times already.

Front view of the pockets

And the back view, with a 'secret bird'

So that was the triumph, what about the disaster? Well, during the week I went to launder my favourite dress - and discovered that it had actually worn into holes in a couple of places! It's the dress on which I had replaced the zip last year, and it's had a lot of use in the six years since I made it, but I was still really sad to lose it.

Noooooooo!

I had actually managed to start a new project, trying to catch up on my sadly neglected UseNine2021 challenge. The plan was to make view C of New Look 6594 in this pale blue viscose, and I had got as far as cutting out a first toile.

All ready to go . . .

I suspect that the two-part bodice will need a couple of mock-ups to get right, and as things currently stand this feels like a lot of work. I just want an easy, drama-free, project right now so making up another New Look 6093, a real tried-and-trusted pattern, was an obvious choice. And I found a printed blue floral (!) cotton in the dress-weight remnants bin at my local fabric shop which was an idea replacement for my worn-out dress.

. . . but set aside for this

Obviously, the Stashometer has taken a hit as a result, but as the dress is cut out already, I hope it won't be long before there's a matching entry in the 'used' column.

Going in the wrong direction

Sustainable sewing

This is a first - I've never posted a five-year-old dress on this blog before! There have been lots of posts about things made from fabric which has been lurking in my stash for that long (especially this year), but not a finished article.

Old dress, new repair

Because it slipped under the blogging radar, I can't remember exactly when I made this dress. But I do recall wearing it for a friend's birthday party in July 2015, so I'm going to guess that it was fairly new then. It's my second version of New Look 6093, and my favourite of the three I've made. As a result, it's had a lot of wear, and a couple of weeks ago the zip broke. Even though the fabric is now a bit faded compared to its covered hanger, I wasn't prepared to let the dress go.

Dress and hanger comparison

Fortunately, it was an easy fix. The broken zip was an invisible one, which made it a little harder to unpick but not impossible. Then it was just a case of basting the seam together, hand picking in a new zip, and stitching the back facing back in position.

It's always fun to make something new, but increasingly I'm finding that I get a different, but equal, sense of satisfaction from mending something I already have. As the harmful effects of throwaway culture become ever more apparent, knowing that I can care for and maintain the clothing I have made becomes as important to me as having the ability to make it in the first place.

Much as I'm enjoying the Vintage Sew A Dress A Month challenge, I did worry when I started it that I might just be 'churning out' a dress a month which I didn't actually need. But this repair has reminded me that by choosing my fabrics and construction techniques wisely, and making clothes which fit me properly so don't suffer from stress points, I am creating clothes which will remain in my wardrobe for a long time. And because I favour vintage over up-to-the-minute styles, they will never look more 'dated' than they did when I first made them!

Which brings me on to this month's dress. A couple of weeks ago I bought a 1930s dress at auction. It is beautiful, but currently in rather a sad state - I will post about it when it is restored. Also in the lot were 'assorted textiles'. I hadn't paid much attention to these, but when I got them home I found various goodies in there - a couple of skirt lengths, a coat length, some lining, and a dress length.

The dress fabric is only 90cm / 36" wide, and a print which just screams mid-to-late 1970s. It's also in a twill weave which I just couldn't imagine coming across now in such a soft material.

Showing the weave, and the pattern

Eventually it dawned on me that the fabric is probably Viyella, a wool/cotton blend with a twill weave. It was common when I was a child (growing up in Scotland, it was a popular choice for winter dresses) but is no longer made. Naturally such vintage fabric requires a vintage pattern, and I'm indulging in my love of 1979 Style patterns to make up this one.

Style 2630

Even though the fabric is narrow, there are five metres of it, so I'm planning to make the long-sleeved version. There's no cutting layout given for it on 90cm wide fabric, but when have I ever let that stop me?! So after 40 years, this fabric will finally be used.

Giving up on green?

Sometimes you just have to admit defeat. After a cooling-off period in the back of the wardrobe I took a fresh look at Simplicity 1587, aka the Dress of Extreme Frumpiness. Sadly the dress-improving fairy had not paid a visit in the meantime. I rarely regard something as beyond saving, but in this case . . .

Then we actually had some hot weather, so I decided to wear the Blackbird Dress (New Look 6723). And discovered something which I somehow hadn't noticed last year - namely that the bodice centre front is weirdly wide, so the princess seams are nowhere close to where they should be, and the fit is just generally off.

This left me a) with a lack of green dresses in my wardrobe and b) in need of a simple sewing project. So when I found some mid-weight green and white cotton at 70% off in my local fabric shop, I decided to remake a favourite pattern; New Look 6093. What could possibly go wrong?

Easy!

I made this three (blimey! that long?) years ago in a fine cotton poplin in yellows, browns and greens. I liked the end result so much that I made it again in a blue poplin of a similar weight -  and forgot to blog about it. Both dresses have had a lot of wear since, and the only problem with them is that the neckline is rather lower than I usually wear. So this time I raised it. Only by 1½cm / ⅝", but I'm far more comfortable with the end result.

For now unfortunately that's about the only thing I'm comfortable with. The skirt panels are cut on the bias (see view B of the pattern envelope above), and in the slightly stiffer cotton they just don't hang that well. In fact, the whole dress feels a bit stiff. I'm hopeful that once it has been through the wash a few times it will look better, but at present it's a(nother) one to just wear around the house. Which is a shame, as it goes perfectly with my green shoes and hat.

Slightly sticky-out skirt . . .

The jury is also out on the sleeves. I think that they are slightly too long, but at least that is easily fixed.

. . . and slightly too long sleeves

But I'm beginning to wonder what it is with me and green. That's three dresses with various issues, and the 'Meh' skirt also has green in it. Perhaps I should just never make anything green again!

On your marks, get set, sew!

I’ve had this project in mind for a couple of months now, but it’s been on the back burner while I worked on Historical Sew Fortnightly challenges and other things. However as series two of The Great British Sewing Bee is currently being repeated on BBC2 (and yes, I am watching it again!), it seemed a good time to do it.

If you’re not familiar with it, The Great British Sewing Bee is a television competition to find Britain’s best amateur sewer. Each week there are three challenges; challenge one - make a garment from a pattern provided by the judges (the same pattern for each contestant) to fit a mannequin, challenge two - alter a high street purchase (the same garment for each contestant for five of the eight challenges), and challenge three - make a garment to fit a live model, using a pattern of the contestant’s choice.

Most of the techniques covered each week have been reasonably familiar to me, even if I’ve not tried them myself, but there is one thing which mystifies me completely. How do the contestants get their garments made in such a short time?

Seriously. Three hours to make a patterned, box-pleated skirt, with the pattern matching perfectly over the pleats, four hours to make a blouse from a 1930s-style pattern, six and a half hours to make a pair of velvet trousers.

Then The Dreamstress posted about a fabulous 1950s dress she’d made, including various alterations, with the comment, “A few hours of cutting and fitting and sewing later...”. (I do like the explanation of how she ended up with the fabric; it sounds oddly familiar!)

All of this made me suspect that I sew very, very slowly. So, I decided to do some research, and time exactly how long it takes me to make a dress.

I needed a new dress to go with some jewellery (I know, I know; you’ve heard some excuses in your time, but this one takes the biscuit). Some years ago Mr Tulip bought me a lovely pair of earrings, made from three different colours of amber set in silver. Then I found an almost-matching necklace.

What started it all

However I only have one dress with greens and browns in it, and it’s a winter dress. Something more summery was needed. New Look 6093 is a pattern I’ve had in my stash for a while, and it has an ideal neckline to show off a necklace. Then I found the perfect cotton poplin in my local fabric shop; the colours are just right.

I chose view A

Close-up of the fabric

The centre panel of the dress front, the two bodice pieces, and the main part of the back are all cut on the straight grain. Then there are four side panels cut on the cross, meaning that the side seams are mostly sewn on the bias.

Front and back views

The dress fastens with a zip at the centre back. The bodice pieces are gathered at the bust, and the sleeves have a side ruching detail.

For the first challenge in the Sewing Bee, the contestants are given a pattern which will fit the mannequin without any alterations. Therefore I didn't include the time taken to alter the pattern to fit me. Cutting out, marking and pressing were all timed, though, along with the actual sewing.

The fabric was 148cm wide, which made the cutting layout quite simple.

All the pieces laid out and ready to cut

Cutting out - 50 minutes, total - 50 minutes

The two bodice pieces are stay-stitched, then gathered along the lower part of the curve and stitched to the centre front piece. I managed to catch part of the centre piece in my sewing, so had to unpick and redo a section. The seams are then top stitched.

Completed front bodice

The lower part of the centre panel is stay-stitched, and the front side panels attached. Next the back pieces are stay-stitched, the centre back seam sewn up to where the zip ends, and the back side panels attached.

Completed dress front

The shoulder seams are sewn, the facing pieces interfaced, the facing constructed, and attached to the dress. Unfortunately I was so busy sewing that I forgot to note how long each of these stages took.

Initial construction - 2 hours 15 minutes, total - 3 hours 5 minutes

The instructions are for a lapped zip, but I ignored them (something which is frowned upon by the Sewing Bee judges!) and the end result is not the neatest, so no photo here!

Zip - 35 minutes, total - 3 hours 40 minutes

Next should be the side seams and then insert the sleeves, but I ignored that as well. The sleeves are ruched by attaching a length of stretched elastic, which I did do. I then did my usual thing of setting the sleeves into the flat dress piece.

The sleeve set in

Sleeves - 30 minutes, total - 4 hours 10 minutes.

I tried the dress on after I'd sewn the side seams, and found that it was a bit tight at the top of the hips. Redoing the side seams fixed the problem, but added extra time.

Side seams - 20 minutes, total - 4 hours 30 minutes

For the sleeve and skirt hems I used my preferred method of overlocking the raw edge first, then pressing the hem and hand sewing it with herringbone stitch.

Overlocking hems - 5 minutes, total - 4 hours 35 minutes

When it came to marking the hem, Nancy showed just what I'd been missing by using my other, standard dress form. Sad to report, but the hem at the back, where the skirt has to accommodate my sway back/large derriere (delete as appropriate) is less than half the depth of the seam at the front. Another New Look pattern on my to-do list has a large contrast band around the bottom of the skirt; before I make it up I'll have to redraft the skirt pieces to allow for the longer back.

Marking and pressing the hem - 20 minutes, total 4 - hours 55 minutes

I must confess that I didn't time the hand hemming exactly. This was because I sewed it while over at my parents' house for Sunday lunch, and a fair amount of chatting was going on at the time. I did time a short section however, and used that to work out the likely time if I'd been concentrating on the job in hand.

Hemming the sleeves and skirt - 1 hour 10 minutes, total - 6 hours 5 minutes

A final 5 minutes to attach a hook and a hand-sewn loop at the top of the zip brings the grand total to a whopping 6 hours 10 minutes. For a fairly simple dress. Ouch.

I am pleased with the end result, though. The bias panels make the skirt hang really nicely, the bodice construction works well, and the ruched sleeves are an unusual and faintly retro touch. I think that the choice of fabric helps though; if the dress were made up in a plain fabric the construction details of the skirt would be more obvious, and probably not that flattering on me.

The finished dress

So, I finally have something I can wear with my amber jewellery. Time to clear the decks ready for my entry for the next Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge; The Politics of Fashion. I'm really looking forward to this one!