Tuesday 23 October 2012

Minxenstein's monster

Pattern: New Look 6802




















Fabric: Check knit from Abakhan Fabrics
















Size: 10 (eek!)

I've just made two New Look patterns in a row. For Big Minx's waistcoat I went down a size from what he would normally wear, and for my jacket I made a 12 but it turned out too big. So naturally, with this dress I decided to make a 10. It felt risky because I'm not really a 10, but based on past experience this would be the right fit. Wrong! It appears there is no science behind sewing pattern sizes. It fits well on top but the skirt was way too tight. It would possibly have worked on a more fitted item, but the result was simply a baggy tummy area and tight hips, therefore not the most flattering. I had already used the narrowest seam allowance I could get away with so there wasn't really any way to alter the skirt. What an error to think I could ever be a size 10! Top perhaps, but with those hips and that bum? HA!

Fitting aside for a minute, I made a number of changes along the way. I loved this fabric as soon as I saw it and thought it would make a fabulous winter dress. It is, however, a very thick knit and I soon realised that making the lovely twist front would just be too bulky and not sit nicely at all. So part way through I changed it a bit to just be a v-neck dress but that's fine. I still wanted the dress to have a feature so I added the red binding around the neckline which is the first time I've used binding. I just attached it at one edge so it stands up from the neckline. This doesn't fit brilliantly and gapes a bit but I understitched and it improved matters a bit.

I used tiny pleats on the front of the skirt rather than the gathers it calls for as I always find these look a bit clunky and messy. I unpicked the pleats as they looked weird and put in gathers. They made the seam far too bulky so I unpicked them and spread them out a bit. That looked totally weird so I unpicked them. I put pleats back in, but did box pleats this time and they look nice.

The skirt though. It hugs in all the wrong places and makes me look awful and frumpy. I don't want to not wear this after all the effort I've put in and the sleeves are so poufy and cute! So I've chopped the skirt off. It's now a top and I quite like it that way. Of course I have nothing to wear it with although it looks reasonable with a pair of jeans and today I wore it to work with my standard grey trousers.

I would like to make another in a lighter jersey with the twist front, and a skirt! I think I'll size up to a 12 skirt for that. Lesson learned.

The pattern was easy to follow, and it came together really quickly so would have been a roaring success if I didn't have curves.

So, it's pretty much nothing like what I started out making but whaddaya think?






1 comment:

  1. I think it looks really nice as a top and well done you having so many alternative options you could try to make something workable from it. Love the pattern too. You always find good patterns - do you get them in Masons?

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