New Look Patterns 6469 - my first ever Big 4 pattern
The last make for 2021 is my first ever Big 4 pattern! Its New Look 6469. It's part of the New Look Patterns challenge that Minerva are running, which is how I came to choose it. I'd heard a lot of negative things about Big 4 patterns from the online sewing community so I was quite apprehensive. I was pleasantly surprised although there were definitely some challenges! Let's jump in with the details
Pattern: New Look 6469, a swingy a line dress with a raglan sleeve made in a knit fabric. There are 4 views that are quite similar, with different lengths, sleeve lengths and neckline variations. I made a mix of views C and D, the plain neckline and longer sleeves from C with the high lo hem from D.
Size: 18 according to my bust size. I swithered about this for a while, since I'd heard so much about big 4 patterns having excessive amounds of ease, but actually the ease is given on the pattern and is 2 inches which was fine for me since the fabric I used isn't super stretchy. I'm happy with the result.
Fabric: a cotton velvet jersey/velour from Fabric godmother in the rose pink colour. For some reason I am really into velvet now after a decade of avoiding it. The fabric doesn't have huge amounts of stretch (50% width and 20% length) which is why I decided to err on the side or too big. The pattern says 2.2 metres for view C but managed to *just* get it out of 2 with some very careful pinning.
The tissue paper: Yeah, this is getting its own section, because I never used a tissue paper pattern before, I usually use PDF patterns printed on normal A0 printing paper. I have to say I'm not a fan! The first thing I did wrong with the tissue paper was not to iron it, so it had all the bends from the way it was folded. Then I ripped it in several places while cutting. Normal paper holds its shape as you cut so makes cutting slinky fabric easier, this was just sliding around randomly. I guess the benefit is that it's easier to store but apart from that I see no benefits.
Instructions: the instructions were surprisingly good, with step by step illustrations. I expected something more minimal like Burda, so this was a nice surprise. The inclusion of a zip was pretty random though - see below.
Adjustments: I omitted the zip. For some reason this asks you to inset a zip in the back, which I was kind of dubious about, given that this pattern is specifically designed for knits, but I dutifully went and bought one. I got a bit lost in the zip instructions, partly because if bought a normal and not an invisible zip cos I don't like them, so decided to past the back together to press. I tried it on and it turned out there was plenty of space to get it on without a zip. I wish I'd listened to my gut and checked this before I bought the zip. I ended up extending the neckband quite a bit as well, and sewed it on like a standard knit neckband. The pattern has you wrapping the edge with it in a bias binding way, which would have been pretty much impossible with this fabric. I any case it’s not the tidiest neckband I’ve ever sewn, but it’ll do.
One thing that maybe needs a wee bit adjusting if I make this again is the shoulder darts, they stick out a bit. Maybe they are slightly too long. I’m not sure, and I don’t really know where to start in trying to fix it. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it I guess.
Result: I'm really happy with this dress. I'd planned to wear it for Christmas Day actually, but I was pretty I'll over the holiday and couldn't be bothered to dress up, but I wore it for new year. It's ideal for big meals! I'd like to make another one in a normal jersey, maybe slightly shorter as a tunic.
