Kelly green and wrinkled: New Look 6144

Tuesday 22 October 2013
Thanks for all your lovely comments and commiserations on the skirt in the last post - it seems we all have 'one of those weeks' every now and again! The comment that stood out most to me was Carolyn who commented that I was wearing red and not grey.

And it's true - these days I'm making quite an effort to wear a lot more colour, made easier by the fact that we're having very hot Spring weather and there's just something about the sunshine that makes me want to wear a bright colourful dress. Which brings me to my latest project, another dress made using New Look 6144, this time from a bright Kelly green cotton sateen:

Let me just say it is IMPOSSIBLE to get a decent photo of this dress! The smooth surface and slight sheen of the cotton sateen shows up every wrinkle, ripple and seam of the dress in photographs - it doesn't look that bad in real life. The back looks even worse in the photo although in real life it looks ok (from what I can see over my shoulder in the mirror that is).


After I made the plaid version a while back that turned out slightly too big, I decided to make this dress a bit smaller given the fabric has a slight stretch to it. So I cut out a size 8 at the bust and a size 10 for the rest which was a mistake because it turned out very tight and I had to let out the side seams so much at the hips that it has the tiniest seams.

I made a small 2cm swayback adjustment but it wasn't quite enough because there is still a bit of pooling of fabric in my lower back, especially at the base of the zipper:


And something funny is happening at the centre front because there is a bit of fabric folding and not sitting flat under those front neckline pleats:


From what I can see from other people's review of this pattern they didn't experience this problem, so it's probably caused by operator error. The pleating at the neckline was rather complicated and involved slashing one part so that the other could slide through it - perhaps I didn't slash down far enough so it doesn't sit flat. I'm not going to unpick it and do it again though to fix it - I'll just lazily wear a brooch there or ignore it instead! I also think the centre front darts extent too high onto my bust instead of finishing below the bust point as they should (that's what breastfeeding two kids will do to you sadly).

So my verdict: I love the colour of this fabric, but not so much the dress. Partly that is because cotton sateen is quite wrinkle prone and I should have either lined or underlined this dress (which I did neither because I want it to be a cool summer dress), or made a less fitted style. Partly though it is the pattern, whilst I like the neckline and sleeves if I want to make this again I think I'll frankenpattern it onto my favourite New Look pattern, New Look 6968 which is a similar fitted sheath dress but has a waist seam so it achieves a much better fit. I'll still wear it though because it still looks better than a lot of RTW dresses I see being worn out on the street and it is a gorgeous colour.

Out of interest I took another photo of the dress when I got home from work in the afternoon to see how badly wrinkled it became:


and funnily enough it doesn't seem to be that much worse really!  Sure there are quite a few more horizontal wrinkles around the body and the sleeves, but I think wearing cotton sateen is just like wearing linen or any other natural fibre - you just have to accept a few wrinkles. Although if I ever see some wool crepe in this shade of green I'll snap it up in a second and sew a replacement dress.

Thanks to Oscar for photobombing me - now I can see that black and white are the perfect colour to wear with this shade of green!

37 comments:

  1. Oh, that's one of my fave colors. I totally agree about cotton sateen showing up every wrinkle. Love the dress!

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    1. Thanks - I love green too although I don't have a lot of it in my wardrobe (yet!)

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  2. It is a lovely colour and really suits you (and yes - I can see black and white look lovely with it too - great dog). Sorry to hear that cotton sateen is a pest - I have just cut a dress out of it for the Parramatta tea party.

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    1. I hope you get your dress finished in time - I think yours will be fine since it's a print and not a solid

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  3. Ohh, Oscar has stolen my heart - he is gorgeous :)

    Yes, natural fabrics do wrinkle, and you do have to accept it - and also make compromises for the weather - and it is too hot and humid to have layers of interlining and lining. The dress is smart - and a brooch will solve the problem nicely. I think it is a great idea to morph the dress onto your fave.

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    1. I'll have to put random Oscar photos in more often I think since everyone seems to love him so much!

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  4. I want the same grey as your house! OK I am a grey addict too. Nice shade of green...too bad it's so wrinkle-prone. Question: do you make normally make adjustments on your sleeves/shoulder?

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    1. Hi Sylvia - I've emailed you directly but yes I do normally make a lot of adjustments to the shoulder and sleeves

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  5. Delightful! I love that colour. And Oscar with it. Its great to see the end of the day shot too. I have clothes that look that wrinkled even before I leave the house

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    1. Yes I have clothes that look wrinkled as soon as I move in them so I should just get over it (or adopt a love of polyester?)

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  6. OH my gosh! Have we ever seen your spotty dog before? I know you've written about him, but I don't remember seeing him.
    I agree, light colors tend to show every wrinkle, especially in photographs, and I think that's one of the reasons why I make a lot of dark clothing!

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    1. Thanks Kyle. I think Oscar has only been in photos a few times - he's usually running about so much and never standing still that you see his tail or a blur in the background...

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  7. Perfect dress for summer and love the colour on you. So glad Oscar photo bombed, we haven't seen him for ages and very cleverly showed you another colour combination!

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    1. Thanks Sharon, maybe our dogs need a blog of their own since they are so popular!

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  8. Beautiful green and I also love the Oscar photo bomb. I think the dress is definitely worth wearing even with a few wrinkles!

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    1. Yes I have been wearing it regardless of wrinkles. I don't think I look any more wrinkled than 99% of the general population

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  9. Who cares about wrinkles or tiny seams, we're too busy looking at Oscar. Sorry Kristy, you miss out this time. BTW, the dress DOES look good.

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    1. Trust you to say that Renata! I'll have to make more of an effort to let him star in the photos since he's so well loved

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  10. Pretty! Lovely colour on you.

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    1. Thanks Vicki! And what's happening with your blog, I miss your posts and projects

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  11. I've been sewing green cotton sateen too, and have noticed the wrinkling problem too - that and it's tendency to stretch.

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    1. You did solve your stretched out green pants wonderfully though. I've learnt the hard way too that cotton sateen = stretch

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  12. I adore this dress so much! I'm jealous of the neckline because the sisters keep me from wearing anything too high up. Cotton sateen is a finicky beast but I love it for full skirts. I've been trying to find some for my daughter's christmas dress no no avail.

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    1. A full skirt is the the perfect use for cotton sateen - I should have known better than to make such a fitted dress from it

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  13. I love the colour and the interesting neckline, it looks absolutely fine in the photos!

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    1. Thank you - I do like the neckline too, I don't think this will be my last version of this pattern

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  14. Black, white and green, for sure! This bright jade is so flattering on you - I really love the lines of the dress to. I think we all understand how difficult sateen is to photograph... I can easily look past that to see a pretty fabulous dress :)

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    1. I think anyone that has sewn with cotton sateen was probably nodding along in agreement as you said!

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  15. Gorgeous color choice! I'm so very much looking for a new project right now and this just might be it.

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    1. Green can be difficult to wear, but I just love Kelly green and emerald greens

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  16. Cotton sateen - it seems like such a perfect fabric, but the wrinkling! This dress is lovely, though, the color is just beautiful!

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    1. I always get drawn in by the lovely prints and sheen of cotton sateen, but it usually always ends in tears....

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  17. Well, its a lovely color and style despite the problems you are having with it.

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    1. thank you - the colour is why I'm going to keep on wearing it regardless of the wrinkles!

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  18. The shape of the dress and the color look so nice on you. I'm sorry that the fabric choice was a mistake. Otherwise, it is a great dress on you!

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    1. Thanks Sena - I'm learning to live with the fabric because I like the colour so much

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