Shoulders that will poke your eyes out: New Look 6013

Wednesday 11 November 2020

One of the great things about sewing is that you're not limited to what's available in the shops - you can make what you want. One of the less great things is not finding out until after you've put in some time and effort that what you're making really isn't you!


I do like my work jackets to have a bit of interest about them - either a bright colour other than navy or black, or an interesting cut like a shawl collar rather than a standard notched collar. Which has led to my recently finished jacket - a shawl collar, a minty textured wool and formerly some crazy shoulders:


New Look 6013 mint green wool shawl collar jacket

I say formerly because I ended up pulling off the crazy sleeves and re-sewed on some normal fitting sleeves which is what you seen in the photo. This is New Look 6013, a pattern that is now OOP. I made the dress once before in 2018 from a polka dot linen which I still wear thanks to it being not too fitted. 

 

New Look 6013 sewing pattern www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

The sleeve heads have an inverted pleat at the shoulder head which looks good on the model and on my dress form but just looked ridiculous on me. They shoulder head sticks out quite high above my natural shoulder level and to top it off the sleeves were quite wide and baggy too:


New Look 6013 mint green jacket shoulder www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

New Look 6013 mint green jacket pleated shoulder www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

Instead I used a standard sleeve off another New Look pattern to cut out some normal sleeves to sew on. You can see the difference in shape in the photo below.


New Look 6013 sleeve comparison www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

Even though the sleeve head of the new sleeve eased nicely into the shoulder seam, I can see there are terrible drag marks on the sleeves indicating that I need to reshape the shoulder slightly. Well I won't fix this, but it's good to know for the future.


New Look 6013 mint green jacket www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

For the back view instead of cutting on the fold I added a centre back seam so I could shape the seam better to suit my curves. This together with the princess seams means I got quite a nice fit in the back:


New Look 6013 mint green jacket www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

I made faux welt pockets because the jacket is so cropped it's unlikely I'll ever put my hands in them and the pocket bags would be so shallow anyway. The welts add a bit of interest to the front and even though I was worried they sit too close to the hemline I think overall they still looked balanced.


New Look 6013 mint green jacket www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

The final change I made to the pattern was to insert a lining. The pattern is meant to be an unlined jacket, but with several layers of interfacing in key places like the shoulder area, princess seams that need to be clipped to be pressed open and the messiness of welt pockets I think a lining is really necessary to cover up all that internal structure. Plus being a wool jacket it will wear better with a slippery lining.


New Look 6013 mint green jacket www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

This fabric was a total bargain - bought from the Sewing Basket charity fabric store earlier this year for a few dollars. When I spied this fabric in it's beautiful minty loveliness, I was reminded of one of my favourite costumes from the movie The Dressmaker:


A photo from the movie of The Dressmaker

All I need now is some cream wide leg pants and an awesome hat and I'll be set for a glamorous return to the office when it reopens! After all these months of casual wear whilst working from home I'm actually quite eager for a bit of dressing up on the few days a week that I'll be in the office.

So my final thoughts: if you like a bit of drama then I can highly recommend this pattern to you! The shawl collar is easy to construct, the princess seams make it easy to fit and overall it's quite a nice little jacket. If like me you prefer your clothes to be a bit more subdued, the sleeve is easily interchanged and you can still have a great jacket without the wow factor.

New Look 6013 mint green jacket www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com




 


11 comments:

  1. This is a beautiful jacket and the shawl collar is more flattering than a notched one. I have an old ultrasuede jacket that has sleeves with an inverted shoulder pleat. Your post has prompted me to redo those sleeves. Thanks! Karen

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  2. The jacket looks stunning, and I love the way you often make changes that really make a difference, in this case the pockets too. Also - love that wallpaper!

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  3. interesting. I have that pattern and made the dress for a friend. I hadn't realised about the jacket shoulders though.

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  4. Great jacket! Interesting sleeve :-)

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  5. Lovely jacket, the colour is yummy. The original sleeves would look ridiculous on me, so they definitely would have to go. Thanks for the review.

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  6. That wool is gorgeous! The color is scrumptious, and that fabric is absolutely marvelous.

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  7. It looks good on you.
    I need to learn to sew...

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  8. Great review and such a good looking jacket that is different from the 'run of the mill'. Sam the Aussie

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  9. You did such a great job on this jacket! I've attempted jackets before but it is just too difficult to get them to fit.so I stick with simpler projects!

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  10. A brilliant save on the sleeves, the lower sleeve head looks so much better and the mint green is a gorgeous colour.

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  11. Your new jacket is very smart, it's a lovely colour, and your new sleeves look much more office than fashion runway. How annoying though, to have to re do it :(

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