New Look 6638 – Trendy Autumn Top

I’m buying fewer patterns these day. Everything seems so similar. Then I saw this pattern on the front of the New Look Fall/Winter catalogue and it was both different and fresh!

Pattern & Fabric

New Look 6638 is a tunic length top with dolman sleeves, empire waist with elastic and in-seam ties. There are also gathers, two in the front and one in the back.

I happened to have fabric in my stash that reminded me quite a bit of the model photo on the envelope, so that seemed serendipitous! My fabric is jersey that I picked up from Fabric Mart Fabrics sometime in the last several months. It’s lightweight but it’s opaque and that’s really what matters. It’s way too lightweight for anything even slightly fitted because it clings to bumps but this style is quite forgiving.

Sewing

This one goes together easily! I cut a size XL and honestly, when I laid out the pattern on the fabric I only worked to make sure that the lines were straight. I did not try to align any of the pattern but I guess luck was with me because I don’t have any weird pattern placements.

The neckline and shoulder seams were stabilized with knit stay tape. I used a fresh jersey needle in the machine, the overlocker for the main seams and cover stitch for topstitching and finishing the hems. I didn’t use the guide for the empire waistline elastic and instead just cut it to what felt comfortable to me.

After finishing the top and wearing it, I attempted to crochet a loop to hold the ties in place at the centre, however, I’m just learning to crochet and only have massive sized crochet hooks so it’s a bit wonky but it serves the purpose. This definitely needs something to support the tie at the empire seam line.

Result

This project really felt like Fast Fashion. It’s on trend, the fabric is similar to what you find in stores, and it only took about 3 hours from cutting to finished! A beginner could certainly sew this and it would be a good ‘learn to sew knits’ project. Fitting is easy since the gathers adjust for various bust sizes and there are no shoulder seams.

I like this top! My friends at work like it and every time I wear it someone asks me to make one for them. (No, but I will be happy to teach you how to sew your own!) There’s going to be at least one more in a knit with a bit more substance. The one thing that would make this top a bit nicer is rounded edges to the side slashes, so that’s on the list for version number 2. I’ll probably make the front top bodice piece a bit longer in lieu of an FBA (see how the front pulls up?). And maybe a slightly less open neckline, although I’ve had no bra strap sightings so maybe it’s okay 🙂

Super bonus: I discovered that I have lots of bottoms that coordinate. Gotta love it when a plan comes together 😉

A Note about my YouTube channel

I’m posting many of sewing projects to my YouTube channel just because a) sometimes more info can be shared through the combination of audio and video, and b) it’s fun! This top is part of a quick 5-minute video (link here). I will still be posting reviews to my blog here!