1 hour easy shell top

If you are after a quick and easy project New Look have a lot of these “1 hour” sewing patterns.  I thought I’d test it out and see if I could really sew one up in one hour. I chose New Look 6483 shell top version E for this sewing project. The fabric I chose is a cotton broderie anglaise. I love the colour!

The pattern does highlight that the 1 hour* is *sewing time. So after it took me at least one hour to cut out the pattern, fabric and mark the darts and dots I put it to the test. I set the clock and threaded up the sewing machine.

Firstly, I needed a coffee so that probably added a few extra minutes but it really is a necessity. Coffee time should be included in the timing! I was going well until I realised that in my haste of trying to sew to the clock I had started reading the instructions for view B instead of view E agghh! So, I had to unpick a bit and get back on with it.

I like to press well and finish my seams neatly so this all took a bit of time. The button closure also requires a thread loop which probably took me at least 10-15 minutes alone. Anyway, I finished it with no alterations in about an hour and a half. I think if I hadn’t made the blunder I would have had it done in an hour although it all seems a bit rushed to me. I like to take my time and make sure everything is perfect.

After trying it on I wasn’t happy with the sizing. I cut out a size 10 as per my exact measurements. It was a bit too loose around the bust and waist so I decided to add some ties to the waistline and tie it at the back like an apron style.

In conclusion, this pattern will take you about 2-3 hours from start to finish and is a very simple pattern for beginners. A beginner might struggle with the thread loop but you could use a narrow elastic instead. I’ve worn it several times already so it’s a winner as far as wearability goes.

In these pics I have teamed it up with my Pin Pegs mini skirt. The pattern for the pin pegs mini is available in the shop on my website.