Burdastyle Woven Top

Last week I got together with a couple of sewing friends and we took a field trip to check out a new-to-us fabric store in Monterrey. It's called Slow Fiber, and we had a great time poking around. It's kind of a combo fabric and thrift store. They carry a small but nice selection of new fabrics and patterns, as well as a bunch of used patterns and cuts of fabric that are a joy to browse through. And they carry new and used notions and yarn. I got 4 spools of grey serger thread for $4 and Janet got enough of a pretty lavender yarn to make a sweater. I have to try one of their classes or sewing retreats one day soon.

I also snagged a one-yard cut of Australian print fabric for $5. I liked the colors and I was sure I could get a top out of it. Turned out that wasn't as easy as I thought. I used an old Burdastyle pattern from the June, 2011 issue. Top number 106B. It has a front and a back, both cut on the fold, plus a neck facing. Not a lot of pattern pieces, but no matter how I wrangled them I couldn't swing it without making some emergency modifications. I shortened the top by about 3 inches and cut the back in two pieces. I'm thinking of wearing it with high waisted pants and skirts, so short was OK by me.

But it ended up a bit too short even for a crop top, so I pieced together a hem band to add about 1.5 inches at the bottom. Lucky for me the print is so busy you have to look close to notice. 

I couldn't get the pattern to match across the back seam, so I flipped one piece to cut on the cross grain. That makes it looks like a design choice, right?

I made this pattern once many years ago. Probably in 2011, before I began committing my makes to the internet. I didn't like it at the time because it was boxier than I anticipated, but it turns out I've been wearing it quite a bit lately. It's one of those loose cotton tops that I can get away with wearing without a bra, which is always my preference. 

This is a handy little top and I'm glad I gave the pattern another go. I'll happily use it again if I want to show off a cute print. It's simple and quick to sew up and it doesn't use much fabric. But take my tip and if your fabric is 44 inches wide, try to get a yard and a quarter at least. Or be willing to spend some time playing pattern Tetris.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

Kid Sewing with a Teen

My 13 year old niece, Isabella, came to visit in July. She is the niece who is interested in sewing, so she wanted to sew a dress while she was here. She researched patterns on-line and chose a Burdastyle magazine pattern from June, 2016. A very cute, vintage style dress suitable for a cotton fabric. That issue just happened to be in my 10-plus year Burda collection, so I traced out her size (based on her measurements) and she bought what we hoped would be a suitable fabric from Hart's online.

And here is the result! We went from cutting out to mostly finished dress in just the few days she was with us. And that was worked in around a bunch of sightseeing and dinners out!

Here is the photo-shoot of the pattern from 2016. Cute, am I right? And not too challenging, I thought.

But, sadly, I didn't look at the pattern as closely as I should have. Take a look at the line drawing. See those inset corners that do most of the bust shaping? Not the kind of thing that you want to spring on an eager and interested young sewist. 

Isabella wasn't phased though. She's an extraordinarily neat and careful worker.

By the time she had to pack up to return to Chicago we were able to finish everything except for hemming and closing the straps at the shoulder.

If memory serves, this is the third dress that she and I have sewn together. Each one was a Burdastyle pattern. The first two were knits. This is her first woven dress, with darts and a side zipper and everything. Even a lined bodice!

Dress #1, from 2018 (8 years old!)

Dress #2 from 2022

And her most current project. She's looking forward to getting her own sewing machine in the near future. Nothing will stop her, I'm sure!

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.