Burdastyle Fitted Blouse

I've been lagging on the sewing front recently. Possibly because I tidied away all my sewing gear for the holidays and I haven't had the energy to haul it all out again. Instead, I've been going through a bout of knitting startitis. Rather than working on the 8 or so UFOs that are patiently waiting for me in the knitting closet, I've cast on a Multnomah, a Featherweight Cardigan and a Honey Cowl. I should know better.

But, my friend Jessica and I are off to a weekend sewing class at the end of the month. That should get me back in gear. We'll be hanging at the Sonora School of Sewing and Apparel Construction in Sonora, CA. I'm picking my projects now!

Anyway, here's my first garment for the new year. It's blouse #104 from the May, 2012 issue of Burdastyle. This must be my favorite issue; I've made four of the patterns, some more than once. These pants are from this issue too - trousers #122 (blogged here).

05-2012-104, front view

Back view

This is a fitted blouse, with darts front and back and a center back seam. I didn't fiddle with the shaping for this first version, but you could pretty much go to town if you wanted to.

Line drawing from Burdastyle

The sleeves are shown rolled up in the magazine fashion shoot, and I failed to notice the fine print saying that they're supposed to be 3/4 length. I must have T. Rex arms, because on me they're more like bracelet length. Next time I'll add an inch or two. I'm also supposed to have made a hidden button band, but I couldn't figure out how the heck they wanted me to put that together. Luckily I had some matching buttons so no harm, no foul.

Here's a wrinkly shot with the shirt un-tucked so you an see how long it is. I think I actually like it this length. Since I'm a shortie, it's almost like a tunic on me. I could imagine wearing it like this with some skinny jeans (note to self; must make some skinny jeans).

I used a cotton print from the stash that I got while visiting my son and his girlfriend in L.A. They very sweetly spent a morning hunting fabric stores with me.

I think this could be my go-to fitted blouse pattern. I've been watching Peggy Sagers videos on Youtube. She has one on collars that has me all fired up to try hacking some shirt patterns. Between this pattern and the Archer, my shirt needs may be covered!

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

70's Pants Redux

Ever since I made my Burdastyle 70's pants back in 2014, I've been kind of wanting a pair in denim.

Now they are mine!

70's Pants, #109 from the June, 2012 Burdastyle

I really like the forward seams on these pants, along with the inseam pockets. Once again, I omitted the back pockets and moved the zipper to the center back. I've done enough fly fronts by now that they don't scare me the way they used to, but I kind of like the cleaner lines.

I used some fairly lightweight denim I got at Hart's. I bought two yards, thinking it would surely be enough, but I had to resort to creative pattern placement to squeeze out those super-wide legs.

Side view

Now that I'm fully retired I find I take a more relaxed approach to my various projects. If I get tired or hungry or frustrated or bored, I step back and do something else for a while. You might think this would result in fewer "oh sugar" moments, but instead I've had to wrestle with a factor that I learned about in a project management class decades ago: ramp-up time. When you have to set aside a project before it's completed, ramp up is the time required to step through your process and remember where the heck you were and what the heck you were doing when you put that project down. Skimping on ramp up time is always a mistake. Trust me.

With these pants, for example, I put the pieces aside to make dinner just after finishing the side seams. When I picked them up again, I got so involved in installing the zip before stitching the inner leg seams (brilliant me!) that I forgot to finish the pockets until after everything else was constructed. Doh! Ramp up time failure.

Rear view - I think some of the wrinkles are because  my hands are in my pockets

I hemmed these pretty long; long enough that I have a huge pair of clogs on underneath and they're totally invisible. In my experience, denim keeps shrinking a bit every time you wash it. If I don't hem my denim pants on the long side at the get go, they're too short in a month or so.

My friend Gillian thought this pattern would look nifty made up as a skirt. I can't stop thinking about that, so I'm afraid I'm going to give it a try one day soon.

If you're tempted by the pattern, you can download it from the Burdastyle website here.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

November Burda Challenge - Birthday Dress!

My November Burda Challenge is completed. And before the end of the month too! I scored the current issue of the magazine at Stone Mountain and Daughter in Berkeley while on a birthday junket with my friend, Lisa. This is Sheath Dress #114.

According to Burdastyle, "The fitted dress follows the figure due to the perfectly placed darts diagonally toward the breastline as well as along the length to envelope the silhouette - especially accented by using fabric with a stretch. The closure zipper is tucked into the left side seam. A zipper at the shoulder seam allows the cut-on collar to lay beautifully."

Line drawing from Burdastyle

The darts are what we used to call "french darts," back when I was a youngster. I always thought they sounded a little risqué; just the kind of darts that would envelope the silhouette. Sadly, the finished dress is a bit too loose to qualify as an envelope. I took the side seams in an inch at the bust and the fit is still what I'd call "comfy."

I'm always a little nervous about installing zippers, even though they usually don't go bad on me. It felt even more dangerous in a knit. So why double my stress by installing two?  I decided to use just one zip and to move it to the center back seam. As it turned out, it went in easy peasy lemon squeezy. No rippling at all.

I used a teal blue ponte that I'd bought at Stone Mountain & Daughter some years ago. Still stash busting those knits!

Back view - there's some nice shaping going on with that center back seam

While this isn't my favorite of the Burda dresses I've sewn, I like it pretty well. The fabric and the long sleeves make it nice and cozy for chill winter evenings, and the color makes me feel festive.

I wore it with boots and a velvet scarf to the theater and dinner last night and it felt like just the ticket.  The Man treated me to Riverdance and a steak with fried shallots for my birthday. He's a doll!

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

A Stash Busting Coat

The September theme for the Stashbusting Sewalong was Outerwear/Seasonal Change. I actually started this coat more or less on schedule. Finishing was another story. Partly I blame the weather. We had an unusually long and hot fall. The kind of fall where I spent much of my day flopped on the couch in front of the fan, sapped of the will to live.

Burdastyle January, 2012, jacket #107

Partly the fault lay with my sewing skills. My friend, Lucy, recommended this pattern as a good prospect for my first coat. She made one herself, which is utterly adorable. Lucy made her version out of a boucle fabric, and, wouldn't you know it, I had a boucle-ish fabric in stash that would be just enough to cut this bad boy out. Well, it's not really boucle. It's more like cream colored fuzzy worms squiggling on top of a black mesh that frays madly. It looks nicer than that sounds though.

back view with seam

I really like the style of the pattern; it's shaped to the figure at the side and center back seams. It has a two piece sleeve for a nice fit at shoulder and arm, and it's lined.

That two piece sleeve was a first for me. I learned:

1. mark your notches carefully, because the sleeve seams do not match up with the side seams, and
2. it's really hard to mark your notches carefully on this fabric

I put a sleeve in wrong twice, once on the lining and once on the actual coat. I was worried I wouldn't be able to pick out the stitches on my coat fabric without making a huge mess, but it worked out OK.

Lime green lining

The lining was another challenge. This is the second time I've lined a garment. I'm generally what I like to think of as a thrifty sewist. If you line a garment, that means you're making it twice, meaning you have to shell out for twice the material. There was just no way to pretty up the seams on the innards with this fabric though, and I just happened to have some lime green cotton sateen sitting in stash that looked like it would do the trick (thanks, Jessica!). 

I trawled the internet to find something to supplement Burda's terse instructions on bagging the lining and ended up with a Threads tutorial that helped immensely. It was still a bit of a struggle but everything worked out in the end. I just hope my finish is neater on my next go.

Burdastyle wanted me to add big patch pockets and a ruffle at the neckline.

Line drawing from Burda site - you can buy the pattern there if you want

 Cute, right? I made up the pockets, but they just didn't look right when I pinned them on for placement, so I left them off. Even though I know I'll miss them.

Besides being kind of bulky and a pain to handle, my fabric had a definite wrong side, so I couldn't get the ruffle thing to happen either. I've decided I kind of like the clean look of the plain neckline though.

Plus, I'm a knitter with an extensive collection of scarves and cowls, so I can fluff up the neckline easy as pie.

In short, Lucy steered me straight. This is a great pattern and I highly recommend it for a first coat. I have some blue wool in stash that I think I'll earmark for the jacket-length version of this baby. Definitely with pockets next time.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

October Burda Challenge Just in Time

Just under the wire, here is my October garment for the Burda Challenge.

It's top #103 from the October, 2014 issue of Burdastyle. I should have hoiked it down a bit before The Man snapped my front view here. I used a not especially drapey 100% cotton jersey for this top, so the cowl neck needs some supervision to lay nicely.

The line drawing is actually top #104, which is identical to top #103, except all sliced up for color blocking. They also show this pattern lengthened to make a very cute dress, perfect as a LBD for cocktails.

It would have been a quick sew, if not for those little yoke pieces formed by the back shoulders wrapping over to the front. Cute, yes? But Burdastyle instructions sank to a new low when describing the construction of the shoulder seams. I'm not kidding; I pined those suckers together six ways to Sunday and could not get the product to look like it should.

back view

Thank God for the internet! This top has been reviewed 6 times on PatternReview.com. Actually, more than that if you count the reviews for the color blocked and dress versions. Everyone likes the product, but most everyone had a heck of a time with the shoulder yoke. Luckily for me, PR comrade runaroo linked to a blog post from SMF Designs and Friends. In that post an angel named Roz will walk you through constructing this top, with pictures. Roz, if you are out there, I owe you a dozen roses.

side view

Once you get the shoulder construction, you can bang one of these tops out in an hour. Something I intend to do once I find that piece of slinky brown and blue knit that's hiding someplace in the stash closet.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

September Burda Challenge - Better Late Than Never

I've fallen sadly behind on my sewing challenges this fall. I think it's a combination of hot weather and being out of town. This is my offering for the September Burda Challenge, and also for the (August) Scary Fabric Theme for the Stashbusting Challenge.

Meet blouse #111 from the 09-2011 issue of Burdastyle. They describe it as a sophisticated blouse boasting intriguing sleeve section seams. Those seams are pretty well disguised by my fabric choice, so here's the line drawing:

My result looks more like something I might have worn to Woodstock than the "splendid couture style" Burda described. But I'm OK with that.

Burda recommends you use polyester georgette, which would be delightfully light and whispy. I actually had a couple of pieces of what I think is georgette in stash, but neither was big enough for this top. Those sleeves are enormous and the bottom section is self-lined, so this top burned up more than two yards of fabric.

I used a polyester silky thing that I got at the flea market here in Santa Cruz. I'd forked over my 6 bucks before I realized I'd been looking at the reverse side of the print. What looked like subtle all-over polka dots from the back were really bling-y gold polka dots that were kind of like little blobs of puff paint. But what's stashbuster to do? The overall color scheme was much nicer from the front, so I decided to embrace the bling and work with what I had.

You can see from the line drawing that I'm supposed to be sporting a slit neck with a drawstring. I omitted that because I did not relish the notion of applying a continuous bias binding to a neck slit in this fabric. Instead, I used a piece of linen yarn to gather things up to my liking and then tied it in what I hope is a permanent knot. Then I tucked the ends into the casing and closed 'er on up.

Back view

The sleeves are fun to wear, but they're not terribly practical. The opening for your had is a bit off kilter, which makes the sleeve swoosh around stylishly when you walk, but they also scoop up bits of things from the kitchen counter. I'm pretty sure there's still some dog kibble rattling around in there from this morning.

The pattern is very well drafted. All the pieces matched up perfectly, with no finicky easing. In fact, since I'd nixed the slit neck there were no fiddly bits at all.

If you fancy taking a whack at some of that 70's boho chic that's floating around out there, this is a fun pattern. I might make myself a pair of high waisted denim flares and totally relive my youth. Or I could try this again in a more sophisticated fabric and pair the top with a narrow black skirt for an evening in the city.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

Ingenue

I've been lagging on the sewing front since we got back from vacation. Maybe because it's been unseasonably hot and my fabric cutting area is the floor in the spare bedroom, up under the eaves. After a few minutes crawling around up there the sweat is blinding my eyes and I have to stagger down to the kitchen for a cooling beverage.

What's a crafter to do in such circumstances? Haul out the multitude of half-finished sweaters and try to figure out what the heck I was doing with my knitting. Wool may not sound like the best creative response to hot weather, but I can knit in the shade with that refreshing beverage at my elbow.

This is Ingenue, a pattern from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. 

It's a mite wrinkled because it lived balled up in my knitting bag in the upstairs closet for 18 months. I'd done the body and most of one sleeve, then set it aside.

Why? With most of my kitting projects I lose steam when I reach a point where I need to make a decision. Is it time to start the shaping for the hips? Are the sleeves long enough, or should I do a few more rows? And, most often, Will I have enough yarn to finish this thing? I have a habit of buying just barely enough yarn for a project and then panicking as I come down to the wire. The Yarn Harlot calls this "playing chicken with your knitting." It's kind of stressful, really.

'Barely enough yarn' is the reason my version of this pattern is a bit skimpier than Wendy Bernard's.

This is one of those nifty top-down, raglan sleeve sweater patterns. I mostly knit these patterns because:

1. you can try the garment on as you go to see if you're in the right fit ballpark, and
2. no finishing, except for weaving in your ends

The thing I'm not wild about in a top-down raglan design is the fit in the shoulder.

You can kind of see what I mean in this back view. There's almost a kimono sleeve thing going on. I don't mind it too much in a pullover, but some of my top-down raglan cardigans want to slide off my shoulders if they aren't buttoned up.

I've knit more sweaters from Custom Knits than I have from any other knitting book I own. I find the patterns are straightforward enough to go quickly (if you don't neglect them for months), yet there are enough little decorative bits to keep you from falling asleep over the stockinette.

My favorite part of this sweater is the funnel neck:

The yarn is a wool-cotton blend that I got at the going-out-of-business sale at Yarn Dogs in Los Gatos. Gosh, I miss that store.

The color is something I call "Goth Green." I don't remember what the spinner called it because I carelessly lost the ballband. Yes, all of them. The yarn is almost black, but with a mossy undertone. Kind of reminds me of The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

It blends pretty well with my wardrobe and I'm sure I'll enjoy wearing it, if this heat wave ever ends.

Meanwhile, I've almost finished cutting out the pieces for my first coat. Plus lining! I aim to finish that this week. Wish me luck.