Revisiting an old favorite

I first made BWOF 5/08 #104 back in July 2008, out of a green and black knit from Fabric.com.  Here's the original pattern review.  Even though the fabric wasn't the greatest quality, I loved the dress and so I babied the fabric along until last summer,when it really started to show its age and became a weekend dress instead of something I could wear to work.

After finishing the VPLL 0191 blouse, I needed a quick knit project to clean my head, and a new version of this dress has been on my to do list for a while.  I was looking for another seam ripper (where do they go?) in a drawer and found a nice round buckle and realized that it would be perfect, so that was the inspiration to finally get on it and make this.

I love knits.  Even if it's a new pattern, it's quick to work up, and if it's something I've made before, then look out, because it'll be done in a flash.

I cut this out Friday evening, futzed with it before bed, and finished it yesterday afternoon in between gardening and more gardening.

Dresses like this are what I miss about Burda these days, and why I let my subscription lapse.  Everything in the last year or so (ever since they ruined the pattern sheets by doubling up) seems to be too blocky and simple (maybe because otherwise we'd shoot ourselves trying to trace complex patterns?) and while this is in no way complex, it also doesn't look as easy as it is.

I love the front drape - it definitely conceals a bit around the middle while also being a design feature.  You don't often get concealment and "hey, look at me!" all in the same garment.

I made changes from the original pattern, some of which I did the first time around.  It's a knit dress, yet Burda wants you to put a zipper in it.  Ummm, no.  They also included a bodice facing that extended to just above the waist drape.  Right.  We all love facings in knits, and a facing that's nearly as big as a lining?  Umm, no again.  For the original dress, I just did a neckline facing, but this time I adjusted the shape of the neck a bit and bound it before sewing the front V.  Much neater, and no facing to flip out.

The original dress was also sleeveless, which is fine for a summer dress but my office is really, really cold and even short sleeves help a bit.  I used a sleeve from another Burda dress and it worked just fine.

This dress uses a good bit of fabric.  None of it is cut on the fold, though the back could be.  I just like that it gives a bit of shaping so I left it the way it was drafted.  The front is interesting, and also cut twice - there's a short seam from the bottom of the neckline V to the mid-section seam, and a long seam from there to the hem.  In the middle is a horizontal seam (hidden behind the drape).  The excess bodice fabric is gathered to fit the lower seam, stitched, and then the drape is constructed and basted over top.  I think Burda was a bit generous on the drape, because even my first version had to be tweaked so that the drape draped instead of drooped.  But what pattern doesn't require a tweak or two?

I'm torn about what to start on next.  The calendar says it's March; however, the weather says it's nearly June (though it is chilly and a bit drizzly today).  I'm not competely over cold-weather sewing, but suddenly all the things I want to work on seem wrong because I'm going to finish them and hang them in the closet for 6 months or so. 

There's some theater sewing coming up soon - the local group is doing the Tempest in mid-April - but the patterns and fabric that were promised for Friday evening have not thus far appeared.  So I'm on my own for a project, and I'm leaning another knit.  At least that way if the costumes do show up, I can still knock out something else to wear to work this week..

If Burda gives you lemons

make Sorbetto with them.

I wanted to deal with the remains of my BWOF 9/11 #132 dress before it became a crumpled silk UFO taunting me from the floor of my sewing room - or worse, a crumpled silk sleeping mat for Lily, no longer taunting me because it's full of cat hair. 

What can make you feel almost as good as a successful sewing project?  Taking scissors to an unsuccessful one. 

I cut off that unfortunate upper portion and threw it out.  That left the lower section, and once cut along the side seams, I had a very large piece of fabric for the front, and a reasonbly-sized piece for the back. 

What to do with those pieces?  I looked through a few patterns, but most of the ones that appealed wouldn't work with the fabric (either the size or the print), so I reached for the Colette Sorbetto pieces which were still on the table from the other week. 

I guess there's a point to being a slob.

When I made this pattern a week or so ago, I thought it was a quick, easy, cute top, and now I can add one more positive to this list:

It's a quick, easy, cute top that saves me from having to look at this failure of a dress crumpled on the sewing room floor. 

Take that, Burda.  It may not be the dress - or even a dress - but it's a wearable, finished garment and I can now put the Burda dress behind me.

Hurricane update:  I really thought with the weather we were going to have this weekend, I'd get a ton of sewing done.  Not so; I got about as much sewing done as we got hurricane weather.  (I'm glad about the weather - this is one of the times when I was happy the weathermen were wrong - but sad about the sewing).

Philly got about 6" of rain, which is less than we got two weeks ago.  The winds were rough but nothing the house couldn't handle, and for the first time in many, many years, we took on no water.  It's comforting, knowing that the house is finally just about watertight. 

For anyone who's curious, the chickens made it through the storm just fine - it was, after all, less water than they've had several times since moving into the back yard.  In what turned out to be an excess of caution, we took a fashionable blue tarp, some bungee cords and a few bricks, and made sure that the girls were as close to protected as we could manage.  All that did was keep them relatively dark all day yesterday, and so they laid no eggs, but at least they were dry. 

Tomorrow is a vacation day for me, though I'm not sure now what we're going to do with it.  Originally it was supposed to be a shore day but I think the shore's still closed, and even if it's not, most of the roads between here and there probably are.  So maybe it'll just be a vacation at home day, sleeping late, cleaning up some debris outside, . . . getting a little bit of sewing done?

Hope you all made it through the storm unscathed, and got more sewing done than I did. 

90 Minute Dress

It was a long week.  We got out early today, and I headed down to Karlin's to pick up more black and white striped fabric.  I'm having an issue with the dress - because of the pleats in the skirt, there's just no way I can make the stripes line up, and having them off - by a little or a lot - is making me batshit.  So I got the bright idea to just buy more fabric and cut a new skirt, with the stripes running horizontally.  Because the skirt is full, I don't think the crosswise stripes will make me look wide, and at least I wouldn't have to match the stripes.

So of course they ran out of the fabric.  Who bought 20+ yards of that black and white stripe?

There went Plan B.  On to Plan C.  I'll let you know when I think of a Plan C.

So instead, I came home and made a quickie dress from Burda 6/11 #107.  Full review is here. 

Pattern Description: From the magazine: Simple lines for big impact. The clean cut of this dress features dropped shoulders and a seductive neckline. No zipper is needed, thanks to the casual A-line shape.

What they forget to mention: in-seam side pockets, lined and unlined versions, neck facings included for unlined version. 

Pattern Sizing: Burda sizes 34-44. I made a 40, which is my standard size in Burda wovens, and I could have made wider seam allowances. This was a little spacious, but it's also an airy, unfitted summer dress. I think I want too much.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, the shape is very similar, though I think for a combination of Burda and V-neck, this actually doesn't fit their "seductive" description. It's a V. It's not plunging, I can't see my bra, I certainly can't see my navel - they've done lower.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I read them after the fact, and they're pretty clear - for Burda - though they seem a little overcomplicated for the lined version of the dress.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? No dislikes at all.

I wasn't impressed with the June issue of Burda, which is of course why I've made 2 patterns from it before the end of May. There were a lot of simple shapes, which I criticized, and of which I have made 2.

This dress struck me as simple and flattering, and possibly a good use for the Liberty of London lawn I recently acquired. The prints are quite busy, and I wanted a simple, easy dress. This looked like it would suit my needs, and is the kind of dress I like to wear on weekends.

Fabric Used: Olive green eyelet from Metro Textiles in NY (age approximately 2 years); turquoise cotton lining from Paron's in NY (age approximately 1 month).

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I left off the pockets. In seam pockets are not my friend - they tend to make me look a little thicker in an area no one needs to look thicker. I underlined my eyelet with the turquoise cotton and cut them as one. Rather than deal with binding off the neckline, I decided to just cut the facings anyway and treat the dress as unlined. It was just easier since I assumed this was a wearable muslin.

It's actually just a wearable dress. Always a nice surprise.

These fabrics are of a heavier weight than the Liberty I intend for future iterations of this dress, so I may use wider seam allowances next time.

Interestingly, though Burda mentions in the description that this is an A-line dress, they pose the model in the PHOTO so that the fullness in the skirt isn't evident. I might taper it in just a smidge next time, depending on how I like the flare in a lighter cotton.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I'll be sewing this one again. Much as I love more complex patterns, sometimes simple IS better. My rectangle shape responds well to A-line and shift dresses and it's a quick, nicely fitted pattern. I'd recommend it, both for beginners who want to tackle Burda, and for more experienced sewists who need a quickie project with a good result.

Conclusion: Start to finish - tracing to pressing - this dress took me 90 minutes. It's not rocket science, but it is a cute dress.

Dress, Interrupted

I'm in a holding pattern on my black and white dress, and I needed to clear my head.  What's better than a quick knit top?  I got the June Burda on Saturday, and while it's not an exciting issue, it does have some good basics.  I decided to try out the fitted tshirt pattern, in the hope it would be as good as the 9/10 turtleneck pattern.  No such luck.  It's not bad, and it could be tweaked into being better, but it will not take the place of my favorite TNT KwikSew 3338.  Full patternreview here, and below. 

Pattern Description: From the magazine: This comfy t-shirt has a fitted cut and decorative stitching on neck and sleeve edges to make it truly special. What they don't mention: center back seam, invisible zip (in a knit?) and a NECK FACING?


Pattern Sizing: Burda sizes 34-44. I made a 38, my standard size in Burda knits.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? It looks more like the photo than the drawing, right down to the odd pulling across the front. I didn't expect that result on me - face it, the model is young, tall, thin and boobless. Whatever my end result, I didn't think it would be the same.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Having made a load of tshirts before from my favorite KwikSew 3338 pattern, I didn't read them until afterward. That was when I found out that although I was making a knit tshirt, I was supposed to sew a center back seam and insert an invisible zipper in a knit. Sure I was. Whatever the people at Burda are smoking, they didn't include any with my magazine subscription.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  I didn't really think I needed another tshirt pattern, but I'm about to trace my KS 3338 pattern onto cardboard because I've worn it to shreds, and I wanted to try out a new pattern just to see what it looked and felt like before I committed to using KS forever.

This hasn't changed my feelings for KS 3338. It's not a bad tshirt, and what attracted me was the more RTW cut (higher neckline, shorter sleeves) - and the flashback it gave me to my high school years when they first came out with what they called "French cut" tshirts. Anybody out there remember the revelation of tshirts that fit? That didn't look like you raided your brother's drawer? Indulging my nostalgia and trying out a new pattern that would only take an evening didn't seem like a bad idea.

Fabric Used: Rust/brown cotton jersey from Jomar in Philadelphia. I've had it in stash for a year or two, and when I finished the shirt last night, I looked in my closet to find a skirt to pair it with today and there were at least 4. I'm consistent in my colors, if nothing else.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: When I looked at the line drawing, I somehow missed the center back seam and zipper, which was good because then I would have had to knowingly ignore it. What I did notice was that they had included front and back neck facings. On a tshirt. I guess that's the "decorative stitching" they mentioned in the description, but I have never understood the point of facings in knits if there's any way around it. I cut a strip of fabric and made a neck band like I would on my normal pattern.

Other than that, I assembled it like a normal tshirt: reinforce shoulder seam, sew shoulder seam, insert neck band, sew sleeves in flat, sew side seams from sleeve hem to shirt hem. Coverstitch hems. Wear.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I don't think I'll sew this EXACT shirt again. I haven't determined if it's a pattern drafting issue or maybe a fabric issue (my knit was a bit drapier than I realized before I cut into it), but there's a bit of pulling across the upper chest (not across the boobage, where I'd expect it) and a little bit of drag under the arms. It looks like it would be solved by taking in the side seams, but that would turn this into a different shirt, and that wasn't the intent. I'm 47; I'm not heading for a tight tshirt contest this summer.

Conclusion: Not a bad pattern, just requires a little more tweaking to get the fit I want. I may simply combine the useful and classic neckline and shorter sleeve length with the body of my standard KS 3338. At some point I'd like to lay the two patterns out together and see what the differences are, especially in the underarm/upper bust area. When I get around to that, I'll update the review to show the differences in the pattern.

Serious Ruffles

Finally, I can post pictures of this one and call it done!

It's actually been done for a while, but there were several reasons it didn't get worn and photographed. First off, it was just so hideously hot that I couldn't imagine wearing it and feeling all wilted before I even got to work. Okay, so I still could have photographed and posted about it, but I really didn't think it was a job for Mario and the white wall in the living room.

So here is where I offer thanks to my staff photographer, Andrea. She knows she'll the same from me.

There are more details (and some extra photos) in the patternreviews, so if you're interested, here's the skirt and the jacket.

As far as the skirt is concerned, I covered its origins in a post called Once Upon a Time - once upon a time I made a skirt, loved it, outgrew it and gave it away. Rather than regretting its loss, I decided that, since my skills and ability to fit are better now than they were when I made the skirt, I should just make a new, better skirt.

One that fit.

So I did. The skirt is my basic pencil skirt pattern, which started out life as a BWOF skirt and has been tweaked a few times to make me happy. The not-exactly-ruffled edging is lifted from BWOF 7/10 #125. By not-exactly-ruffled, I mean that those aren't ruffles. They're circles, cut, pinked and folded, and then sewn on. The bottom row was pinned and sewn on by machine, but I didn't like the look of the machine stitches, so for the second row, where the points would be visible, I sewed them all on by hand.

All together, that's 81 circles. Plus 6 more on the jacket pockets, if you're keeping track.

I love how it looks. I love ruffles, but I don't necessarily like how I look in them; I just don't strike me as frilly. Done in a non-frilly fabric, they suit me just fine.

The jacket - can you call it a jacket when it doesn't have sleeves? - is McCall 5859, a pattern I've liked since I saw Kisha's version last year. When I tried hers on, I even liked the sleeves, though I thought maybe they weren't quite me. But I cut them out and sewed them on anyway, and then, of course, I changed my mind, and off they came.

Which meant that I couldn't sew the lining in the way I wanted to, because the shoulder seams were already sewn, so I ended up attaching the lining at the armholes and hem by hand.

When I cut out the jacket, I cut all the pattern pieces, because I knew there wouldn't be any fabric left over if I decided later I wanted to add pockets, and of course, like removing the sleeves, I didn't decide I wanted to add the pockets until after the lining was sewn in. So the pockets got sewn on very, very carefully by hand.

In other words, there ended up being one hell of a lot of hand sewing in this outfit, considering that the bulk of it was machine-sewn.

But my mother always told me I had the patience of a snake when it came to getting what I wanted, and apparently I really wanted this outfit done, and done a certain way.

Another nice thing about the jacket is the collar. It's two piece, but not your normal collar and lapel. First off, the lapel is a separate piece, and the collar is separate from the lape. If you look at the jacket closeup you can see that the collar lays on top of the lapel instead of being sewn into it, like a normal evil Burda collar. I think it adds something to it, though I might change the size or shape next time I do it.

The body of this jacket is definitely getting filed away for further use. I'm pretty happy with the overall fit, the peplum is more flattering on me than I thought it would be - maybe becuase it covers any natural peplum I may have? - and I think once I draft a sleeve that doesn't make me want to scream, I'd be willing to make this up in a completely different fabric.

I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend, with lots of sewing getting accomplished. I've been a domestic goddess of a different sort for most of the weekend - repairing my concrete front steps, clearing out the garden, doing a lot of cleaning - but I can hear the siren song of the sewing machine, calling me . . .

Burda July Preview

Okay, who are you and what have you done with Burda?

After a stunning, almost year-long run of bland (at least in my eyes), Burda has come back strong in recent months. May had that fabulous collection of plus-size dresses, and June had another 4 garments I wanted to make. Only one, the so-called "saggy boob" dress, has been finished, but I'd like to get to a few more before the next issue comes out.

Except now, according to the preview recently posted, Burda has added another couple of things to my endless list of things I want to sew.

And what they've come up with this time . . . am I alone in thinking that they've been possessed by Patrones or La Mia Boutique? Except, of course, for the bizarre fashion photography, especially in the "college" spread, which is classic Burda.

Some of this stuff, while interesting, may or may not be wearable by this 40-something body. I'm reserving judgment on a few designs until I see the line drawings.

I'm liking the leather jacket at right. I've got some leather put aside that has mentally worked its way through at least 4 patterns. It would be nice to finally use it. And I like the side zip. Wonder if Burda calls it "witty" or if they've come up with another word.

I'm not sure about my feelings for the two white dresses. The one-shoulder one has the potential to be stunning, but I want to see how it's constructed before I commit. The other one, with the straps and gathers and shaping in the middle, could be one of two things. "Oh, what a great dress," or "watch out, she's gonna blow!"

I'm really afraid things just wouldn't stay put in that one. The one-shoulder drape looks like it could conceal some serious structural components, if need be. And there would be need.

The dress at the bottom feeds into my usually unrequited love of fluffiness. I like ruffles. I like girly fluffy dresses. I just think I look ridiculous in most of it. That dress, however, is more gathered than fluffy, and while ruffles abound in the "romantic" section, especially the ruffle-shoulder blouse, which the Selfish Seamstress has so satisfyingly mocked already, I think I could carry that off. The neckline is severe enough that it counterbalances any excess fluff.

In the realm of wearable ruffling, I'm thinking that I'm going to try out that first skirt above. Not the pink ruched wonder, the more straightforward skirt at the top with all the busy-ness located at the hem. Which is not to say I won't tinker with the length and shape of the skirt to suit me; it's the frou-frou that I like, and I can put that on any kind of skirt.

Possibly I've developed advanced mind-reading skills on my sewing journey, and the reason that gray pinstriped, ruffled skirt has been on my mind is Burda was about to give me this? No? I knew you were going to say that.

There has been sewing going on, but until tonight, nothing particularly interesting. I didn't have a project started, so when I felt like sewing I forced myself to do some pieces for next year's craft show.

Tonight I couldn't take it any more, and I took one of my new pieces of fabric - yes, there's been some shopping going on - and I turned it into a pencil skirt. Burda has a pencil pattern for every fabric, and this one was completely plain, for my fabric that . . . wasn't. Pictures to follow, hopefully soon.

Shades of Gray

Now that spring is finally here, you'd think I'd be sewing in spring colors. Right?

Wrong.

Last night I finished off the last of my theater sewing, and I dropped the costume off this morning. Enjoyed making this one, but as always when it's not for me, I'm glad to see the back of it.

This afternoon, I locked myself away in the workroom and finished Mario's Burdastyle vest before it became a UFO, and then I made a top for myself using BWOF 8/2007 #105. I even used the same striped jersey as the original - how boring is that?

This was not the top I intended to make today, but I had a small stash avalanche, and this was what fell out on top. It reminded me of the original top in the magazine, which I had photocopied and stuck the picture on an envelope, but never traced out. Easily remedied.

Start to finish, including random dumb mistakes and getting the center fronts to not quite line up several times, I traced, cut and sewed this puppy today.

Since it was a Burda pattern, I felt free not to look at the instructions, especially when I saw on the cutting layout that they wanted me to make a facing strip. I hate facings on knits; I can never get them to stay put properly, and I just didn't see the point for a top this low cut to have even more issues with my neckline.

Instead, I cut a strip of the striped fabric on the cross grain, so it didn't have much stretch, but did have interesting striping, and sewed it along the edge of the neckline. I also thought it might stabilize the stretch somewhat and avoid spillage, but I'm not so sure. I could still cause an incident in this one if I lean over too far.

Here's the full patternreview for the top.

And on to the vest. It's finished. He likes it. I'm pleased it's finished and more pleased that he likes it, but I don't really like it.

Despite using this pattern thinking it would work on his body shape due to the Selfish Seamstress' issues with its fit on her man, it didn't fit mine properly either!

It was still too big. I cut a 52 (equivalent to a 40" chest, which is what he has) and it's definitely roomy. You can't see it in the photos, and I told him he has to keep it buttoned up, but I snugged the vest over when I sewed the buttons on so there's a bit of extra fabric underneath that is totally not right. But I wasn't going to rip it open and alter it, and I wasn't gonig to scrap it, so the other alternative was to make it fit him and ask him to keep it closed.

And also to kindly keep his hands out of his vest pockets, if he can at all help it. The welts mostly worked, but I would worry about their stability in the long run if he shoved his hands in there like he does to his jeans.

Here's the patternreview for his vest.

So now that's two tops done to the Month of Tops sewalong, and near-UFO finished for Mario.

On to the next project, which is . . . hopefully something that looks like spring. The lilacs are blooming in my back yard, and I have a big jar of them sitting in the sewing room, perfuming the air. Maybe that will inspire me to lighten up my colors and make something that says "April."

I'm Done!!!!

I don't usually use that many exclamation points, but that's just how glad I am that THE DRESS FROM HELL is finished.

Here's the story behind this project: My friend Adam is not a normal guy. He was raised by his mom, his grandmom and his aunt, and he is the man every woman wants - cute, well-mannered, responsible, employed, clothing-conscious and animal-loving. When he finally found the girl of his dreams (who is almost worthy of him), he decided that if they couldn't run away to Europe to get married, they had to have a formal wedding. The invitation said "black tie strongly encouraged." Adam says that too many of his friends go around dressed like homeless people, and he wanted to see them looking nice for once. Not surprisingly, almost everyone was into the idea. I started planning as soon as I found out what color the bridesmaids were wearing - I didn't want to inadvertently look like one of the bridal party.

Adam is getting married next Friday, therefore, I've known about this occasion for some time. I've even had the fabric for some time. (Okay, more than some time - I bought it in February). I waffled several times about what pattern to use and finally decided on McCall 4444, which is technically a sundress pattern, but when I made it back in July, it seemed like it had great potential as a dressier dress. And it did, thank all the sewing gods, who occasionally conspired against me and demanded more than their normal measure of blood, sweat and swearing.

For some reason, I decided that this outfit had to be perfect. That meant no short cuts and no ignoring mistakes just because non-sewers wouldn't notice them. Perfect, or at least done correctly, so I had to face a long-standing sewing fear and learn how to put in an invisible zipper. Once I got the hang of it, it wasn't difficult at all and now I want to put them in everything and I'm smacking myself for all the times I cheated and put in a regular zipper, and tried to ignore that it didn't look right.

The dress started out in a different color - I got a really pretty copper taffeta from fabric.com, but it turned out to be crackly taffeta, as in cheap prom dress crackly taffeta. When I went looking for replacement fabric, they had this cocoa silk shantung for not much more $$. Not only is it gorgeous but I don't sound like I'm wearing plastic grocery bags in this dress. It doesn't crackle, it rustles. Much better.

The jacket (Burda 7987) was an afterthought, actually - I bought 2 yards of this embroidered home dec fabric to match the original copper; then I decided I didn't like it; then I decided to use it as a jacket because it's a November wedding and I was wearing a backless dress. To me there's something very Elizabethan about it. Maybe it's the stand-up collar, or the richness of the fabric. The collar is great - it's got 10 small pleats from the side to the back of the neck to give it shape, and even though it was a bear to put together and iron into submission, the end result was worth it.

The dress took more patience than the jacket, somehow. This is supposed to be an unlined sundress. It's not, obviously. I ended up lining it, because I didn't think silk shantung would make it through a wedding mass without creasing. To give the bodice a bit more body, I ironed a light-weight interfacing to the lining. I was afraid to iron it to the fabric, just in case it showed. But once I'm in the dress, the fabric and the lining become one, and the interfacing adds just enough structure. The lining had to be sewn in by hand, because the silk shows every single stinking pin and needle mark, and if I'd managed to keep the exterior clean up to that point, I wasn't marring it because of a lining. So it's stitched along the zipper and along the top of the bodice, very carefully, on the seam allowance just below the seam so there was no possibility of stitches showing.

You know what? Doing everything right is freaking exhausting! I went to the pre-wedding serenade last night and told the bride and groom that they could, indeed, be married next Friday because I would not be attending the ceremony in my underwear. Instead, I'll be wearing this, complete with dyed-to-match shoes.

The shoes are beautiful, but somewhat of a sore point. When I picked them up, a customer complimented me on them and asked, "Are you the mother of the bride?" I almost choked. "No," I say. "Oh, mother of the groom. That's lovely."

Can't I just be an overdressed guest? Do I have to suddenly have a 20-something child? It took all my strength not to snap at the woman who, after all, didn't mean anything by her remark. I just generally choose to believe I don't look my age, and I don't look kindly on those who assume that I have children old enough to be married.