BWOF 02/2009 - 129 top

Hooray, internet access has been restored!  Trena commented that she would get more sewing done without the internet and I would have thought so too, but I actually found the opposite to be true - I need the inspiration and motivation that I get from the web to get me into my sewing room.

However I did finish the top so without further ado, here it is;

You may notice that I ended up changing the neck and sleeve treatment from the earlier photos. This was because I had indeed not followed the directions properly and also I had a big problem with my shirring elastic which shredded. I don't know if this was because it was poor quality or if I zig zagged too close to the elastic, but I decided make a casing for some narrow elastic instead which solved both problems and didn't interfere with the overall look of the top.

Here is how you are supposed to do the neckline in case it's confusing (it's easy if you actually read the full instructions, unlike me!)  The instructions tell you to neaten the neck and sleeve edges with closely spaced zig zag stitching and refers you to style 123. I skipped flipping to style 123 (it annoys me when they do that to save 2 lines of type) and just neatened the raw edges with my serger, applied the shirring elastic on the indicated lines and then realised that turning the seam allowance created a wavy mess. If you go to style 123 it says you should neaten the raw edges with closely spaced zigzag, then turn the seam allowance and zig zag again close to the fold then trim which presumably cuts off the neat edge you just made. ?? Then you would also have your two rows of zigzag stitching to attach the shirring elastic. I would experiment with your fabric and see what finish you prefer, like I did here;

Other than that I made no changes, except sizewise I found for me that the given finished width of the neck was too big and the sleeves to small so definitely check the fit before you finish the elastic.

Next I am going to make a simple skirt to coordinate (I know, astonishing for me isn't it!) with this top in this borderprint sheer fabric.

Technical Hitch

Just a quick post from my office to say that we have lost all our internet access at home so it may be a bit quiet over here for a while. I hope it gets fixed soon, I am lost without it. Good job the sewing machine is still working!

Another February 09 BWOF

Next up in my continuing series of totally random garments is the exclusive design top from February's BWOF - 129. As many have already said this is a great issue, it was hard deciding what to try next.
I made a quick muslin of this one to check the fit at the bust primarily and made an FBA as shown in the black shaded area below.  

The final version is in an olive washed silk from the stash and I plan to make some items that go with this top for a kind of safari inspired mini wardrobe that BWOF is so fond of. It's starting to warm up here and today is really humid so I'm already thinking ahead to summer.

This is an interesting pattern and it's coming together pretty well although I don't think I followed the directions for finishing the neck edges correctly (more on that later when I have worked out what I should have done!). Here is a sneak preview;

Thank you all for the comments on the LBD, I'm glad I have enabled you to try this pattern. To answer some of the comments;

- Carolyn, I agree there is absolutely nothing wrong with having 12 of these dresses, as long as I sew something different now and again!
- Audrey, please tell me more about these special sewing trips to Hong Kong, that sounds like my kind of job!!

BWOF 02/2009 - 124 dress

Alternative titles for this post;

The Carolyn TNT dress.

The easiest dress I have ever made.

Seriously, what a great dress pattern this is!  The dress was so easy to make that I really have nothing to say about the construction at all, but the cut and fit are great.  No sleeves, no vent, just a simple versatile dress.  I can see this made up in different fabrics and being perfect for work, casual or cocktail wear and that's without even starting to think about embellishments.

For this version (and yes I am certain there will be more), I used an embroidered cotton from my stash, it has a slight stretch to it but you don't need stretch fabric for this pattern.  This version is unlined as I wanted to keep it as a simple cotton summer dress, although I think I could easily dress this up for a night out too.

Sizewise, I usually make a 38 with an FBA in wovens for BWOF, but I found (by the highly scientific pattern measuring system of holding the pieces up on my dressform) that this was not necessary for this dress so I made a straight 38, tapering out to a 40 in the hips.  Something to watch out for if you are petite up top!  

Really I highly recommend trying this pattern, I will have to exercise a lot of control not to end up with an entire closet full of these!

More pictures;

What I'm working on...

I'm currently working on this simple shift dress from the February issue of Burda - 124.  It's incredibly easy and coming together fast so I should be able to post about that tomorrow.  I'm calling it my Carolyn dress in honour of the blogger who taught me about the endless possibilities of a TNT dress. 
In other exciting, but scary news we have bought a flat here in Hong Kong.  Property prices have dived but are still insane so we will be moving from 2500 sq ft rental to a little over 1,000 sq ft.  I expect that sounds tiny to you guys, and it does to me too!  The move will mean a huge amount of decluttering is needed so I have been on a mission these last few days.  Now you won't appreciate this as much as me, having not seen the before pictures, but trust me, my sewing cupboard and wardrobe have been transformed!  Still lots to do but I will try not to let that get in the way of sewing!

And last but definitely not least, a big thank you to Josie and E for nominating my little old blog for the Kreativ Blogger award.  Check out their great blogs here;

Josie loves 2 sew

Story of E