BurdaStyle 5/2016 - 115 ; On Me

Our floor renovation is finished thank goodness, it was a far messier job than I had anticipated, the flat was an absolute bombsite, the cats were traumatised and both my husband & I got sick with allergies from the mountains of sawdust.  I love the finished look, but would not do it again in a hurry!

During, before & after.

So, as promised I've taken some photos of both the dress and top from my last post.  For some reason my camera did not like the colour of my dress at all, it is a teal green and I've had to lighten the photos quite a lot so you can see anything.

The only change I made to both pieces was to topstitch the neckline seam allowance down, it's definitely helped it sit better, but I think a higher neckline and a smaller neckband might work better.   I'm really glad I raised the neckline, it would be falling off my shoulders otherwise so watch out for this if you decide to make it.

The dress unbelted, I like it more than I thought I would.  Still need that long necklace though.

Belted.  I'm more comfortable wearing it like this, it has a very grecian draped dress look to it.

 I really doubt the cape effect back will stay on the shoulders long in real life wear.

Here is the top - you can see the neckband collapsing a bit more here which is why I think either thicker material or a narrower band would work better.

BurdaStyle 5/2016 - 115 Top and Dress

Thank you for the comments on my last dress, it's been a while since I got excited enough to make a BurdaStyle pattern straight away, but the last few months issues have been really good I think.

This pattern from the May magazine might not be everyones cup of tea, but it reminds me of the 5/2010 - 105 drapy dress I have made numerous times.  I wear those a lot in our hot, humid summers so was keen to try a variation on the theme.

5/2016 - 115 A & B

I started with my usual Burda size 38, grading out to a 40 below the waist, but I ended up taking the  whole side seam in by at least a size, otherwise the armhole was way too low. and there is plenty of ease.  I also raised the front neckline (and shortened the neckband) as it looked a bit wide and low to stay in place on me.

This is a very easy top and dress to make and the sleeve detail adds a bit of interest.  The pattern pieces look like a giant t shirt, but the instructions are clear and as long as you remember that what looks like a shoulder seam is actually the armhole it's plain sailing.

The top is made from a panel print jersey that I'd originally intended to be used for a dress, but the dimensions of the panel were too tricky to make that work so I'm glad to put it to use as a drapy top instead.  I think this will work great with jeans and wedges for a casual look or dressed up with a pencil skirt and heels.

I really liked the look of the dress in the magazine and decided to make it up in a similar teal coloured jersey, despite reservations that the sack shape wouldn't really work on me - I figured I could always cut it down to a top.  I think I will keep it as a dress, I definitely prefer it with a belt, but I will get a long necklace and try that out too.

 You can see the "cape sleeve" detail better in this solid colour.

I'm currently trapped at home all week while contractors replace our floor throughout the apartment so these are only dress form pics for now, taken at night after they had left so they are a bit dark.  Everything is in a complete mess and covered in dust from having to make all our doors shorter and cutting planks of wood,  my cats are traumatised and I'm not enjoying it much either, but I know it will look good once it's over and I will take some modelling shots then.