Burda Style 10/2012 - 118 Dress

The first thing to note if you are making this dress is that (in my copy at least) there is a huge typo in the sewing instructions which is especially unfortunate given that it is the Sewing Course pattern.

The pattern pieces are the black lines on sheet B not A!  The instructions for the top versions are correct luckily - can you imagine trying to find the right pieces otherwise.  I think if you use sheet A you would end up with some kind of pants and a huge headache.

Once you have got that out of the way putting this dress together is very easy.  My sleeves are a bit long because I totally forgot to flare out the hem allowance (it even tells you to do this in the instructions) - since the sleeve itself is quite tapered if you don't flare it out then the hem allowance is too small - I just ended up taking a narrow hem.

I made this in a brown wool pinstripe which produces a slightly odd effect in that the front is on the bias and the back is on the straight grain, but I quite like it.  This will be a great dress for cooler weather, it reminds me of a woven version of the famous Vogue 1250 DKNY jersey cowl dress - just throw it on and you're good to go.  I've lightened all these photos so you can see the detail.



I have started a second version in the same cranberry wool that I made the previous skirt from and that gave me a lot more problems, I think because it has a slightly looser weave so the bias is more difficult to handle, in fact it is still hanging waiting to be hemmed.  More on that in my next post, for now here are photos of version 1.

Burda Style 08/2012 - 112 Skirt with Godet

I love pencil skirts and have a few already traced that I could easily use, but as I mentioned clearly I just get a thrill out of testing my eyes and patience on those Burda sheets.  This pattern is a bit of a twist on a standard pencil skirt though as it has a godet inserted in a side seam for a bit of swishy-ness.  I liked the asymmetrical look too.

I made this in a wool crepe which I am going to call cranberry colour, although it looks very orange-red here.

The pattern calls for a petersham ribbon waistband, but instead I just used an interfaced strip of fabric which is lazily just plonked on top the lining I added, stitched in the ditch from the right side for a fairly bulk free finish and held closed with a hook & eye.

The pattern is unlined, apart from the godet which has a smaller lining piece - a godet stay I suppose to help the skirt keep it's shape.  I decided to add lining and just used the same pieces (remembering - hallelujah! - to flip the front pattern pieces upside down) leaving the side seam open below the godet and just handstitching those edges to the godet stay.  It would look better if the godet stay was the same length as the lining, but the lining was a bit of an afterthought.  As was this photo - excuse the wrinkles!

I feel like I am getting ahead with fall sewing possibly for the first time ever!  Despite the (for me) bright colour I think this will work with a lot of pieces and end up being a versatile fall skirt.

Burda Style 10/2012 - 119 Knit top

Oh my I didn't mean to go awol for quite such a long time, after my UK trip I got my usual season changeover loss of mojo plus we decided to move apartments and it is only when you have estate agents and clients trooping through all the time that you realise what a messy business sewing can be.

In addition my old camera died and while the new one is undoubtedly superior I am still learning how to get it to focus less on my face and more on my clothes.  Also the self timer function is annoying - my old camera would do 3 shots at 10 second intervals, this camera either does one at a time or 10 within about a second which I am sure is great for photos of hummingbirds etc, but I just get 10 lousy shots of me instead of 1!

Anyway excuses excuses blah blah blah, let's just get on with it shall we and see if the photos improve over time, bear with me....

First up Burda 10/2012 - 119 jersey crossover top.  I probably already have at least 1 pattern like this somewhere but it seems I like to torture myself tracing new ones.

I made this with an odd shaped offcut of brown zig zap printed jersey.  It's a little loud and, well, zig-zaggy, but I think with a brown jacket on the top this will make a great fall outfit.

There really is nothing to say about the construction other than I raised the neckline about 1 inch and made the sleeve hem smaller due to fabric shortage, it's very straightforward to put together and dare I say that the instructions are even quite good!

 Ah it feels good to be blogging again, I feel more inspired to sew already!

Cowl top duo

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on my last post, I think you are right that I just need a bit of time away from it and to pep it up with some interesting accessories.  I tend to prefer wearing dresses because I recognise that I really am no good at putting separates together and I don't have a lot of skill with accessories either.

I also came to my senses and decided that rushing to make something new for the wedding I am attending would probably end in disaster.  In July, Erica B came to a similar conclusion for an upcoming event and grabbed a DKNY dress from her closet.  I have decided to do the same and hope some of her fabulousness wears off on me!  I even commented at the time which is why I can remember it.........

"AllisonC said...

You know whenever I have made something last minute I have not been truly happy with it. I generally adore DK patterns and this one looks fantastic on you."

I'm going to wear Donna Karan, Vogue 1159 a very similar dress to Erica's.  I'll try and get some decent photos at the wedding.

But, I still had to make something new to take so I have made two simple knit cowl tops using up some remnants in my stash.  I'm sure I could keep my stash much tidier without all these small half cut raggedy pieces.  Both needed a bit of creative piecing of the fabric scraps, but I managed it.

This one is a silk jersey, made using the famous Vogue 1250 Donna Karan (again!) dress, shortened to a top.  The jersey, which feels divine to wear is very drapy so I found I needed to stitch the neckline together a bit to control it.  To get it out of my small piece of fabric I added a centre back seam and a band at the hem, the busy print means you can hardly see these extra seams.

This grey top with metallic silver stripes was made using Burdastyle magazine 05/2012 - 110.  I started out with my usual size 38 and found it to be huge, I had to take it in at the side seams by a good 2 sizes to get the fit I wanted.  The short on fabric solution for this one is a back hem panel with the stripes going in the opposite direction.  Excuse the wrinkles!

Vogue 1303 Kay Unger dress

I made this simple Kay Unger dress recently and I have to say I am totally uninspired by it and I'm not sure why.  I like the fabric and I like the pattern, but the combination together is just very...blah.  If it wasn't for the hot pink lining I might even have dozed off while making it.  I'm thinking (hoping) it's just wrong for the summer and I'll like it better in the cooler weather with boots and a jacket.  Anyway a reminder of the pattern.....

I used a grey jacquard rose printed fabric and as I started working with it I knew I had to make a few changes as it became very soft and stretched like mad on the bias.  That middle pleated section is cut on the bias with a straight of grain stay underneath it - I had to cut off a lot of excess to get the bias piece to fit the stay.  At this point I hurriedly added fusible stay tape to the neckline and armscyes and decided not to make the little v in the front neckline.  I also had to take it in quite a bit at the side seams, but that may have been due to my growing fabric rather than an inconsistency with usual Vogue sizing.

This is the inside front on it's side, you can see the darker printed fabric at the bottom of the photo that I had to trim off the bias pleated front part - a good 3 inches!

I did like that this pattern has no facings, it's just lined to the edges.  I decided to add little cap sleeves, but if you make it sleeveless do make sure you ignore the instructions and instead keep the side and back seam open until after the lining is attached at the neck and armholes.  It's a much cleaner and easier finish, if you're not familiar with this method (like the Big 4 instruction writers apparently!) see Slapdash Sewist's excellent tutorial here.

Hot pink silk lining - aka dressmaking caffeine in this case

Here is the finished dress, it really doesn't help the boring-ness factor that you can hardly even see the only detail on the dress!

OK the post is over, you can wake up now!  Much more exciting is that I am due to go to a wedding in the UK in less than 2 weeks and I decided today that I did want to make a new dress for it after all, lets see how that crazy idea pans out.