Burda Curvy 1.2023 #405

 Buttons came via fast Wawak shipping so this cardigan could be completed in 2023. I like it very much and it is nice to end the year with a win!

A few years ago, it seemed like a subscription to Burda Curvy would be a good idea. I thought I would be able to use the smallest size for tops and that the plus sized pants would be even easier to fit than the largest sizes in Burda's regular draft. This proved to be wrong. When I finally got around to making one of the patterns, even the smallest (usually a 46) tops were sloppy and way too big in the upper body. I still had hopes for the pants, but Burda must have changed their blocks or drafts or something from the days when they published a magazine called Burda Plus (which I used to have very good luck with). The current pants have heaps of accommodation for curves in the front, but not in back. They never sat right on my body. It is easier and I get a better fit by grading the standard size patterns up.

This style is a basic cardi with a dropped shoulder, front button band that wraps around and hugs the neck, buttoned patch pockets. The back is longer than the front and there are little vents in the side seams. Sleeves end in cuffs. It looks like a mess in the magazine photos, but the line drawing showed elegant and clean lines.

This pattern started at size 46, but it is practically all rectangles and easy to grade down. My method was simple: when you look at all the lines for the different sizes nested inside each other on the pattern sheets, it is easy to visualize where the next smallest line would lie and where corners and intersections would be - at least within 1/8 of an inch, and that is close enough for rectangles.

wrong side used for
bands and cuffs

After tracing out my theoretical 44, I pivoted the front and back pieces out below the sleeve when cutting, a la Nancy Zieman, so there would be enough hip room. 

This strategy worked well - those front bands hang nice and straight up and down when I'm wearing this - no splaying. It is buttoned up for the photo shoot, but will be worn open all of the time, I'm sure. The only fitting note for myself is that the sleeves are too long. Measure if this gets made again.

The fabric is a black and brown patterned ponte. Very sober! But I think it will get plenty of wear.

uneven hem & vent

Construction notes: Linda Lee has suggested leaving ponte seams unfinished, not even serging them. They are not going to fray. I decided to cut very neatly and take her advice. Not only did it make the sewing go very quickly, but the seams seem extra soft and fluid because of it. The pockets were stitched on by hand for the same reason - topstitching them on by machine would have given more structure to the fronts and broken up the flow.

So I did not renew the subscription to Burda Curvy. But a Christmas present subscription to the regular Burda Style, or whatever it is called now, is in the works. I'm sure to enjoy getting the magazine even if I don't sew much from it. Will evaluate this time next year.

If you are reading this, best wishes to you and yours for a very happy 2024!

Knipmode 3.2016 #15

I really like oversized shirts and wanted to make one to wear at home with stretchy pants and be comfy, comfy, comfy. Going through my patterns and magazines didn't turn up anything that was right until I got to my few issues of Knipmode. They had one that looked like it would be perfect without modifications.

This shirt has a collar with a little half stand like I've sewn before in some Burda shirts and jackets. Drop shoulder. Sleeves are 3/4 length with cuffs and plackets. Big in-seam pockets and also a couple of patch pockets on the back (I decided to just use one). Shirt-tail hem. There's a center back seam, but it doesn't have any shaping.

Construction was straightforward. Good thing, because these magazines are in Dutch! I made it pretty much exactly like the original design, referring to the line drawing to see the details on the topstitching. The only alteration was blending out from a 44 to a 48 at the hip.

The result was very satisfying! The shoulders sit very nicely and the sleeves hang without a lot of folds under the arm or twisting - that's a problem I often have with extended or drop shoulders. I like the length, too.

patch pocket in the back

placket & cuff

selfie time

The hardest part of this project was finding buttons. Little shirt size buttons just wouldn't look right on something as oversized as this. Sourcing buttons has gotten to be a challenge. I used to rely on Jo-Ann's. but now they carry mostly craft buttons and a few apparel buttons in black, white, and metallic. Then for a while there was a thrift shop where I could count on finding clothing with buttons to salvage, but they closed up.  Internet sources are problematic because you really want to see them against your fabric.

The experience makes me want to sew more Knipmode, so I'll be on watch for other things I can make from my issues. This pattern will no doubt be made again. Shirts are fun to change up with different yokes, collars, bands, etc.

I may complete one more project in 2023...if the buttons come in time.

.