Burda 2.2024 #114

There are two jean jacket styles in the February 2024 Burda magazine. One is this kind of stripped down view, and the other has a collar, flaps on the breast pockets, and sleeves that gather into the cuff. I made the stripped down version, adding the collar. It's great to have a classic pattern like this all fitted and ready to go for whatever fabrication strikes your fancy.

line drawing

It was this issue that convinced me that I wanted to subscribe to Burda again after taking a Burda break for many years, and it was because of this pattern. It wasn't a guarantee that the subscription would start in time to get this particular issue, but lucky for me, it did!

Fabric: this is the first cut to be used from my Miss Matatabi order. Everything in that order is sooo nice, lovely quality, and their shipping was ultra fast. This fabric is a kind of mysterious taupe/celadon/celery color cotton, with woven-in off white dots. The weave was kind of spongey and there was more drape than you want for a jean jacket, so it was underlined with batiste. That provided just a tad more oomph and is so soft next to the skin.

back - the seaming doesn't show much in this photo

Sizing and alterations: traced a 44 for the neck and shoulders, blending to a 46 at the base of the yoke. 46 sleeve. All the torso pieces were lengthened 1", the sleeve shortened by 1", and the bust fullness lowered about 3/4".

Cutting out: it was a real puzzle figuring how to lay out the pattern pieces on the fabric it order for them all to fit and it took hours and hours. Everything was originally traced with 5/8" seam allowances, and I had to go back and reduce them all to 3/8". When that was done, I could just barely get everything cut out except the undercollar. A leftover piece of linen from another project that was really close in color supplied that piece.

almost zero waste

Details: I debated a long time about how visible to make the topstitching and finally decided to keep it low-key. Plain silver buttons kind of recall snaps and look right to me.

gentle shaping, not totally boxy

There is a lot of sewing involved in a jacket like this and a nice feeling of accomplishment when it is all done. I love my little dotty jacket and know that it will get worn often.  AND, this fills in one of my Make 9 squares: "make something from the current Burda".

Style Arc Logan Shacket

Why this project? Lighter jacket weather is on its way. This fabric was bought a year ago with a differnt jacket in mind. At first it was meant for the Sewing Workshop Haiku, then later on their Tremont. A window display convinced me that a little less volume would be a good idea. I like back details, like Logan's curved yoke, so it was my pick.

One day those display grids will be stored someplace else

Sizing: straight size 16 based on my full bust measurement.

Fabric: heavy but loosely woven cotton with a lot of texture. Too ravelly for the felled seams intended. I ended up serging and topstitching. It's warmer than I expected and that's a good thing.

to show the texture

Alterations/Modifications: lengthened 1" at the hem. Eliminated the sleeve turn ups by shortening the sleeves 3". The chest pockets are really oversized, so I cut them out without the seam allowance, which reduced the width of each pocket by 3/4". No fancy fitting alterations!

Results: It's a versatile jacket. I really like it and am already wearing it a lot. If I had known how much I wad going to like it, I would have done a Hong Kong finish on the seams.

What's good about the pattern: It's a loose jacket so there didn't need to be a lot of fitting done. It was a little surprising to see how high the sleeve cap was for a style with an extended shoulder, but Style Arc got it right. Those sleeves hang nice and straight with no excess folds or twisting. 

What's bad about the pattern: Not really a pattern fault, but there is a collar stand and that needs to be taken into consideration when choosing the fabric. Mine was thick enough that even though construction of the stand was not a problem, putting a buttonhole in it was. In the end I left the button on the stand but picked out the buttonhole. It would never be worn buttoned all the way up, anyway.

back with deep curved yoke

Denouement: One day I hope to get a photo of myself wearing the jacket to update this blog entry. Meanwhile I wanted to get it written while it was still fresh in my mind. If shackets stay in style, I could see making another one. This would be so nice in a plaid with the yoke on the bias, or with some other treatment that brings more attention to that curved seam.

Aria Saga

Why? It is time to perfect a new basic shirt pattern. Influenced by influencers on Instagram and YouTube, and because I've been having good results with their knit tops, I decided to try Love Notions Aria.

Sizing: Love Notions has you select your size by your upper bust measurement and then choose between their standard bust or full bust front pieces depending on the difference between your upper bust and full bust. My measurement put me between a Medium and a Large, so I went with the Large standard bust for the first shirt. The finished garment measurements given with the pattern looked fine.

Fabric: lightweight crisp cotton chambray for the first, a more coarsely woven cotton for the second.

Alterations/Modifications: Foolishly, I cut and sewed the first one without making a muslin. Because this isn't a fitted garment, and because I'd been having good results from this pattern line, I thought I could forge ahead and that small tweaks would fix any issues. That was so wrong. 

A try-on of the first shirt without sleeves was surprising. The fit across the upper chest was more snug than I like, but acceptable. That all changed when the sleeves were set in. I thought I took a picture, but maybe I was too upset. The sleeves were all bunched up under the arm, and the front of the shirt would no longer overlap. What a mess. I tried scooping out the armscyes which helped a bit with the bunching, but there still would have been no way to button the shirt.

However, the back of the shirt did not hang up on my tush. This has been a huge point in Love Notion's favor and has been true of the other patterns of theirs that I've made. Because of that, I decided to try again. This time I picked the full bust piece, which included a dart. (One of the other disappointments with shirt #1 were the folds that draped from bust apex to hip.) And I made a muslin.

What a mess.

Not only was the bust point way low, but look at the weird folds around the armscye and the poor fit of the sleeve in general. There was also pulling across the chest from the armpit, like you sometimes get in tee shirts that don't fit. When I released the basting at the top of the sleeve cap, the folds in the sleeve improved. The sleeve cap as drafted is pretty flat. I needed to add about an inch in height.

Here is the strange shape of the armhole. The pulls were coming from the point of the notch, where that odd angle is. Maybe this is typical of patterns for full-busted figures? Feeling frustrated, and with nothing to lose, I decided to redraw the armscye, adding fabric to fill in that weird angle and scooping out to accommodate the extra height I was adding to the sleeve cap.

Huh?

red line shows new shape

That helped.

Results: I completed shirt #2, the pink one, with all the changes, and will wear it. In the photos it doesn't have buttons yet, because I want pink buttons and only have white. It will take a while to find pink ones. I also removed the sleeves (that I had done such a good job on) from shirt #1 because it would be wearable sleeveless. Had to make darts in the armhole because of gaping, and finished those edges with bias tape. I really wanted the sleeves, but at least the shirt isn't a total loss.

left off the buttons towards the neck where it is tight on me

deep back yoke and pleat

no sleeves, alas
The pattern has square corners on the cuffs, I prefer them rounded

What's good about the pattern: Doesn't hang up on the tush! Also, the pattern has excellent instructions for making the sleeve placket and I got my best results ever using their pattern piece and instructions. This alone was worth the price of the pattern.

What's bad about the pattern: I had to do more work fitting this pattern than any other I can remember, including redrafting the sleeve and armscye.

Conclusion: Because of the drastic redrafting I had to do, and because I don't have a lot of confidence in my drafting, and because of the voluminous fit, this is not going to be my new basic shirt. I'm just glad that in the end I didn't totally waste my time and fabric.

shirt #2, better than shirt #1 but not perfect.

pieced the back yoke to make chevrons

Love Notions Coda

 Deadline sewing is usually not a good idea for me, but circumstances lined up just right to try to make a warm layer before some predicted cold weather arrives. There was a leftover chunk of heavy French terry in the stash, and there was the Coda Coat pattern that I wanted to check the fit on. The terry has zero stretch so the fact that it’s a knit wouldn’t make a difference. 

So here’s a Coda, size L at the shoulders and bust (used the standard bust piece) blended to an XL at the hip. It was lengthened 1-1/2 inches and there is a 3/8 inch forward shoulder adjustment. Added some additional length for a hem. Left off the sleeves to make a vest.

This works just fine with a center zipper, but there is not enough overlap to use a button or snap closing. One day I would like to make the pattern as it was intended, so maybe check out the full bust piece and see if that would solve the problem before making it again. I know how the hips and body fit, now.

The collar is just a rectangle the length of the neckline, after the center front was extended up to make a round neck. (And seam allowances added.)

I made good use of my sewing feet for the topstitching and also did plenty of hand basting, which paid off.  

Critiquing my work, I’d say that the armholes are a little too big, but that means it can be worn over bulky and oversized layers, so I’m not really bothered. 

Bring on those cold temperatures!

2024 Challeng-ettes

 Making new year's resolutions is a sure way to doom and disappointment, in my experience. But it's still useful to take advantage of the fresh new year to examine old habits and think of ways to shake yourself up a little. With that in mind, here's a "Make 9" grid I put together for myself, with 8 itty-bitty challenges that should be easy and fun to accomplish.

1. Stripe Play - do something with stripes besides matching them across the front. Maybe some fancy miters, chevrons, or something like that.

2. Upcycle/Recycle - use salvaged fabric, from something I never wear or some other pre-used source.

3. Fabric Paints - over a year ago I treated myself to a bunch of fabric paints and have yet to use them. This could end up being potato prints or watercolor-like paintings or anything in-between, made into a garment.

4. Current Burda - Sewing magazines do not reach perfection after sitting in the cellar for years. Sew something from the current Burda Style.

5. Wild Card - got to leave room for a whim!

6. Current Ottobre - same as #4, different magazine.

7. Print Garment - would a floral kill me? I am not usually a print girl, so this will be a little bit of a stretch.

8. Copycat - some of my most fun projects have been copies of inspiration pieces. Do it again in 2024.

9. Take a Class - support at least one pro out there by taking their class and learning something new!

Sounds like a fun year to me. What are your plans?

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.

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