Simple cowl-neck sweater dress

So as part of my aims for 2013 I want to make at least one pattern from each month's BurdaStyle magazine (preferably before that month is out!). Whilst not extortionate, the Burda subscription is not insignificant, and I definitely don't make the most of what I pay for it at the moment. However..... January is probably the most difficult month to start this as they always have the insane carnival costumes filling half the magazine. After much deliberation and reading through of reviews on Pattern Review and BurdaStyle Russia I settled on this quick project. Although I had to talk myself down from making the human centipede very hungry caterpillar costume:

Erm, just no.

Pattern description

BurdaStyle magazine 01/2013/123B. Simple straight-cut cowl neck tunic with extended shoulders forming cap sleeves.

Pattern sizing

34-42. I cut the 42 after measuring the pattern pieces. This worked out perfectly with the moderate stretch fabric I was using (if I was using a non-stretch fabric it would probably need to be graded up slightly over the hips).

Fabric used

Polyester-rayon-lycra mix animal print sweater-knit from Fabric.com, plus a scrap of black cotton jersey for the back neck facing and cowl weighting pouch.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope when you were done?

Yep.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

I actually only glanced at the instructions to make sure what I was going to do was what Burda suggested (it was), but they actually seemed pretty clear to me - although it would be impressive if they made them complicated with only 2 pattern pieces and a facing!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

This was SUPER fast to sew up (it took about 2.5hrs total, including tracing the pattern pieces) and surprisingly it fit fine with absolutely no pattern changes. Whilst probably not the absolute most flattering shape on me, it's comfy and can be dressed up or down.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made

For once, absolutely none! I decided against an FBA as cowl necks tend to have a fair amount of room at the front anyway, and this worked fine. Actually, I did make a tiny modification - I cut the back neck facing piece 1cm wider than the measurements given. As they have it, the facing piece ends up only 1cm wide when finished, which would be only just enough to cover the serger seams (especially with the slightly bulkier sweater knit I used).

Construction details

Very straightforward and the same order as the Burda instructions: attach back facing and topstitch down; finish cowl facing edge and sew shoulder seams; hem sleeve openings; sew side seams; hem bottom edge! I did everything on my serger (apart from the topstitching obviously). As my sweater knit is not super super drapey, I added a little pouch with a lead weight to the centre of the cowl facing to keep it draping better.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

It's pretty certain I will sew this again, not immediately as I have other things I want to make, but it will be a good "quickie" project between other more complicated things. One minor issue with this pattern is a familiar one for this shape of sleeve: side bra viewage. It's not too bad, but I might raise the bottom of the arm openings slightly next time so I can wear it comfortably without something underneath - as well as lengthening it an inch or two as it's pretty short on me. If I sew view A of this (the shorter "top" version) I would also probably shape the side seams at the waist a little so it's not too square without a belt.

I would definitely recommend it to others - it's a great project for beginners as it's so simple and quick to sew, without dealing with any fitting issues.

Conclusion

This is a great dress to sew up when you want something quick, simple and comfortable, and I think will be a versatile starting point for a variety of useful tunics and tops - as well as warmer sweater dresses like this, it will also be useful made in a lighter knit for the summer. This dress in particular I think will be worn a fair amount in the next few months - in fact I wore it out the night I made it to go to dinner and the cinema (this is the outfit in the photos here). Not a bad start to my Burda Challenge!

A silk Sorbetto

Yet another Sorbetto variation for me (See my previous versions here, here and here), made before the previous peplum top, but I'm very behind with my blogging. This one is back to the original shape, but without the front pleat. I used the fitting refinements at the hip that I made for the V&A Sorbetto, and remembered to finally add the seam allowance on the centre back... I'm not going to do a full on review for this, as I think you must know all my thoughts on the standard Sorbetto by now!

Part of my sewing plan is to make more pretty "going out" tops, so this was made to help fill that hole in my wardrobe. It's turned out to be quite versatile as it's cool enough to wear when it's warm (i.e. when summer returns, or currently in the overheated Swiss winter interiors), but also works for layering when it's cooler.

The fabric is a very lightweight silk crêpe de chine from Fabric.com with a lovely subtle sheen. It's actually slightly sheer, so I tend to wear it with a cami underneath - I didn't want to interline it as I didn't want to lose the fluidity. Although a little fiddly to sew as it's slightly "bouncy", because of the crêpe texture it's not too slippery, and it presses beautifully. (As an aside, I'm really quite hacked off with Fabric.com lately - has anyone else had problems with them? They used to be excellent, but now everything is so slow, and half the order has gone out of stock by the time they send it... Ah, I will save a whole post to rant I think!)

This top is sewn with French seams, and the neckline and arms are finished with bias strips. I missed off the side slits at the hip as I couldn't work out how to do them with French seams, but it would have actually benefited from having them. If you follow me on Twitter, you will already know that the binding was... fiddly. I wanted it fairly narrow, so I cut it 2cm wide: 1cm plus 2 x 5mm seam allowance. However, it didn't occur to me that the crêpe would be very very very stretchy on the bias, meaning it became very narrow as I sewed it. Urgh. This meant it was super hard to control when making the first pass to sew the binding to the bodice, and impossible to turn under and press as usual to sew the second pass by machine.

I ended up doing an awful lot of hand basting: sew the first pass by machine, right side of the binding to wrong side of the bodice, stretching slightly but not too much; press the binding away from the bodice; fold the binding to the outside and baste close to the fold; press; fold the edge under and baste; slipstitch down; remove basting; press. I didn't take any photos of this process. I was too busy swearing. At least the benefit of doing so much handsewing meant I could sit at the dining table and watch Masterchef whilst I did it...

The hem was also sewn by hand: pin up about 7mm; press, removing pins as you go; fold up again to enclose the raw edge and baste; press lightly; slipstich the hem, picking up only a couple of threads on the bodice each time; remove basting; press. I'm actually quite glad I ended up finishing it by hand, as it's pretty invisible so gives a very clean finish.

I used a couple of new techniques with this top. The first was using the walking foot for my machine. For the rest of the sewing I used the teflon foot, but when I was staystitching the neck and arms, I just couldn't get the tension and feed right when sewing a single layer and the fabric was just puckering up. The walking foot stopped this completely, but I think next time I will try using tissue paper to stabilise it whilst sewing, as I found the fabric very difficult to control with the walking foot, especially when sewing curves. Those who use them regularly: is this something inherent to walking feet, or is this just something I will improve at with practice?

The second new thing was a revelation. Normally when basting, I use cotton basting thread as it's super cheap, and breaks easily which is useful when removing it. However, it's also quite thick, so there's a limit to the smallness of the needle you can use before it is impossible to thread. Here, I wanted to use a fine needle with the delicate fabric, so I dug out the silk thread I'd bought ages ago for basting (partly after seeing that it is all Melissa uses), but had never used (mainly as it seemed very expensive to "waste" on basting). My goodness, I don't think I'll go back to cotton! It's so much smoother to use - none of the catchiness when pulling it through or removing it. Now I just need to find a reasonably priced source to buy more.

This top is definitely a success. It's super comfy to wear but also very pretty - it's had several outings already! I just need to remember to take some photos of me wearing it...

Happy New Year!

So, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday period, and you didn't have too much of a headache this morning. What did I do for New Year? I made a fondue and then went out into town for midnight - there was a big funfair at Plainpalais and soundstages and bars set up in the street. It was pretty fun and rather un-Swiss! Fireworks at midnight were provided by crazy Genevois. In the street.

Anyway, here's my obligatory sewing review of the year. Nothing as deep here as you might find on other blogs, but it's helpful for me to see all this in one place.

What I've made this year

• Yellow crepe wrap skirt
• Leopard-print Sorbetto
• Kitchen apron (not blogged, but seen here)
• Green and gold drape front cardie
• Green twill flat-front shorts (semi-wadder)
• Lace dartless dress
• Flowery pyjama shorts
• Black doubleknit tube skirt (not blogged)
• First try at mock-wrap knock-off dress
• Snake-print mock-wrap knock-off dress
• Leopard-print batwing top (not blogged, but seen here)
• Beige rayon knit batwing top (not blogged)
• Green crinkle gauze maxi skirt (not properly blogged, but seen here and here)
• Turquoise draped maxi skirt (semi-wadder, not blogged, but seen here
• Grey denim shorts (not blogged)
• Green pocket shorts (not blogged)
• Colette Patterns Jasmine blouse (muslined only, semi-wadder, not blogged)
• Burda narrow trousers (wadder, not blogged)
• Top for hiking (semi-wadder, not blogged)
• Blue rayon T-shirt remake (not blogged)
• V&A Liberty print Sorbetto
• Burda "smart" sweatshirt top, version 1 (semi-wadder, not blogged)
• Burda "smart" sweatshirt top, version 2 (wadder, not blogged)
• Silk Sorbetto (to be blogged shortly!)
• Cowl neck batwing top (not blogged)
• Angora lightweight circle scarf (not blogged)
• Matching aprons for my sister and nephew
• Cable-knit scarf for my sister
• Circular scarf for my dad
• Peplum top
• Yellow jersey tube skirt

What I've learned this year

• If I'm having "sewist's block" I need to just push through and do something, otherwise I can go months at at time faffing about what I want/need/can do.
• It is not a waste of time making myself nice clothes, even if I'm not the weight/shape I want to be.
• Keeping my sewing room tidy is very important.
• I need a forward shoulder adjustment.
• Silk basting thread is my new friend.
• I need to review my New Year sewing "resolutions" more frequently, so I don't forget about them!

How I've done with my plans for this year

• Tidy and organise my sewing room. I've actually done quite well with this. Nearly all my fabric has been sorted and folded neatly, my notions and other materials are sorted and stored and I have sorted out and catalogued all my patterns. There's a few things left to find a place for or to complete, and I have bought new ceiling lights but these are yet to put up - but overall the room is much more pleasant and easy to work in.
• Sew more coordinated garments (in a wardrobe sense). Again, I've done pretty well with this. Many of the items I've made are separates and have slotted into my regular wardrobe very well.
• Blog once a week. Hmm, this one wasn't so great. I managed reasonably well up until July, but then it was unfortunately rather sparse for several months, partly due to a horrible bout of sinusitis, right in the middle of the summer.
• Sew one item a fortnight. Well, although I've had big gaps in my productivity, there are 32 items in my list above, so this has technically been achieved!
• Sew at least one item from each new issue of BWOF. Not done so well with this one - I've actually only sewn five Burda items, and two of those were from a pre-2012 magazine. Oh, and four of the items were wadders. Hmm.
• Finish up each item before starting the next! Not too bad with this again. There were a few UFOs, but all of these were wadders (or on the path to be wadders), so it would have been unproductive to complete them. Generally though, I've been pretty good about finishing up each project and tidying away all the bits and pieces before starting the next one.
• Do some non-garment sewing. Nope.
• Sew a garment for someone else. Do aprons and scarves count?! I'm going to say yes so I can tick this one off. (Although I had been intending this to mean a dress for a friend and a shirt for my husband. Shh.)

What I plan to do in 2013

Several of these are continuations from last year.

• Blog once a week. This is mainly to keep me motivated to keep making things!
• Make an item once a fortnight. Fairly self-explanatory.
• Finish each item before starting something else. I was pretty good with doing this in 2012, so I will keep this up. It definitely contributes to more efficient and satisfying sewing.
• Take pictures of each garment as soon as it's done, and take more pictures of me wearing my clothes. Looking at my list, I realise how many of the things I made haven't been properly blogged, and this is nearly always because I haven't taken pictures of them yet. I will take more pictures of the things I make, including in progress and me wearing them - not least because this helps with my learning process and evaluation of what I'm doing.
• Continue sewing mostly wardrobe-builders. Really thinking about how the things I'm sewing will fit into my wardrobe has meant I get much more wear out of the things I make.
• Make at least one pattern from BurdaStyle magazine each month. Although I made a few garments in 2012, I'm still not making the most of my subscription. There are plenty of patterns I love in Burda, and now I'm getting better at fitting and adjusting patterns, I have no excuse to not make more.
• Declare a moratorium on pattern buying. With the exception of my Burda subscription, I plan to not buy any more patterns for at least six months (preferably the whole year). When I sorted out my patterns, I realised just how many I have (hint: way too many), so there is unlikely to be a reason to buy new ones for a very long time!
• Declare a moratorium on fabric buying too. I have a feeling this one will be much harder to stick to, as although I nearly always buy fabric with a planned garment in mind, I am very good at coming up with a planned garment for most fabrics... I have a pretty good variety of most fabrics in my stash, so unless there is something that is absolutely vital to a make, I will attempt to talk myself down from fabric purchases.
• Get back into swimming regularly. Whilst this isn't obviously sewing related, I want to get back into some semblance of "shape", partly for my own health, and (more relevant here) partly so that I can make even nicer clothes even more flattering for me.
• Non-garment sewing. There are too many things on this list that have been on the back burner for months, if not years. 2013 will be when I tick some of them off.
• Sew for others. I would like to make my husband a shirt, and would also like to try my hand at sewing a dress on commission for someone else (someone patient).
• Complete the finishing touches in the sewing room. There's just a few niggling things that need to be done, after which the room will be pretty much complete: move a filing cabinet and replace it with more drawers, put pictures and a hanging bar on the wall, replace the lights and sort out a couple of remaining boxes that I moved in with (yeah, that was 2 1/2 years ago). I aim to get this done asap (at least by the end of January).
• Check back on these plans throughout the year. Because I have a terrible memory.

Finally

Look what I got for Christmas from my husband - just what I wanted and needed! (almost as if he had some sort of list of handy hints......)

Peplum top - BWOF 08/2012/113

I wanted to make something nice to wear on Christmas day, and thought it would be great to fill in a gap in my wardrobe at the same time, in this case "nice going out top". It needed to be something I wouldn't overheat in, but was pretty, and this pattern fit the bill (and was something I've had my eye on sewing since it first appeared in August).

As a bit of background, we spent our Christmas with friends in Liechtenstein again this year. Last year it was really snowy, and we'd been hoping to go snow-shoeing again this year, but it was weirdly warm this time round (as in around 12˚C) so there was no snow in town, and most of the pistes and trails were closed because of avalanche risk. We did go for a little walk, but on the flat to the town just across the border, which has a very pretty castle and old town (please click on that link and look at the photos, they are so much better than mine and it is SO PRETTY). The pictures of me wearing this top were taken on Christmas day, on our friends' balcony - not a bad view, eh?!

Pattern description

Fitted top with draped peplum, cap sleeves and back zipper.

Pattern sizing

34-42. I normally cut a 44 on the top half, but I had read several reviews of this pattern that said it was very generously sized, so I cut the 42 and muslined it. With an FBA, this actually fit fine across the shoulders and upper chest, and I just needed to let it out at the side seams a little.

Fabric used

Silk twill, bought years ago on eBay, and fully lined with rayon challis from Fabric.com to add a little body and opacity to the silk.

Did it look like the photo/drawing when you were done?

Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

I actually didn't refer to the instructions at all, apart from the cutting layout. I used Melissa's method for fully lining the top, slightly modified as I wanted to also line the peplum section and because I was using an exposed zipper. I've noted these modifications in the "construction details" section below.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Peplums are still pretty ubiquitous at the moment in RTW, and this seems an easy trend to follow if you make your own clothes. I think the peplum of this top is extremely well drafted - the curved waistline and bias-cut peplum section are surprisingly flattering.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made/Drafting details

I needed to do an FBA, so added a side bust dart as well as the waist dart. Even without adding extra excess, the single waistline dart seems very large, and I would have probably split it anyway. I made my usual forward shoulder adjustment: moving the shoulder seams forward 5mm at the neck and 10mm at the shoulder point, adding a little to the back armscye and scooping out the front armscye a little. I also raised the back neckline and lowered the front neckline.

I had originally intended to make the long-sleeved version, but when I muslined it I found the close-fitting sleeve too restrictive, so I opted for the short sleeve version. As I had already made the forward shoulder adjustment to the long sleeve (by cutting across the top of the sleeve cap, moving 10mm toward the front and reshaping), I just cut the top off this with a curved hem to use as the short sleeve rather than tracing the Burda piece. I adjusted this a little more for my forward shoulders when it was in place in the muslin. You can see the finished shape below - I find I need no ease along the back half of the armscye, but a moderate amount at the front of the sleeve cap (Fashion Incubator wrote an interesting piece on sleeve cap ease, or rather lack of it). If (when?) I make this top again, I will lessen the curve of the bottom of the sleeves a little as they have a tendency to flip up when I move my arms around (as seen in the preview picture at the end of the previous post).

Construction details

As I mentioned above, I used Melissa's method to line the top, with the following modifications (partly because I was using an exposed zip, and partly because I also lined the peplum section). For the exposed zip I used the excellent tutorial at Pattern Runway - I like this one as I prefer to have the edges and ends of the zipper tape hidden.

• In steps 1 & 2, I didn't attach the peplum pieces to the main pieces of either the shell or the lining, and I also finished the edges at the CB and staystitched the shell for the zip opening.
• To make sure things laid flat (see the interesting discussion on dominant seams on Fashion Incubator), when sewing the lining and shell together at the armscyes (step 5) I stopped just before the seam allowance of the side seams. The side seams of the lining and shell were sewn separately, the small section of armscye seam completed, and the underarm seam understitched.
• After step 8 I went my own way...
• The peplums in the shell and lining were assembled, the staystitching for the zip opening was sewn, and the open CB seam allowance finished. The shell and lining were then sewn wrong sides together at the hem and CB seam below the zip opening, flipped and pressed.
• The shell peplum and bodice were sewn together at the waist, making sure the lines of staystitching were matched exactly, and the seam allowances pressed upwards.
• Using the Pattern runway tutorial, the zipper was inserted - I basted it before sewing rather than just pinning it.

• I tried to work out if I could somehow sew the lining waist seam by machine and flip it to minimise handsewing, but it kept ending up as a passable impression of a Klein bottle, so after a bit of swearing and headscratching, I decided to just stitch the peplum lining to the waist seam "in the ditch", then slipstitch the bodice lining to the waist seam, hiding the seam allowances.
• Finally, I added a hook and eye at the top of the zip and slipstitched the lining along the zip opening.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I'm not sure I need two peplum tops in my wardrobe, but I do rather like it, so I might make it again - probably in a plain fabric. I would definitely recommend this pattern to others - it's well drafted (apart from the huge waist dart, but that's easy to modify) and very flattering.

Conclusion

I'm really pleased with this top. There is something a little off about the fit on me (I can't quite work it out, but I think most probably the waist seam needs to be lengthened along the back so the top is a bit wider across the top of my derrière - or I just need to lose the Christmas weight...), but it looks much better than anything I could buy RTW! The arms are a little restrictive, but then with this style of close-fitting top in a non-stretch fabric this is always going to be the case. I'm super pleased that this is probably the best thing I've made in terms of quality of make and finishing - it looks so nice and neat on the inside! So overall a success, and a top that will be useful as part of a "going out" outfit.

Bonus garment!

I decided I wanted to wear this with a skirt, but my jeans skirt made it a bit bunchy at the waist, and it wasn't great with my black doubleknit pencil skirt. What I really needed was a yellow skirt. Bearing in mind, I finished the top the day before leaving for Christmas, and still hadn't packed at this point, I figured a full on pencil skirt wasn't going to be happening, so a nice simple jersey/doubleknit tube skirt was the way to go (also: comfy for sitting around in post-Christmas-dinner).

This took me about an hour to make, including tracing a pattern from my black skirt. I used "pyjama" elastic for the top - SO soft! - which is just serged on (with the blade swung up) on the inside, and then turned under and top-stitched with a zig-zag. The hem is just turned up once and sewn with a zig-zag. I haven't taken separate photos as it's not terribly exciting, but you can see me wearing it in the other photos in this post.

I did realise when I unpacked it that the bottom of the CB seam is VERY wonky. I'm not entirely sure what happened there, but I'm not ruling out the possibility that I sewed one of the back pieces upside down... Meh, it doesn't bother me too much in this sort of quick and cheerful skirt. The fabric doesn't have great recovery, and although I cut it a little narrower to allow for this, I could have taken some more out the width as it has bagged a little. I will probably recut and remake rather than adjusting this though.

Conclusive conclusion

Overall a successful outfit, it was comfy for spending the day lounging around in, and I felt nice all day. The top feels delicious to wear, and I think both pieces will be worn again frequently.

Christmas gifts

Hello everyone - I hope you all had a lovely Christmas? I made a few gifts this year, and even managed to get them to the recipients in time for them to open on Christmas day...

I started knitting a scarf for my sister way back in September. Despite this attempt at organisation, I still ended up rushing to get it finished in time!

The pattern is from Lion Brand Yarns (it's a free pattern, but you need to make an account to see it), and is knit in pure merino wool (I ended up needing about 7 balls for this, so it was rather a luxurious gift...). The pattern was easy to remember, but fairly slow to knit because of the cabling. It also needed fairly aggressive blocking to open up the pattern. I'm super pleased with this scarf, and fortunately my sister likes it too!

Most of the other presents to my sister and nephew were food themed, so I decided to make them matching aprons. I used a graphic tomato-print quilters' cotton bought online from eQuilter.com.

My sister's one was copied from the previous apron I made for myself, but with a couple of adjustments to size, and improvements in construction. I made this one double layered, which as well as making it more durable, is much quicker and easier to sew than hemming or binding the edges - you just sandwich all the straps between the two layers and sew around the edge, leaving a small opening to turn it.

I also made the neck strap adjustable using two D-rings, and added one of my labels as a hanging loop.

My nephew's apron was based on this pattern and tutorial, but drafted to appropriate measurements for him.

The neck band is elasticated and the waist strap closes with velcro so he can put it on and take it off by himself (he's extremely independent and strong-willed, so I think he'll like this). I also added pockets, as two-year-olds like pockets.

The last present I'll show you here is another scarf, this time for my dad. He's very hard to buy presents for, and also always cold, so I figured this would work out well! I didn't follow a pattern, just knitted an appropriately wide strip in moss stitch.

It is 80% wool (I think), and very soft and warm. It wasn't originally going to be a circle scarf, but I only bought three balls of wool, and it looked a bit short to wear "normally". I figured the scarf itself was classic enough for my dad not to feel it was too "trendy" for him, and besides, circular scarfs are very practical as they aren't as draughty and can't fall off. I think he does like it (although my mum had to show him how to put it on...)

Of course, there were presents I had planned to make that I ran out of time for: a lightweight scarf for my mum, and most importantly, a shirt for my husband. I brought back some lovely cotton from Mood in NYC for a shirt, and also bought some more shirting cotton recently, but I didn't want to rush it, so this (plus the scarf) will be a New Year present!

Finally, here's a little preview of my Christmas outfit (well the top half at least - Burda 08/2012/113). Those of you who follow me on Twitter will have already seen a picture of this on Wilma, but it looks much better on me, especially with added Christmas dinner...