Claire Kennedy Design

Knipmode tryout

I just ordered Knipmode (after reading about Nancy K's mention of them)  and wasn't blown away, but curious about some of their patterns.  They look interesting....particularly this one....

This is my sketch as I can't figure out how to get to the line-sketch of it on their site...more time on their site to get this I'm sure.

Anyway, I liked it cause it was going to provide the perfect palette for a fabric I had...this had two versions, and I liked the open front model (view) with a zipper exposed.

 

My fabric has a metallic-like sheen to it making it look more leathery than fabric, but it is a cotton and the metallic sheen is more of a fiber treatment rather than a metal (does that make sense).

So I had this vision of this being sort of biker-girl-like with this "surprise" on the back...and it turned out just as I wanted.

And I like the way this came out, but I am going to tweak it a little...for one thing, the bust dart, I think, fits just a little low.  It looks a little frumpy and I like to keep that midriff area clean.

Second, I think the shoulders need to come up a little and it's hard to see in the sketch, but there's a seam at the shoulders and easy to take this up.

The other part of this jacket (besides the surprise) is the separating zip...it's a gem from NY Fabric District - just one of those treasures that I found and picked up there. 

So to the surprise....this came from Fabrique in Dallas, and they had an artist who painted beautiful things on fabrics....last time I was there was this gem...a little off-the-mark for me, but what's an artist if she/he doesn't go off-the-mark periodically!

Isn't this just wild?  It's perfect for some great boot-scootin' on a Sat night, especially in a sort of biker-quality/styled top. 

So the front is easy to understand:

And I did this with the exposed zipper

You can see how perfect the color and style is for this.

She deserves a name - like Desirée or Monique (why are French names so scandalous?)...but after all, this is for boot-scootin' so  she needs to be Sharon Jean Mercer or Flora Lou or Trixie or Dixie or something like that...I haven't named her but she so deserves a great name!

So back to Knipmode - first time - successful - a little testy with the Dutch and no translations.  They appear to be sized well, so I like that. 

BurdaStyle and all the others

Patterns have become an interesting topic, mostly because there's been a change going on for about 10 years or so.  When I was first learning how to sew, and even back when I was first introduced to sewing, Vogue Patterns was the standard by which all the other patterns were judged.  Nothing, domestic or international could compare.  As I began to hone my sewing skills, Vogue Patterns grew with me, from beginner, intermediate, advanced to couture.

I even made these, even though some of them were considered high tailoring.  But this is the sort of product that Vogue Patterns used to produce.  So no wonder no one could touch them.

But eventually sales waned, home sewing waned, even while I was learning some advanced tailoring and dressmaking techniques, sewing was becoming passe.  I think that's one of the things that was most appealing about it to me.  While all my friends were shop-a-holics and spending 3 to 4 times what I was, I was making that very wardrobe myself, and much better I thought, cause it was in the color, style, and fabric that I liked and wanted so much.

For a long time, there was a void, and although I had known about Burda and Anna Burda, and what a fine company it was, it lived under the shadow of "no seam allowances" in the pattern and the horrid nightmare stories of cutting it out, not quite matching and being always too small.  So there was a stand-off-ish-ness to Burda that followed. 

It certainly wasn't the design that scared people away...these looks were totally in fashion and completely savvy at the time.

It was the seam allowances and it was as if someone had put a curse on Burda - or at least that's how I felt.

Then I finally just got to the point where I would draw up what I needed.  This was mostly for my clients and there was hardly anything out there that was close to the pattern my clients generally wanted, so this is all I used.

Then for some reason, I decided to take the first Burda World of Fashion, and that was it.  The first couple of issues were a little weird, but what I noticed is that I would go back to those and use them again and again.  I'm still drawing from patterns in the late 90's - good classic style is timeless, and some of those patterns were and are timeless.

I kept thinking that Vogue, Butterick, McCalls would catch up.  And even would look at New Look and some other art house patterns (Dianne Ericson, Linda Lee, Lois Hinse), but as I begin to look closer and closer at the BWOF, I was astounded at how well they were made, how well they were cut, how well they fit, how easy they were to alter (lots of cutting lines means lots of places to fit), and basically what great look they were.

In an effort to find another BWOF out there, I've started taking Knipmode.  It's a bit more casual, not as many pattners, but certainly classic enough to last for a while.  And frankly with just one issue, it's not really fair to compare.  BurdaStyle (today's version of BWOF), is so far and above ahead of any other patterns, that it's going to be a hard act to follow.

In the February Knipmode

is this blouse, in another version (which I couldn't find immediately online) is the same line with a collar and without the ruffles, that looks interesting....

and this little gem...a new and interesting way to close a jacket, which I liked...

...then this jacket, which is hard to see, hard to photograph, and hard to see the lines with this picture, but take it from me, the lines look great and might be interesting to do.

 

But in the February issue of BurdaStyle, is this jacket:

This has gobs of style and I'm immediately taken to it.  That seam in the middle is there for fit, and my bet has a nice bust dart in there, which you have those waist darts fitting the waist.  I have the perfect fabric for this, as a matter of fact I was on the Burda site before the Feb. issue arrived and knew I wanted to do this up, and was wondering why my mailperson hadn't finished delivering all my mail, thankyouverymuch!  So I've been waiting for this pattern.

Then there's a compliment of sorts

Again - with the cut....and the seam in the middle looks like it doesn't go all the way to the side seam - it does, again probably with a bust dart in there, but if it's not, I can sure add one.

Again with the "cut", the "line" the design....all of the BurdaStyle patterns have all of that, where as I feel the Knipmode is a little tricky, and Vogue is so far down the list now, that I hardly look at them.  I received my current issue of Vogue Patterns and it just lays there.  I hardly open it.

For me the difference between Burda and Knipmode for now, is that BurdaStyle has way more design detailing and good line and cut than does any other pattern.  I'm going to give Knipmode a good shot, I have a subscription for a year, and if they don't do anything really fun and outstanding, then I won't renew (and considering it's almost twice as expensive as BurdaStyle, that will be a relief).  But if they are good, then they will be worth the money.

Lastly, and I can't believe I actually have to say this about commercial patterns, but some patterns these days are "off".  IOW, when you sew them up, correctly, as the pattern markings and directions say to do, they go together badly and there are a multitude of errors that may not even be undone or redone by a master, much less a newbie or even intermediate sewist. 

This irks the heck out of me, and that's about as nicely as I can put it, cause it steams me up so badly so quickly, it's like lighting a match under Mt. Kilauea, and I blow.  I think newbies and beyond have enough problems that they don't need any others by supposedly "professional" pattern companies (and this goes for poorly made sewing machines as well).  It's so rewarding to sew for yourself in so many ways, but one of the main ones is that sewing is a constant state of problem solving, and to look at the end and see, feel, wear and garner all sorts of compliments, is the whole purpose, not to stumble through professional directions from a professionally made pattern or sewing machine.

So I suppose my #1 reason why I like Burda is that it goes together well, and you will have a well-cut garment where the pieces actually fit together well. 

The #2 reason is because I may look at a pattern for the first couple of months, thinking, "What are they thinking?" Then go back to it, and think, "Ingenius!!!"  It's actually long-lasting.

Hopefully that answers a little bit of why I like sewing with Burda so well.  Knipmode, the jury is still out, but has a long way to go, and Vogue, Butterick and McCalls are not to be trusted, Simplicity has a lot more going for it, but still way behind Burda, and although the art-to-wear designers like Diane Ericson, Linda Lee and Lois Hinse are beautiful things, I think it's more fun to fit the body, than to just mask it.  And Marci Tilton, Claire Shaeffer and Sandra Betzina do an excellent job of keeping up the old Vogue standard, it's just they can't do it all by themselves.

 

A Quickie

A little quickie to test a couple of things...my knit/sewing skills, as I haven't sewn with knit in a while. And to test Spoonflowers knit fabric...I just love Spoonflower.

My new design (If you're Sooner born, Sooner bred, click here), I ordered in their knit, which turned out great. It includes all the usual suspects:  the seed sower, Bizzell Memorial Library (an older bldg with beautiful architechture), the horse pigs, our fabulous band major, and of course footballs.

This is a company that obviously believes in delivering the goods not just adequately, but excellently.   Like a lot of we sewists, it only settles for excellent product.  Their knit is excellent quality - yeah, it's organic, but often that means lesser quality.  Not so with this knit.  It's comfy, not too thick, not too thin, perfect weight.  So far I've ordered the lawn (beautifully light and gorgeous), quilt-weight cotton, (great for the shirt for DH), and the upholstery weight twill which would be perfect for a jacket or pants.  They've just added silk crepe de chine and also have a canvas that I would like to sample.  Of course you can design your own or order from all the people who have theirs for sale and there are a LOT of creative ideas over there. 

I can tell I need to rearrage my budget and time for this!!!

I used Burda #121 from September, 2010

 

This is an easy pattern that has a lot of style in the cut...including high back neck, nice set in sleeves (that are a cinch to insert - if you're new to set in sleeves, this is a GREAT place to start, extra long neck, that folds back inside, with extra long sleeves).

And here is the result: 

Just in time for Saturday's game!!!

BOOMER SOONER!!

A fall little top

Here in the Southern Plains, it stays hot a lot - even into fall.  We have a saying that we can't wait till it gets down to a really cool 90° at night! 

So when we dress for fall and back to school stuff, we have to have some really cool clothes that look fall-ish.

Enter the sewist (don't you just love all the freedom we have)

Found some decent cotton at JoAnn's and been wanting to do this top:

 

Doesn't it look made for a gauze-y type fabric. In another version (the longer one) it has sleeves, which I like for this shorter top.  

   

 

Really nice - I'll wear this almost up to October.  After about the middle of October, things begin to return to normal around here.  Actually September is one of the more beautiful times of year in the Southern Plains - Indian Summer, where the temps at night are pleasant, and the day time highs aren't obscenely high - warm but not hot.

A few details...love my new flat felled foot - even more than my serger right now - I know once I get over the infatuation with this foot, I'll go back to serging but it's nice to have an alternative to serging.

 

Then used another wonderful Bernina foot - the binding foot/attachment.  As all things Bernina, it really works.  You take your bias strip, feed it into the guide for the foot, and get it started, and press the gas, and you've got binding on your garment, home dec item.  It's an amazement to me every time I use it.

 

For the front, I did a miter, but I did do this by hand.  There's probably a way to do this by machine, but for me, the exactness and smallness, I didn't think I would have all that much control, so tacked it by hand then went over it with the machine.

Lastly, on the gathers in front, I run into a frequent dilemma about what to do when the gathers either aren't all in a regular shape, or are on one side or another more than the other.  This is a simple technique I've used for years - even when I'm gathering bridal gown skirts onto bodices and need the gathering to be even and straight.  

This is a shorty, but hope it helps you all when you're wanting to even out your gathers - either elastic or on a pulled double stitch for gathering.

PS - Just found that you can download this pattern at the Burda Style site....click here - yeah!!!

Musubu Part 2

Having done the muslin on this pattern (see here), I was ready (the next day, but work and yada, yada, yada), to make this up, but had to wait a week. 

I'm doing a video tomorrow (don't worry - will provide a link when it's published) and of course wanted to wear my best, so needed to finish this top.

 

It turned out well, and I'm pleased, but for the really picky person in me, there's a few things that will make this pop.

 

This top works, but there are some pretty strict parameters that you have to obey to make this work.

A bow like this is the dominant feature here.  It's big. It's monopolizing, and to keep it from overpowering the rest of the top, the rest of the top has to be very contained, defined and nothing left to the imagination.  

Also I'm thinking about the Oriental vs. Occidental way of fitting.  The Oriental allows for much less ease, and keeping within those guidelines, it makes total sense for this to fit closer than I would normally fit.

When sitting see how much better the bottom one looks than the top (the secret in sitting here is with my elbows out so that you can see the delineation of the waist, which is what makes it work here.

But I needed to make this work "naturally" since this is a video and I'll be moving around.

So back to the mannequin and a little more snug fit on the bodice.

 

Now this works. 

But alas there is another problem.  The silk is too "hot" for the camera.  IOW, the camera will pick up the silk top and not me.  I could be made up like a two-bit hussy and still how out shine that top.  So I won't wear the top tomorrow for the video shooting - but I have it now - just in case you know!

The other thing I learned from this - if anyone is interested in doing this is that this was a silk tussah, which has a pretty good body, but is still light weight.  I knew this pattern at least needed this stiffness.  But the truth is that this top REALLY needs something very stiff.  I have some wonderful stiff silk medium weight twill which will be perfect for this.  If you want to make it up in a tussah silk (which is beautiful sometimes, cause you can get some really exciting iridescent colors), then consider doubling it so that you have two fronts, two backs and two ties.  This would allow even a little layer of organza in between the layers without it showing.  It would also allow the bow to be faced instead of hemmed.

I will definitely make this up again as this is one of those architectural designs that has such a dynamic "wow" factor that I can't resist it.

Stay tuned for Part 3!!!!  Enjoy!

A class finished and a pattern review

Another pants class finished and yes, every one of my students walked out with a pants pattern even some of those who were earlier discouraged!

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

But most interesting of all was one of the patterns.  Most everyone used Vogue 1003, an old standard sloper type pattern for pants, which I have always like using.  However one of my students elected to use a Sandra Betzina pattern Vogue 1034. We looked at it together and both of us thought it looked fine.

 

There's nothing too funny or tricky here, so we were really shocked, when she cut it out, and the legs were twisted.  So she cut again.  I watched and made sure she was on the straight.  Her fit was great, but the legs were still twisted.  At this point, I tell her we can spend umpteen million hours figuring out why, or we can cure the problem and go on down the road.  She has the pants on and I draw a straight line from her inseam to hem, and from her hip to hem.  This will make sure that she has a straight on her.

 

Here is what it looked like comparing the side seam old (red) and side seam new (black).  That's her standing next to it and you can see that she has not strange torque or twist of body shape.

To this day we are not sure what happened.  There could have easily been a misprint in the pattern, although it didn't look off, and I watched her lay out and cut out the second time, and there was exactly the same problem - exactly, the second time.  However, this is very perplexing cause I think Sandra Betzina takes particular care in her designs to make them correct.

This brings up an interesting philosophy about how I sew and what I do to solve situations like this.  I would rather sew than figure the trajectory of twist of reality versus the torque of a what appears to be a straight line.  The point here is that I want it to hang straight and pitch correctly on my student.  So that's my solution to this.

On another occasion, I may want an irregular darting or working of darts or gathers, and want something to torque or twist and may want to do the exact opposite - sew a straight line that will purposely torque.  The most recent example is my "no straight lines" pattern.

I couldn't have done this without putting this on my mannequin or putting the pants on my student.

The purpose of all this is to make the point about fitting.  It was virtually impossible for my student to fully see what the problem was, much less fix it while she had the pants on, yet we, both of us, couldn't see anything the matter on the pattern while she was looking head long into it on the table.

Think about this while you're fitting yourself.  And do not think you're a poor sewist if you can't fit yourself.  No one can.

Musubu #B

What?....well this is from the Japanese Pattern Magic book, and once you look through those pictures, they are very intriguing.  Musubu means "tie" and this is a tie blouse/top (thanks to j. kaori for the translation!)

 

I love everything about this design...it's contained and fitted yet has a certain amount of flounce.  The only problem I have is that it needs to be proportioned to me - a little smaller frame than the normal dimensions.  I've shortened it here in this picture.  I've also folded over the collar softly however this is the muslin version and in the real version the collar will be a little higher (thicker), stand up more around my thin neck.

The next thing is to add a peplum of sorts to the bottom.  A shaped extension might be nice, but a peplum really feels right for this top.

 

Then I found this silk at a local upholstery store that is a beautiful gold with a wonderful width-wise orange.  It gives the gold an even richer color.  This will be perfect for this tie blouse.

Now if work doesn't get in the way, I can get this finished!!

Pattern Review - Vogue 8454

This is Marcy Tilton's top, which is not new, but something I did to show off my stenciling from my class (yesterday's post here).

This is the fitting and making of this top.  I made the small size here, and had gobs of room in the bust and underarm area to take up.

I appreciate why Marcy designed it this way, but if you are slight of figure on top, then you will need to make the alterations to make this top work, and this top has gobs of style so it's worth the effort.  Also in the instructions, she recommends "pleating" it, and I didn't do that, so that's another reason for the fitting.

And this is a great showcase for my stenciling for this top/jacket.

So here's a little video on fitting and how I do it, plus how it looks after I've fit it.

 

The main reason I took all this time, was this is a fabulous cut and shape, and she has some well thought-out details like the button hole.

 

The buttonhole is in the seam, nice and stabilized, but great for large button which this top needs, and without having to do a bound buttonhole, which is what I usually use for a large button.

And there's a lot of style and graceful lines to this pattern, which makes it work, as you can tell by the video, in the end, the difference is astounding. 

Hope you use this technique of fitting like fitting your sheet on your bed when you make it up!

As requested

First of all, thank you all for all your nice remarks about my "Icy Pink" ensemble for my client.  She was totally comfy in the dress and it was "past her expectations" - according to her.  That's my goal.

And also thanks for the comments on the Lynn Mizono coat.  I LOVE IT!!!!  Well, I love the comments of course, but I really love the coat.

And toward that end, though you might like to see how it moves!  The volume on this is a little low, so you may have to crank up the

On the button/buttonholes.  For something like this (when I'm using large buttons), I love using a bound buttonhole, but you do have the problem of the wrong side.

There are some creative ways to solve this...but my favorite is to make a facing and (I know it's not good time-management), slip stitch it by hand. 

 

Here is the buttonhole on the wrong side of the coat.  Here because it shows here most often.

 

Here's the facing on the wrong side.

 

And here it is buttoned.  Another reason I elected to put the finished side of the buttonhole on the wrong side.  When the coat is buttoned, the button covers a lot of the coat.

And here's the definitive reason:

 

The buttonhole just doesn't show that much at all, and often the "collar" shawl piece covers the button completely, so this was a no-brainer decision.

One more variation on this coat.....After wearing it to Coco Avant Chanel last night, I do and will wear this with a jacket and the sleeves are a little tight - and I like this style of sleeve and wouldn't recommend changing it, but I am going to line the sleeve - it will solve the problem instantly.

 

The coat inside out...so that the sleeves are the only thing lined using Bemberg Ambiance rayon lining.

 

This shows how I just slip-stitched this in by hand - this took about 1 hour to do so for me well worth the time and effort to make this  coat slip on and off.  

OK - one last comment, and then I'm done...I would use a darker piping color than what I used here.  The piping is OK, but just the slightest turn in the bias, and it shows as an error.

Darker colors don't show this anomaly of bias-cut piping as much lighter colors do.

Burda BWOF 6/2005 #114A

This is one of my TNT pattern (there are two views from Burda, here and here), especially for Spoonflower fabric.  These fabric prints are so much fun, that it's really part of the requirement of a garment to show them off.  This particular fabric was a week winner, which you can purchase on their Etsy site.  This is something really dangerous for me, so I only allow myself monitored visits to their Etsy store, or else I'd be buying the weekly winner all the time!

(Note to self:  Get a mini-me, who would know how to sew up all the stuff you have just the way you want it right now so I can buy some more fabric.)

OK - now that I have that out of my system back to my TNT top.  

 

There's nothing surprising here, just a straight, well-fitting (side bust dart and a little nip at the waist) with a fabulous collar...and that's what I thought I would feature.  I love the way this collar lays, but I use an easy technique to make this happen.

First - look at the collar - and this is just exactly the way I like it.  This is what I get to do when I sew something for myself, I get to make this collar just exactly the way I want.  I have a thin bird neck (Like a toothpick with my head being a melon - and that's not cause my head is big, it's cause my neck is small).  So I'm sensitive about my neck, and I love collars that frame my face and neck.  This is part of the empowerment that I so love about sewing my own things.  Yeah, it saves money, but more than that it is exactly what I want.

So back to the collar....

 

The pattern goes a long way in making this happen, cause I can't get this "stand up" look without that collar stand (or collar band).  But once the pattern has these two pieces (collar and collar stand), you're off and running.

 

What I do here is create more space on the top piece....so I'm going to edge it off the bottom piece about 1/8" but no more.  You're going to have a little "rippling" to ease....and you will want to ease - not at the point of the collar, but just away from it a little so that it doesn't look like you've bunched everything at the end of the point.

 

Next thing I do, is I like for the collar to stick straight up in back...so I bring the top piece to match the bottom piece at center back - like this above. What I've done is created extra space at the collar ends and no extra space at center back. 

Here is what it looks like just after I've sewn it together...no pressing, nothing...the collar already curves.

 

And voila....turned and pressed and ready to insert into the band.

That's the next thing I do is insert the collar into the band, which means I sew from ONLY one point of the collar center front to the other point of the collar center front.

Why?

Because it makes it easier to attach onto the blouse.

This makes it so much easier to make that collar stand curve at center front where it shows so much.  I much prefer doing it this way, and leaving a little "wiggle" room for my collar stands just makes it easier.  This way the front turns out so much cleaner and nicer.  And to be perfectly frank, it's quicker.

One last comment on this top.

Buttons

I received a very sage advice one time.  If you like the button buy it.  Buttons are getting increasingly harder to find and particularly in sets - either blouse or blazer.  And for me that goes double when I'm at a flea market, garage sale or any place like that.  Usually it's a box of buttons for $25 or something ridiculous, and take them home and clean them up and sort through them, and there are usually some real gems in there.

 

Look at the cool little gems - just perfect for this shirt.  These were a real find.  In one of my $25 boxes at an estate sale, there were about 20 of these all strung together.  

Hope you will try this collar technique.  But more than that, I hope you get a feeling for how you can individualize a pattern just so it's got all sorts of neat details that you like, that match your style. Details like this can make a ho-hum top into one of your favs!

Imagine that!  A closet full of your favorite things - you sure couldn't get that from ready-to-wear!

Burda BWOF 2/2009 - #127

I have done this pattern before, It was a redo of a Burda here.  I had such great luck with it before, that when I got some great linen from Gorgeous Fabrics, I decided that this jacket would be perfect.  Here it is side by side with the original.

This fabric is particularly fabulous, and after seeing it in this jacket, I will make this in another jacket that is more constructed and formal - with lapels and more construction.

 

I kept this casual, unlined, and when I do that, I'm not wanting to put buttons too far below the waist.  Usually this is just a jacket to throw on during the summer to protect me from the A/C, so it doesn't have to be too constructed.

This was part of the whole idea of the jacket, as the armscye is lowered, making this more casual.

Because this was unlined - I did do a stay stitch all the way down the front on that front seam line.  This is just for my comfort and to keep the facing piece from flapping around.

Another change I made was the cuff epaulet (for lack of a better description).  And I used an interesting technique on this.

 

The button here was sewn onto one layer of fabric.  On fabric like this (loosely woven and light-weight), the button should be reinforced to help hold it in place.  This is also great for any button that is sewn on one layer of fabric.

 

Fold over a piece of organza or any tightly woven fabric (an non-bondable interfacing is perfect for this) four times and this will be the backing for the button.  This not only saves the button, but saves the fabric as well.

This is probably going to turn out to be one of my TNT summer jackets.  It had that high neck, fits beautifully and it is just the perfect weight for a summer time jacket.

Burda 8/09 - #114

I saw this BWOF pattern in the line drawings of the patterns, and never would have made it up had I not seen the picture.

I have this beautiful reef silk that was just begging for a cute little shell.

The construction of this shell was a little puzzling, so when I run across something like this, I just get out the old hand needle & thread and fix it that way.  My mentor/teacher used to get on me for this as she knew she was teaching me to sew for a business and that hand sewing is rarely rewarded properly.

Maybe that's why it's so highly prized and another reason to treasure your own work.

But back to my dilemma. 

 

Even though this is a finished photo, it shows what Burda was trying to do - a very loose look - as if a scarf has been loosely tied.  To get this look was going to require some fancy maneuvering!

This was my solution...if you plan on doing this shell, I attached the front facing pieces to the center front overhang on the side, then tacked it down on the lining only softly, no pleating, pressing, which gave it the soft look, I think, Burda intended.

But I did have one issue with the design and it wasn't the front - it was this hem.

 

I wasn't crazy about this straight hem at the bottom.  This just said "shirttail" hem, even when I was putting it together.  I think had I not wanted to make a point here, I would have just cut the shirttail hem and been done with it.

  

See how much cuter this is - it just suits the whole look of this cute little top.

 

I love this shell now and it will go with lots of cute things.

The Fish Top

The Fish Top

Although this was a big pattern, which is the one part I had to be careful of, I like this pattern.  This was the Escher take-off that I had printed at Spoonflower and I will do this again.  This pattern was a test, and to be honest, I thought it would be a little smaller.  I've learned.

So, because this was a learning experience, I needed to stay edgy, off-the-wall, and very casual to make this work.  Almost like a joke.

Here it is with the pants (OK they're not made yet), and I think it tones well.  I used that red as a contrasting top stitch as there was really no "red" in the print

I love this pattern from BWOF - it's perfect for large prints.  And if you go on the Burda site and choose German language the archives go really far back!!!  So here's the link for this top!

This top does fit tightly around the bicep and shoulder, but this is one part of my bod I don't have to worry about.

I love the way this collar lays....I have  a thin bird neck (like a melon on a toothpick) so I'm very self-conscious of my neck, and this is perfect - and the little fishie buttons (part of my funky button collection).

So this is what I'm thinking - a nice yellow jacket with great red pants. 

This is for my upcoming trip to Indonesia (36 hours on a plane), but I figure it would hard to loose me in this outfit - and it's very gay and fun looking.  The yellow jacket (a la Burda Re-deux)  would be great, but not sure how well it would travel - great for Cozumel, but in a plane over the Pacific?....not sure about that.

Burda 3/2009 #104 Skirt - Pattern Review

This is a different sort of skirt for me.  But I was tracing this off for a friend who's done a lot for me (Thanks Carolyn!!!), and I liked what I saw and decided to do it for myself....BWOF 3/2009 #104 and here's another view.

I usually am the queen of fit, so doing something like this in a non-stretch would be pretty simple.  But the pattern was graded for a stretch fabric, and I had one type of fabric in mind.  A full-bodied, rather stiff, stretch fabric.  I got something pretty similar to that from Ann at Gorgeous Fabric. 

Boy - this is hard to photograph (I would have to make it in black!)  But this is the gist of the pattern and there's a lot of great lines and design to it - and you know how I love that.

I made a couple of changes...I didn't like the bumpy pockets showing through, so I did  both pockets out of lining and then put a fabric patch over the upper half of the side pocket, and I heavily interfaced (bridal shaper), on the waist band which does not give or have any stretch to it.

I'm happy with how it came out (Now you all know I'm not this pale - I had to make it this white so you could see the skirt!)

 

I think it came out really well, and what I love about it is that I can wear it all day long and no wrinkles and it will be comfy.

Enjoy, Claire

Pattern Review - Burda 04/2009 - 105 Shirt

Burda revived its reputation with me on this pattern.

Although I couldn't figure out why there was no fit or side dart in this pattern, I did after I finished.

But to start out - why not put a dart in the pattern - looks like it needed one!!!

.

This is it...Burda from 04/2009 #105, with no dart - looks like it needed one to me!

So I did get the fullness out of the arm area, which is one of the great things a side dart does, but I also understand the idea of this shirt.

It's supposed to be that light airy, beachy, cool, loose shirt that you put on in the middle of the hot, hot summer.  It is that.  And that's why there was no dart in the shirt to begin with.

This pattern runs a little large, but it should for what it is - that big "top".  It take a little leap of faith, especially after we are all used to things fitting us pretty close and then here's this.

If you don't want it to be a little large, go a size (or so) smaller.  Otherwise this has all the goodies that we have all come to love out of a typical BWOF pattern.

Oh yeah....

One last touch....our state seal on the buttons!

An old Burda...7/2007 #111 Tie Top

I was going to do this before I left for a fun week in the sun, and then couldn't remember the pattern. 

But this pattern is for stretch fabrics (see no darts), and I had this great Laurel Burch black fabric that was just crying out to be this top.

But a few changes first...having worked with transition from knit to woven I knew I would need some fitting - so a few darts here.....

....and a few here....

and same thing for the back....

...and oops, looks like we need a little in the back....

and voila -

And the back....

Isn't that a cute tie in back.

This just begs for a pair of black cotton gauze-y type pants.

Hmmm and I'm teaching this week - who needs a lesson plan when you're a teacher! 

Yikes, that's a scary thought!

Burda BWOF 4/2009 - 103

OK - I couldn't resist this one:

It just looked so dreamy that I didn't even thing about the fitting issues...till I was in it.

Here are just some of the issues.  First, this was a must-fit around the bust.  Even though there were straps on this, I felt that the "bra" part should fit to show off the dress.

There are plenty of fitting seams here to work with so this wasn't a matter of finding places to fit - more at getting the fit right.  My favorite dart - the side dart is where I start fitting and go from there. 

After that is fitted, I need some taken in on the side - upper side.

After that I took a considerable amount out of the back zipper:

This is the back zipper after I altered it...taking 1" out of each side...a total 2", combined with the side alteration, a total of 4" taken out.

I'd say this pattern runs a little large.  I usually fit the size 10, but went down one for this pattern, and it was still large.

The light yellow fabric is the lining, and this is a technique I use when I do not want any top stitching on the outside, but want it to lay flatly.  Turn the seam toward the lining (the yellow in this case) and top stitch along the very upper inside edge.  This ensures that the lining will not ride up and show on the outside no matter what.  This really does work.  When I sew this I spread the seam tightly so that it lays very tightly going into the machine.

Another one of my favorite techniques is to "sew in the ditch".  I wanted to make the top piece of this dress like a bra and didn't want the lining moving around, so anchored it with a stitch in the ditch technique.  This is also wonderful on side seams when you need them anchored and to lay flatly.

The finished product:

Oo-la-la!!!!  I haven't looked this great in a long time!!!  Love the whole idea of this.

I did take out about 2" in the center front when I cut this out, so this keeps me from looking pregnant or makes my stomach look particularly full!  I did this mostly cause I was running out of fabric, but it turned out to be a great idea as it kept the dress from being too full.

This batik was just a little stiff considering how light the fabric is, so any extra fullness would have just stuck out.

One last addition are the side pockets - a dress like this really deserves pockets.

I love this pattern - even though it turned out to need quite a bit of altering, but I think that's because I needed it to fit really well through the bustline.  This goes back to the whole idea of the dress is to fit around the bust - the rest can be loose, but if the bust is fitted the dress works.

I'll probably make this up as a top the next time, and would love to use a (in my best southern accent) deelahtfahl caht'n vohl!!!! (translation:  delightful cotton voile!)

And I'm still not over my sundress urge so there's another one coming!

Tribeca Shirt, The Sewing Workshop

I really love wearable art stuff, but the problem with a lot of these patterns is that they have little or no fit.  That's just not me....I'm the queen of fit.  It's what I'm known for.

So when I first saw this pattern, I fell in love....those lower (and side) bust darts looked fabulous and the whole idea of the jacket was appealing.  When I saw Linda (Lee) after I'd done this pattern, I told her how excited I was about this, that there were a lot of artistic sewists out there who want something that fits at the same time very creative.  I thought I remember her telling me that her daughter inspired this jacket, and I told her that her daughter should inspire a whole line of clothes like this.

This is a good enough picture of how it looks, but a little boxy on Esmeralda (my wonderful little mannequin!)

This is how it really looks.  It's just a great shirt.  I have to be a little careful, cause in this beautiful white fabric (more on that in a moment), it looks a little chef-like.  Although I like to cook, I am not a chef!

I can wear it different ways, with the collar closed, or open like this.  Either way it's a stunning pattern.

I really did nip in that waist on this, as the pattern just had some perfunctory back darts.  I think Linda put them in there for people to leave or take out as they wanted - which I appreciate.

And then aren't these the yummiest buttons....from Tender Buttons in New York where I usually need an afternoon to mull through everything.

You can also see the texture of the fabric in this picture.  It was like a tiny ottoman rib and although the cotton had some body, it wasn't stiff like a tradition ottoman.

And as those of you who know me...know I'm not stuck on using exactly the same buttons, this was my cuff button - again a nice picture of the rib of the fabric.

I highly recommend this pattern, as it can be easily manipulated for most body shapes, which is what I'm sure The Sewing Workshop likes to consider when they are doing a pattern, including fitting a shape which is a little unusual for most wearable art patterns.