Looks the same

Through a thread on the Pattern Review forum I saw the preview of Burda’s July issue and it has a blouse with details similar to the blouse I copied from RTW last year. Looking forward to see how Burda made it. It’s definitely not exactly the same, but I can see a similarity.

The Burda version

My inspiration blouse last year

My version

A summer top

I saw this fabric for the first time at a fabric market in April and resisted buying it. When I saw it again at a fabric market two weeks ago I bit the bullet and bought it. Abstract print, summer colors, it was just the right fabric for a summer top. It’s a good quality cotton, though sheer, so a cami underneath is a must.

Told the story before, an essential box with sewing materials is in storage by accident. In this box are my sloper drafts too. Which meant that for this top I drafted the basic sloper again and relied on it to fit properly. Two things are not quite as they should be: the armhole is a bit too low for a sleeveless top and the width at hip height should have been a bit more. Nevertheless this top will get a lot of wear when summer decides to stop by in our neck of the woods. Not now in any case.



All seams were stitched as French seams, which is a beautiful finish for a sheer fabric like this.
My bust dart is very wide and that was sewn using the French seam technique too. It makes for a small dart as you can see in the picture above.
I won’t wear this top with the collar closed, but it gives you an impression of the fit. Quite pleased with that.I drafted it using Suzy Furrer’s technique as she explaines in her Craftsy class Collars and Closures, only less wide than she uses in her demonstration.

Knip mode top and Vogue pants

Black is always a very hard color to photograph. Seeing the pictures from yesterday on my blog in daylight, they even are more black than I saw them in artificial light.

Today a photo from me wearing the top, which always gives a better indication about fit and style than a dress-form photo. It helps I have a tripod and remote control now. Still need a bit of practice using that.

 

The colors are very much lightened so you can see the pleats of the neckline. This top has so many layers that I advice a very thin knit for it, otherwise you will have problems sewing the shoulder seams. This consists of 5 layers of fabric (double layer collar with gathers!, front, front facing and back shoulder). Knip mode is a magazine like BurdaStyle with sheets where you trace the pattern from. In this case very difficult as there are many lines for all the sizes included and two pattern pieces were in the same area as well. I think the pdf pattern would be useful in this case, instead of tracing it. Knip mode has extra instructions (in Dutch) on their website. Reading them the first time it seemed clear as mud, but when actually doing it with the pattern pieces it worked fine. For the (Dutch) readers: an asterix * is missing on the pattern that is referred to in the instructions, but if you got that far you’ll probably see how it’s done.

The trousers are Vogue 1417, for which I wrote a blog post on the great draft and instructions for the pockets. This pattern had some great design lines. Not so sure about the style on me, too narrow at ankle height.

 

Two posts in a day…

This one with a preview of a Knip Mode pattern from their latest issue, June 2016. Intriguing neckline, sure to catch my eye and immediate desire to make it.

 

Linen pants

Despite the wrinkles, I love linen pants (trousers) for summer. Absolutely love them, whether their fashionable or not. In the past years I had pairs of white and a beige colored linen as wardrobe staples for summer. Usually after two years I have to replace them, as they are then showing the intensive wearing and washing. Last year I did without white linen ones, as I was so obsessed with fit that I was never satisfied. I’ve been making muslins and drafts but never got to the point that I was really happy with the result. So I made no pants any more….

Fast forward to last week. 6 weeks ago I bought navy blue linen at the fabric market with the intention of making pants and have bought white as well. But, no pattern that I was happy with. All of my magazines and most patterns are in storage. Bought the Burda pattern that was a petite size. Then a “what do I care” moment and I bought a Burda pdf pattern, thinking it will be better than rtw (which I tried in a shop and they were, as usual, not fitting at all).  

This is a not a difficult pattern, I even consider it easy but that might be my experience with sewing. During construction it looked promising, though the final fit is only to be judged with the waistband attached. When it was finished I was happily surprised. Yes, a bit of space in the back leg, but nothing to worry about. The pockets are not so good, as they gape a bit, should have known better than to use this type on my figure. I used all of the tricks to prevent it, without success. This is almost straight out of the (imaginary) envelope. The waist I traced one size smaller than the rest of the pattern. After the first fitting I added a little to the hip area, but otherwise no changes!. Pretty good in my book.

My next pair will be a white pair. I’ll change the shape of the pocket.This blue pair I will wear  a lot after I closed (part) of the pocket.

As you may have noticed I’m an infrequent blogger again. There are a few projects I’ve written about but not completed the story. I’ll try to come back to those too.