Am I busty yet?? Burda 06-2009 #102

This is BWOF 06-2009 #102. It's the pleated knit top in the newest issue of BWOF. The little sewing tip next to the pattern says, "The jersey top on the opposite page is particularly suited for women with a small bust, as the pleats add volume. Ladies with a large bust should topstitch pleat folds in place to prevent pleats from opening, thus reducing volume." When I read this, I thought, "Wow! I'll be busty when I wear this top! Wooo hoooo!" Well, I chose the wrong fabric. All in all, I really like the pattern but this one will be a wadder. I used a bamboo/lycra jersey. I've never used this fabric before. Does bamboo always wrinkle so badly? Out of the dryer, it was a mess. Ironing it made the edges curl like crazy. I should have known better than to try it with this top. This would be great as a thin layering t-shirt with no details. Putting the folds in almost killed me.

Okay, the nitty gritty. This top had two bodices. The pleats are done on the front version. There is also a dart tucked into those outer pleats. On the bodice lining there is no pleating but the dart is still there.


After you pleat your little heart out, you put the two layers together. You put them wrong sides together so you can sew the darts together. I assume this is to keep the two layers joined.



After pleating and joining the bodices, it's a piece of cake. Join the waist and peplum and attach to the bodice. I think the pattern has a lot of promise. I think I'll use a much more stable knit and make the dress version. This fabric was just too wimpy. I like the length on it. I didn't tack down the facing because I knew, at this point, I would be chucking this. I will be including the facing on the next go around. Since the bodice is lined, I can handsew the facing to the lining and it will be secure. You could just bind it but I like the look of no topstitching with all those pleats.



Here's a blow-up of that previous picture. You can see the pleats are unfolding themselves and sort of falling out of shape. Stitching the pleats closed would also help with this. I also *cough* forgot to do my shoulder to bust shortening too. That will help to make that area tighter. The v-neck is low but it'll be perfect once I do the 1/2" I usually do.

You can see the knit is stretched out in places.

So, no, I'm not busty yet but I'll get there. See where my shirt goes over my jeans? That's an indicator of how this this knit is. You can actually see the waistband of my jeans if you look closely.

I'll post this over at PatternReview.com too because I know there were several people wanting to make this top.