Burda 03-2010 #126 Slouchy Knit Top

Once my entries are submitted to the Sewing Bee, I find that I have a lot of nervous energy. What to do with this extra energy? Why, I must sew, darlings!! This week is spirit week at my place of employment. Monday was Tie Dye day so I made a cute tie dye top. It’s a very simple pattern from the March 2010 magazine of Burda. This is a rayon knit from the National City Swap Meet. It’s very thin and drapey. This picture is the best representation of the color of the top.

 

Here it is on a washed-out me. The camera was working fine, but then the red was a little too much shock and awe for the camera. I only had a little over a yard of this fabric so I knew I needed some sort of easy-fitting top.

 

I really like the bat-like sleeves.

 

After trying it on, I found that the neckline on the back seemed to stretch out over my shoulders. After the fact, I attched a piece of clear elastic with a zig zag to the seam allowance of the neckline. I did stabilize the shoulders and should have done the same thing to the neck.

 

Isn’t it cute in a thicker fabric too? I may have to make this again. In stripes!!

Sewing Bee–Round - Bias Dress

Woof. This dress wrecked me. It’s not a hard dress, it’s not super technical or anything, but those arrows. . . and fitting everything on fabric on the bias . . . and more matching of arrows . . . yikes.

So here’s the backstory. I was pretty annoyed with this challenge for a few days. I actually could not sleep one night because I was so worried about figuring out a stupid pattern. In my head, I kept thinking of flowy, billowy, clingy bias dresses. I am not that gal, I hate slippery fabrics and hate wearing them. They always feel cold to me and I’m an Alaskan. I do not enjoy cold fabric on me. Then I realized that “bias” is just how you are cutting it. Ding, ding, ding! Once I got over that hump, I realized that Burda had tons of simple bodices that I could add a circle to and be done. Then, I realized that back in 2012, I actually made the perfect pattern for this dress. Really, my only change was to make there be a CF seam, length it, and to, of course, cut everything on the bias.

 

I spent so much time getting these arrows to match. So. Much. Time.

 

Under some sewing miracle, the side seams also match. This was not planned, it was just good luck.

 

There is a slight hi-low hem and the waist seam also goes down in the back.

 

This is a canvas from Cotton + Steel. Yes, a canvas. And it still spins like this! It’s a great fabric.

 

I did not line it because it was so pretty. I love how the inside makes chevrons too.

 

I bound the sleeves and neckline with bias strips.

 

I totally nailed this invisible zipper. The chevrons match, you can’t see the zipper, and there are no ripples or bumps at the end of the zipper.

 

I love how each chevron is unique because they are not all arrows meeting in the middle. My favorite is the gold metallic dots that meet in the middle.

 

I pinked every seam and pressed almost all the seams open so you can see the fun chevrons on the inside too.

 

This was the original pattern. I added 8.5” to the peplum to make it a dress. I lowered the neckline by 2 inches and I left off the sleeves.

 

 

I spend so much time on my knees marking the skirt panels on this fabric. I had to move them over and over again and try to fit everything on this fabric while making sure that the stupid lines matched. You can see I barely had enough fabric.

 

Woof, indeed. Even with all the hard work, I do really love the dress.

Sewing Bee - Round 2 (EEK!)

So I made it to Round 2 of the Sewing Bee. Go me!!

Here are the rules with the pertinent ideas in bold:

Rules:
1. Sew a garment using fabric cut on the bias grain.
2. The garment may be made from any woven fabric. Knit fabrics and stretch woven fabrics are not allowed in this round.
3. The entry must be intended for an adult. It can be for a man or a woman; it can be for yourself, members of your family, friends, acquaintances or charity - basically, any adult! As always, items intended for sale are disallowed in this contest.
4. One entry per person. As with all contests, the entry must be made entirely by the entrant, although advice and input from others is allowed.
5. Write a complete review including photos. The review must be self-contained; no links to blogs or affiliates allowed. (Any embedded links to pictures within the review will be ignored)
6. You must include a minimum of 3 photos in your review. Composite pictures are fine. At minimum one of the photos must be of the garment being worn. One picture must clearly show the grain compared to the cutting lines or seam lines (this can be taken during or after construction of the garment).
7. Self-drafted or commercial patterns are allowed. Combinations of multiple patterns or self-drafted and commercial patterns are allowed.
8. You may NOT make any changes to your review after the Round 2 deadline.
9. Failure to adhere to these rules will result in disqualification.

Well, crap. Seriously, I'm not a fan of working with the bias. The last thing I made on the bias was a dud. As in, I actually cut it up and recycled it into cute pencil purses. That wasn't even all the way on the bias, just the back was on the bias. First, I have to find a pattern, so I'm looking through my treasure trove of Burda patterns. I'm also going to be perusing the web for help with sewing bias garments. Ripply seams be damned! I would love to do something with stripes too. The other thing that is messing with me is I have very little non-stretch woven material. I will probably have to buy it which means JoAnn's. That is really the only fabric store here. Siiiighhhh. This round may knock me out of this competition. 

Research and things for me to read:
Seamwork magazine has an article about working with the bias. 
Threads also has an article. 
Tilly and the Buttons - 5 Tips for Sewing on the Bias

My Sewing Bee Entry #1

What a busy week!!! The Sewing Bee at Pattern Review started and, of course, I was out of town for the three out of the seven days. When I got back to town, I had four days to sew up my shorts. The challenge was to make a pair of capris or shorts. The full details and rules are here. 

I chose to make shorts and I chose the Burda Style July 2013 pattern #105. These are called "short shorts" and understandable so. They are frickity-frackin' short. I was originally thinking these would be cute for work, but no. Just no. I really love them but they are going out shorts, not work shorts. They looked longer in the model photos.

I used a pink wool boucle I had in stash and love the way they turned out. Love them!!  Granted, they are short bootie shorts made in wool. It amuses me and I will still wear them. 

I couldn't even find tights that had designs that went that high up my leg. You can see in this picture. Oops. Slutty-McSluttertin, anyone?

 

I did make a muslin out of a non-stretch woven. The fit was okay, but I've been finding that adding a little length in the CB of pants is really a good thing for me. Sometimes they get a, um, little high. High in a bad place if you know what I mean . . . Here is the adjustment I did on these shorts. 

Eep! Here you can see how short they really are. This is a really cute pattern though. I can totally see me making these a few more times once I add a couple of inches to the length. The fit is great, the pleats are cute and there are big pockets. 

I lined the inside because they are wool and I plan to wear them with tights. Of course, I couldn't resist zebra print. Hellz yes. 

The waistband is just a rectangle folded in half for the facing. Usually I need something a bit more shaped, but this one fits well as is. I used a black narrow bias tape for trimming the bottom of the waistband facing. 

Pockets are also lined with the zebra print. 

How cute are the pleats? That is my favorite part. Overall, I really like how they turned out. I'm hoping they get me into Round #2. There are so many great submissions to this first round. I'm a little intimidated by the competition! I'm terrified of the "creative" round. That is NOT one of my strong points! 

Pattern Review's Sewing Bee

I'm in this year! Wish me luck! Here are the rules for the first challenge. I emphasized some of the more salient points.

Dates: September 1 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time through September 7 at midnight. All times are per the Pattern Review website.

Rules:
1. Sew a pair of shorts or capri pants. (Not allowed in this contest: full length pants, ankle length pants, 7/8 pants, overalls, rompers, jumpsuits/onesies, pull-on/elastic waist pants or leggings.) By definition, capri pants are meant to be calf-length.
2. The shorts or capris may be made from any woven fabric. Knit fabrics are not allowed in this round. Stretch wovens are allowed.
3. The shorts/capris must have a closure. They may include elastic as part of the waistband, but there MUST also be some sort of closure- button, zipper, snaps etc. Ties are not considered a closure. So Wrap Style Shorts are not allowed.
4. The entry must be intended for any adult: man or a woman it can be for yourself, members of your family, friends, acquaintances or charity - basically, anyone! As always, items intended for sale are disallowed in this contest.
5. One entry per person.
6. Write a complete review including photos. The review must be self-contained; no links to blogs or affiliates allowed.
7. You must include a minimum of 3 photos in your review. Front view, photo of the closure and a photo shown worn on a live model.
8. Self-drafted or commercial patterns are allowed. Combinations of multiple patterns or self-drafted and commercial patterns are allowed.
9. You may NOT make any changes to your review after the Round 1 deadline.
10. Failure to adhere to these rules will result in disqualification.

I am choosing to make shorts because I think capris can be tricky. The sewing of them is not tricky, but the fitting of them and the length are tricky. Here are some options from Burda that I’m mulling about in my brain. I like them all. I am thinking of doing a wool coating type of “business” shorts that could be worn with tights and still look work professional. Maybe. Also maybe not. At this point, the challenge came out this morning and I’m thinking of all possible shorts that I like. I won the first ever Sewing Bee and I chose patterns I had already muslined and used at least once before. I haven’t used any of these patterns before. Here are some inspiration pictures from Pinterest that caught my eye.

 

All of these shorts are kind of the same with minor differences. They all have some sort of pleat or tuck in the front. they are all pretty short, and I think they might be perfect for inspiration photos.

 

These are not like the others, but I like the tie detail.

 

I really like the seaming on these but they are very different than the others too.

 

Hmmmmmmm . . . I’ll muslin something together in the next couple of days and then I’ll make my shorts. I’m thinking of a pink wool coating. Too much? It might be. It might also be just enough. :)

Jalie 2805 Hack - T-shirt to Dress

Jalie 2805 is just a t-shirt pattern. A boring ol’ knit top pattern that can be the base for so many things. So. Many. Things. I just adore this pattern. I’ve used it as a “boring ol’ knit top” too because it fits well every time and there are four different necklines and four different sleeve options. Anyway, I’ve really been on this graphic black-and-white kick for a while now and I had this fun knit, and I wanted something fun and easy. And zebra dress was born! Here I’m wearing it with my red leather Burda Obi belt from 2009!!

 

I love, love, love this belt from the back.

 

You can see the bodice in the front is a little too high. When I wear a thin belt, the belt hangs on my natural waist which is about an inch lower than the seam.

 

The back is about exactly where my natural waist is.

 

You can see even with this tick, chunky belt that it is below the seam. I hate that! I do love these shoes though.

 

Instead of using a t-shirt type neckline, I folded it under and stitched. I wanted the neck a bit more open.

 

And what the heck kind of fabric is this stuff? It’s kind of crinkly on the top layer and smooth underneath. It has lots of horizontal stretch and a little vertical stretch. I assume it’s a double knit because of the two distict layers (one crinkly and one flat). I’m sure it is mostly polyester. I bought this at the National City Swap Meet. It was $2.00/yard and I really like it, I just don’t know what to call it.

Quick Directions for making your own:

1. I used Jalie 2805 and estimated where I thought my waist would be (note to myself: add an inch to this, you do-do!). On this pattern, the waist seems to be where the side seam notches are. Remember to add a seam allowance to this new “cut line”. When I sewed the top, I made extra wide seam allowances at the waist so it would be more fitted.
2. I then went to the Circle Skirt App by By Hand and typed in my measurements. I used the Quarter skirt. For my waist measurement, I used the circumference of my t-shirt bodice. I originally wanted a half circle skirt, by didn’t have enough fabric. Oh, and this is the “mini” length so you can see it isn’t that mini.
3. Sew up your skirt, attach it to your bodice and do all the hems. Voila, new fun dress!