Burda 01-2011 #123 Looooong Boatneck Top

This is a super easy knit top but who doesn’t need lots and lots of knit tops? This Burda version was really long and was more like a dress on me. I cut a size 34 which was the smallest size for this pattern. (It’s sunny and WARM!! I think it’s around 45 degrees!!) This fabric is from the Fabric.com haul from the other day. Unfortunately for you guys, they done sold it all out.

I lopped off the middle section to see if I liked it with longer side hems. Noooope.

 

Next, I lopped off the two edges to see if I could make it more like this J. Sterns pattern. I made a few of those tops (here and here and here). This reminds me I should make a few more of those tops. In all, I probably took off about six inches off the bottom length.

 

I used my 3/8” guide foot to do the neckline. Burda has you just fold over the neckline and hem. Instead, I made self-fabric neckband that I sewed to the RS, flipped it the inside and stitched from the RS.

 

I used wrong side of the fabric. But really, is it still the wrong side if I used for the right side? If you look at my tats below you’ll see the differences.

 

Oh, wait, what??? Shiny? Shiny ring?? What?? Um, yea, I’ve officially wife swapped. Not sure how I feel about that. Well, that part of it. I’m ecstatically happy about this part of it.

 

 

 

 

And how cool is this ring? And yes, it scares the hell out of me too. It’s insured, that’s damn sure.

Year in Review Part 1

So, how did you guys do for 2009? I sewed 95 garments in all this year. It sounds pretty impressive but you have to remember that about 11 of those items were underwear. I'm always impressed when I do these graphs at the end of the year. It always seems like I don't sew for my kids but I really do. I'm not such a bad mother after all. Well, at least they have underwear. I'm surprised there are not more skirts on the graph. I feel like I do a ton of skirts and not many tops but that is clearly not the case.

This should come as no surprise to those of you who read my blog. I love BWOF (or whatever the hell they are calling themselves now) and Jalie patterns. The lone Burda is an envelope pattern.

How did you guys fare for the year sewing wise?

JSterns -- The Tee -- 0041 -- Take Three

This is item #3 for my wardrobe contest entry. Don't you love this fabric? It's so soft and cozy. I wish they (my local fabric boutique) would buy this in a few different colors. I would buy them all. I added a neckband like last time and I straightened out the hem so it wasn't so long in front. Crazy cuffs, eh?

Can you see what I did for the neckband?? I did it just like the Jeans Gaposis Fix from Emilie. I made the band and then used a larger seam allowance in the middle so the neckband would be shorter in the middle. I'm not explaining this very well, am I?? I'll take a picture for you.

I don't know if the cuffs are too much but I like them a lot.

I hope to finish my Jalie jeans this weekend too. I did a sample for the pockets. They won't be exactly like this. I will be using red instead of orange for the middle detail. It's a free pattern from Embroidery Emotions. I left out several of the colors and skipped them so my design was not so dense.

Here's the actual size compared to the pocket size. I think I'll do it diagonally like this.

Wardrobe Storyboard

You'll need to click on this to see the whole thing. I'm certainly going with a basic black and white theme aren't I? I really thought there was more color in this wardrobe. I'll have Jalie 2804 done tonight and should be able to do the review tomorrow. I think I'll hit the jeans next. I feel like I can whip this wardrobe up pretty fast because most of these are TNT patterns for me. The only new ones for me are the Burda skirt, Burda cuffed pants, and the Chanel-style jacket. I have made a muslin of that already though.

Wardrobe Contest Rough Draft and Tips

For those of you who have never done a Wardrobe Contest before, I thought I would show you how I organize my thoughts. First I make a pile of fabric. I always try to start from the fabric and choose a pattern that will work for it and not the other way around. If I choose a pattern first, I spend forever finding the perfect fabric and I usually never find it. I don't have that problem if I start with the fabric.Then, I flip through my Burda patterns notebook. I make copy of the model photo and line drawing for every pattern in my Burda magazines. I put them in a plastic envelope and stick them in a three ring binder. Voila, pattern euphoria. I usually put the fabric on my lap otherwise, I get distracted by all the eye candy and forget why I'm looking in the first place. Here's an example of one from May of last year.

After I've chosen the fabrics and patterns, I figure out if they will work together. I look at necklines very carefully. I always seem to have a jacket/vest/coat that doesn't work well with the necklines I've chosen. Then, I sketch out a list of each component just to make sure it all works together. My last step is to move to the computer and actually make the storyboard. I find it easier if I choose Burda patterns because they have nice line drawings. Some of the older Jalies don't have great line drawings and you have to fiddle with them to make them look nice on your storyboard. I think Angie over at Quality Time has some of the best photoshoppy/storyboard tutorials. Here are a few I use: Mac Storyboard Tutorial, Mixing Prints Tutorial, and Storyboard Tutorial using Paint.net.

And here, obviously, is my poorly drawn rough draft storyboard (click to see the whole width). I did this at the table this morning at breakfast. You can see that my kids also "helped" by scribbling on it. I was going to do a vest and a dress but not anymore. I think a chanel-style jacket fits better into this plan. That, and I want to make one anyhow.

JSterns -- The Tee -- 0041 -- Take Two

This one is soooooo much better than the first version. Remember the way too tight version? This is medium with measurements of b: 34" and h: 37". I'm more of a b:32"and h:36" kind of girl but I like the fit of this much better. This is buttery soft cotton jersey from the Fabrics and Notions coop. It has very little stretch.

No petite shoulder to bust tuck for me. It's weird but I swear I don't need that tuck anymore. I have a dress to show you too and I think I could have gone without the tuck. Look, I almost look busty.

I serged the hems on the sleeves and bottom.

The hems naturally roll which is the way I like it.

J. Sterns Tee #0041

Here's the J. Stern's Tee I made yesterday. It's a basic t-shirt with extra seaming details at the bust. It also has a long, curves hem at the bottom. It's about 10am here and the light isn't all that great. I mean, it's light but it's kind of blotchy because it is through the big birch trees in our yard.

I made this out of the remaining doubleknit I used on this BWOF pleated bodice dress. It's a pretty thick fabric and it wasn't a great match. It has the right amount of stretch according to the pattern envelope but it is just so thick. It's a bit tight as you can see in the photos. I made a small which is what I supposed to make according to the envelope. I may trace off the medium too. I did my typical petite 1/2" shortening between shoulders and bust. I don't think that I needed to. I think the bust seaming would look better down a 1/2" and the armhole is too tight. On a BWOF pattern, I make the armhole a bit smaller too and it's perfect. This is too snug.


Here are the swayback wrinkles. I always get these. I could put a CB seam in it but . . . well, it's just a t-shirt. You can tell it's a bit too small in the hips. I should have flared out a little bit.




See? Don't you think the seam would be better down a 1/2"? And I found that the bottom front was longer than the bodice. I stretched it to fit but that created some gathering in the top piece.



This is something that I will change if I make this again. See how long it is in the front? I'm not sure if it is supposed to be longer in the front than the back but it is. I will shorten it on the pink dotted line. Probably my swayback wrinkles are making the back a bit higher so the front looks longer. But, when I sit down, the front folds up because of my legs so it's too long anyway.

The bodice side seams.

I serged the bottom hem.

Another view of the bodice with those wrinkles. See the boat in the background? That's our ocean boat. We are headed to Homer for a week of halibut fishing.

I'll post a review later on PatternReview.com.