A Touch of Lace Top - Burda WOF 04/05- 106.

I have been loving the lace trend and in the past have had some lace shirts/tops which I  adored  but are long gone. I was going to buy some lace but then remembered that I had a small remnant left over from a lined lace dress my oldest daughter sewed about 3 years ago - sometimes  my stash surprises even me . I also love white shirts - they are my most used and practical garments but I like them to be a little different and interesting rather than just plain. So enter .......

This Burda model looks so self assured, relaxed and chic - of course I want to sew this.

Burda WOF - Pattern 106 from April 2005 - one I have been wanting to make since well 2005 . It is a dropped shoulder almost kimono looking top with a waist band  . I used a scrap of white soft poly to interline the lace pieces . The main part of the top was cut from a fabric which looks like a light weight silk dupioni  . The top was easy to construct but I did not completely follow the instructions because they made the sewing the top harder than it should be . I only sewed up the side seams once I had completely constructed the top and then added the waist band.

 

The lace panel continues around the back and I added lace to the arm bands.

Overall this is a terrific little pattern - really great for using small pieces of scrap  fabric and the main part of the top took only 70cm  . I am thinking of trying this pattern again using some scraps of satin and experimenting with colour blocking but who know when that will happen - probably when that trend has totally passed and looks out of place :).

But for now my middle DD has announced that she does want to buy any new summer clothes but wants to me to sew her a pair of shorts and a dress - patterns and fabric have been chosen after a marathon 2 hour trip to Spotlight - I am sure this will keep me out of trouble for a while.

Cheers Janine.

Burda 7808 - Summer Dress Nirvana

An outside front view .

I have finished Burda 7808 and I am  pleased with the results . It did meet my expectations of a `perfect` summer dress - good coverage, touching my body in minimal areas but doesn`t look like a sack ( in my opinion anyway ) . The mystery fabric I used is soft and drapey , a very  pretty  green colour  and feels very smooth. It does wrinkle fairly easily but irons beautifully . I would highly recommend this pattern for others to try for a cool summer dress. The pattern comes together easily especially as I was able to eliminate the side zipper ( anything to make life simpler!) The dress is easy to get into and out without calling for the fire brigade  . The front and back inserts were a little tricky to get really nice corners so this pattern would not be suitable for an absolute beginner. However the insert is what makes this dress - they are shaped so the dress is not too baggy on the top . I think the yoke would be nice in lace or a contrast fabric or even velvet for a winter version. The other odd thing about these inserts are the neck line does not reach your belly button ( the usual burda designers must have been on strike or sedated or something ! )I have added lace and buttons for this version. At the bottom of the front yoke there is some slight gathering so the bottom of the dress is loose and floaty providing a bit of circulation for air .

Anyway not too bad for a free dress! 

Cheers until next time. Janine

Back Insert  showing princess seamed shaping.

Front Insert  with lace and buttons.

An inside back view !

Giveaway Winner and In Search of the Perfect Summer Dress.

Congratulations to Jacqueline Njeri of Kenya ! I am sending your pattern this week with another surprise - I  hope it doesn`t take too long to get there.

Bay of Fires . East coast Tasmania.

Wineglass Bay , Freycinet National Park, Tasmania.

Last week my family and I went to Tasmania for a holiday - we went to Hobart for 2 days and then Bicheno on the East Coast  for the remainder of the week. We went to Freycinet National Park and walked to Wineglass Bay and also visited the Bay of Fires. The scenery was stunning and I can see why the beaches have been named amongst the top 10 by various travel magazines. But gosh it was cold - It is the middle of summer and the temps were as low as 16 degrees celsius ( 62 F) .

Now typical of summer here,  today is 35 degrees celsius ( 96 F )  which leads me on to my next project. The what I call a Hot and Stinky Dress for those hot stinky days. I have been trying to sew a perfect dress for these days for years - one that provides coverage but  touches your body in minimal places  and doesn`t look like a sack.

I have hopes for Burda 7808 since the reviews I have seen on Pattern Review and on blogs have been favourable. I am using a mystery fabric of mystery content of mystery vintage  gifted to me from my ex neighbour Stephanie  who also gave me the pattern! The  material is a  pale green with an  apricot and taupe abstract design suggesting florals and old buildings arches . The material feels very soft and is quite drapey so I think it will be good for a summer dress.I hope it doesn`t take too long as we are in for more hot days now.

Finally my blog was also deleted in mysterious circumstances but the situation was easily and very quickly rectified. I am totally baffled as to why this occurred but happy that the problem is fixed. I know this has occurred to other blogs too - Handmade by Carolyn and Kadiddlehopper- so beware but be assured that if  the situation  happens to you your blog can easily be reinstated.

Cheers Janine.

                                                                        

The 80 Year Old Burda Skirt .

Headless shot today - just out of the shower and early in the morning - you know what I mean.

Finally complete - this skirt seems to have taken so long . I started this in mid-October and finally finished two days ago. I wore it all day yesterday at work and can say it was a success.
Why am I calling this the 80 year old skirt?
Well,the  fabric is at least 40 years old, the buttons are 30 years old , the pattern is 6 years old and the lining I `ve had for a few years as well. Only the zip and thread were new.
I was given this linen ( along with various other dress and craft and home dec fabrics )  from my (ex) neighbour Steph when she moved. Steph tells me this came from  mother`s stash and she can remember it from when she was quite young ( Steph is in her mid 60`s) so I feel really honoured to be given this . This heavy weight linen is really lovely and was very easy to work with. I can see how people become very fastidious about fabric after working with this stuff.

Burda skirt 107 from April 2005.

I used an old Burda WOF pattern -Issue April 2005 which includes the infamous twist top ( yes I have made it !) . I needed a simple skirt as the fabric is heavy weight but did not want the skirt to be completely plain . Burda is great for providing patterns which are bit different to the Big 4.
 This is a straight skirt with forward placed side seams and includes a belt which is sewn into the back darts. I eliminated the fly front and inserted a lapped zipper in the back seam. I also did not add in the pockets and walking vent but top stitched the front seams .Despite eliminating the walking vent I did not have any restrictions in walking , bending over etc at work.

 This time I remembered to add a lining to ( hopefully) reduce the linen wrinkling but forgot to insert the lining inside out ! Oh well what`s a sewing project without some kind of mistake hey . Anyway I love my new skirt - it is very summery and fruity and I can`t ever remember having a pink skirt before ( unless I was six years old or thereabouts ). I would recommend this pattern to anyone ( oh and the chance to sew with linen too ).

Close up hanger shot of skirt front.

back view showing belt insertion.

Next up are some quick and easy PJ shorts for my two older daughters while I ponder on a pattern to use with another special fabric - Liberty of London cotton given to me by another friend !
Have a nice day. Cheers Janine.

A Retrospective - Burda dress 103 02/08.

While I actually do have a new top completed to blog about I do not have a photo with the garment worn so I decided to blog about a previously made dress which I do have a photo of .Last Friday my middle teenage DD and I attended a book signing with her most favourite author Maggie Stiefvater in Melbourne City - this photo is on a tram on the way there.  This dress is out of the box for me - I am a conservative person in a conservative job BUT I am extremely pleased with the result and this shows that I should challenge my style sometimes. I reserve this dress for wearing at more fancy occasions not  for work as this dress is close fitting and sometimes there is a propensity for the front wrap to open up revealing a bit of leg.
I made this dress some 18 months ago and it was very popular on Pattern review. I have made a comment on the envelope housing my pattern that I have referred to Pattern Review and the blog Couture et Tricot in the makings as there was some mild confusion about markings on the dress patterns. I do recall though that once this issue was sorted out that the directions from Burda did make sense ( if you read them long and hard enough ) and the dress was not incredibly hard.
I have used a very fine stretch jersey as recommended and this is good for the drapey parts - however I am not sure how long wearing this dress will be . The material was a great find in an op shop - 4 1/2 metres for only $5.00 ( sometimes I think I should rename this blog the Super cheapo sewing blog ! )
Anyway I would highly recommend this dress pattern to anyone.
By the way the book signing was alot of fun - Maggie was a very funny young woman and my daughter was in heaven and all starry eyed - so much so she managed to leave my handbag lying around unattended in a shop for a few minutes until I said where is my handbag ( middle DD had asked for my handbag to get her camera out and look at all the photos of the book signing ) !
Cheers until I can bribe my 12 year old photographer to take some shots of my new top.