The Wave Skirt - Burdastyle 12/2012 .

skirt front 

I`m still choosing my next projects to sew by trying to get through my recent unused Burdastyle magazines hence making a summer skirt in the slap bang middle of winter. And yes a five year old Burdastyle is recent for me !
I bought this piece of batik in 2010 from the op shop but it was only small - just over one metre in length and only 115cm wide . I also  had this piece of aqua linen bought  from another  op shop but from  years before and amazingly they match really well .(  I have  already previously made a skirt from the aqua linen and after cutting out the contrast waves there was just enough to cut out a top yet to be sewn . )

skirt back 

I saw this skirt in the December 2012 issue and thought it might be an interesting and different way to use my batik . It is a slight A line skirt with 4 darts in the front and back, a centre back zip  and a narrow waist band. The lower bands are gently curved.
I lengthened the main body of the skirt by a few centimetres but did not make any other changes.

right skirt side 

 When I was tracing out the skirt patterns I was lazy and only traced out one back and one front. This made  cutting out the fabric harder because the curves are different on both sides. It meant I was cutting away curves on the tissue paper and then having to add them again when cutting out the contrast bands. It got a bit confusing and I made one mistake luckily rectified. So if anyone reading this wants to make this skirt I would trace out a complete front skirt and two separate backs and follow the layout diagram Burda provides. This would have been much  quicker in the end !

Considering I only had a small piece of batik I was pretty happy in the end with the pattern matching on the back and it is OK on the sides - good enough for me anyway . I will not make this wave skirt again but might make the basic A line skirt pattern . Overall I am happy with the result and only have to wait a few months to wear it now.

left skirt side 

Stay Calm and Sew Ruffles - Burdastyle 08/2012 Blouse 130

Actually that is not really correct - about the ruffles I mean. The description in Burda is as follows - The casual jersey blouse narrows over the hips and has soft appeal. An angled ruffle , lovely bateau neckline and raglan sleeves are all flattering details. Quite a contentious statement in more ways than one  :)  So I know I have really sewn a flouncy top but I liked my post heading :)

Burda lists this pattern as easy to sew and initially I was skeptical about that but it really was. It is  essentially a raglan sleeve top with two extra flounces. 

Above shows the front piece which consists of a lower and upper front .The lower large flounce is laid on top of the lower front piece and basted together and then sewn to the upper front. 

The flounce is then folded so the wrong side shows and the edge basted to the side seam. 

The smaller upper flounce is laid over the lower flounce and basted to the neckline and armscye . The rest of the construction is just like a normal raglan sleeved top so pretty easy. The back is totally plain.  The raglan sleeves consist of two pieces . The neckline is finished with a facing and the flounce edges and hems are left unfinished. The instructions also have the sleeve hems left raw but I couldn`t help but hem at least those ones. 

I had trouble finding reviews for this top. Sharonsews made one and found it to be oversized . This made me a little bit nervous but as I was using a non-sentimental piece of cheap jersey from the op shop I just went for it. I do like to sew using different fabrics and to experiment with different styles . I cut out my usual size 40 but did not add seam allowances to the sides. I found the top to be comfortable but not oversized. However I was surprised by how long the top was. Burda drafts for heights of 168cm and I am just slightly taller than that. My top seems longer than what the modelled shot shows. 

Overall this is a very nicely drafted top with clever details that came together really well.