BurdaStyle 05/2012 - 119 Skirt

Some more scrapbusting sewing to use up this piece of embroidered cotton.  I chose this pleated skirt from Burda 05/2012 - 119, it's a pretty basic skirt and very easy to make, but has some nice details.

One thing I really liked about it is that the back is just a darted a-line shape, sometimes I find full skirts, especially in a lightweight fabric, too tutu like on my body - this is a perfect compromise.

I modified it slightly by omitting the fly front, cutting the front on the fold and putting an invisible zip in the centre back (the skirt already has a centre back seam, but I needed to add one in the back waistband).  It just seemed a lot of effort to put in a fly front when it wouldn't show in this fabric at all.  If I make this again in a solid though I'll put it in.

I like the shaped waistband, although it's hard to see the seamlines in this fabric.

I didn't have enough fabric to match the back seam, it's not ideal, but I can live with it.

The cotton is quite thin so I added a red china silk lining - also from scraps which is why it is quite a bit shorter than the skirt, but long enough to do the job.

Close up of the pocket

I'm wearing it here with a tucked in RTW cotton shirt, I need to make a couple more lightweight tops for tucking in, the beauty of black and white is almost any colour will work.

BurdaStyle 05/2012 - 110 Top

I wanted to use up the remnants of fabric I had left over from the dress I made recently, it was one of those annoying pieces that are slightly too small to do very much with and slightly too big to throw away.  I managed to just squeeze out this draped neck top from the May 2012 BurdaStyle.  I had to add a centre back seam and I also added ties in each side seam to give it a bit more shaping.

Here is the pattern from the magazine:

This is a very straightforward top to make so there really isn't anything to say about construction except that Burda suggest cutting it on the bias in the jersey version.  I've made this top before and found that in jersey the neckline drapes perfectly well cut on the straight grain so save yourself some fabric if you make this.  I also took in the side & shoulder seams at least 2 sizes so you might want to think about going down a size too, although bear in mind my fabric is very thin and stretchy.

I feel much better having used up every last bit of this fabric, but plenty more still to go from my last spree, must get sewing....

Close up of the neckline.

Close up of the ties - basically just tubes turned and caught in the side seam, I shaped them a bit so they are wider at the side seam.

I wore this to travel back from Chiang Mai home to Hong Kong recently with my denim pencil skirt.  I look surprisingly happy here given we were about to leave!

Cowl top duo

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on my last post, I think you are right that I just need a bit of time away from it and to pep it up with some interesting accessories.  I tend to prefer wearing dresses because I recognise that I really am no good at putting separates together and I don't have a lot of skill with accessories either.

I also came to my senses and decided that rushing to make something new for the wedding I am attending would probably end in disaster.  In July, Erica B came to a similar conclusion for an upcoming event and grabbed a DKNY dress from her closet.  I have decided to do the same and hope some of her fabulousness wears off on me!  I even commented at the time which is why I can remember it.........

"AllisonC said...

You know whenever I have made something last minute I have not been truly happy with it. I generally adore DK patterns and this one looks fantastic on you."

I'm going to wear Donna Karan, Vogue 1159 a very similar dress to Erica's.  I'll try and get some decent photos at the wedding.

But, I still had to make something new to take so I have made two simple knit cowl tops using up some remnants in my stash.  I'm sure I could keep my stash much tidier without all these small half cut raggedy pieces.  Both needed a bit of creative piecing of the fabric scraps, but I managed it.

This one is a silk jersey, made using the famous Vogue 1250 Donna Karan (again!) dress, shortened to a top.  The jersey, which feels divine to wear is very drapy so I found I needed to stitch the neckline together a bit to control it.  To get it out of my small piece of fabric I added a centre back seam and a band at the hem, the busy print means you can hardly see these extra seams.

This grey top with metallic silver stripes was made using Burdastyle magazine 05/2012 - 110.  I started out with my usual size 38 and found it to be huge, I had to take it in at the side seams by a good 2 sizes to get the fit I wanted.  The short on fabric solution for this one is a back hem panel with the stripes going in the opposite direction.  Excuse the wrinkles!

Burda Style 05/2012 - 105 Blouse

Thank you for the feedback on my two skirts, I'm wearing the border print one right now with a black shirt belted on top so I already have 2 top options to wear with it.  Just want to answer a couple of queries before we crack on with my new blouse;

On the border print skirt - 

• It is unlined, but it would be easy to add a lining and attach it to the top of the skirt pieces before putting the waistband on.

On the maxi skirt - 

• It has side seams, no centre back seam, this is so I could shape it to fit me, but it would be an even quicker sew with just one seam up the back - you'd then need to make it straight all the way up and will have a bit more fullness at the waist.
• The width at the hem is approximately 46 inches.  I did consider putting splits in the side seams but found this was comfortable enough to walk in without them in this stretchy fabric.
• The shirt was not made, but bought very cheaply at an export shop here which sell factory samples and overruns.  The buttons say Next (a UK store) and the label says Calvin Klein.  It is probably neither!

So onto new stuff......

Like many of you I found lots to love in the May issue of Burda, I've made a list, traced a bunch of patterns so we will see how many I get around to making up.  I also had a splurge on Vogue patterns in the latest sale so I feel a need to make some of the Vogues from previous releases that are still sitting pristinely in their envelopes.

Anyway I decided to start with this simple but interesting top with a tie overlay - #105.  

I used a paisley patterned batiste from my stash which of course does not go with any of the skirts I made recently, but that is the way I sew (i.e. totally randomly).  It is quite a delicate fabric but the front overlay stops it being indecent!

This was really easy to sew, I did make a couple of changes;

• I cut the back on the fold - I can't see the point in putting in a centre back seam if it is going to be straight. 
• Be sure to finish or fold in the front facing edge before attaching the neck facing per the instructions or you will be stuck with an unfinished edge.  Burda made this up in jersey so maybe they saw no need to finish the edge (the instructions also say not to add a seam allowance to this edge which I ignored)
• I used 4 buttons instead of 3 snaps

Things to look out for;

• The sleeve bands are about as snug as I would want them, check before you sew.
• There is a lot of fullness in the front, if you are not comfortable with this then you can add darts as  blouses 103 and 104 use the same pattern pieces.  I'm resisting the urge to do this for now because I think it will be perfect when the humidity hits 99.9% here.