Pencil Skirt- Burda 8155- Pattern Review

So, I've finally figured out how to take photos of me in my creations.  I do think they look more realistic on me instead of skinny little faker size 10 (really 4) dress form.

The pattern is not centered on the front of my body in this photo- ok all the following

Side seam

I had fun wearing this all day at work.  I felt great in it and let's face it, isn't that what it's all about?  Making great clothes that no one else has that make you feel awesome.

Of course I work at an apparel company so people notice things more than maybe at other places.  One of my co workers was walking behind me and said "I can't stop looking at your butt- that pattern is memorizing!"  And then she wanted to touch it.

Back View

You know I strut around working just dying for someone to ask me where I got my skirt so I can say- I made it!  Yeah, I'm that girl.  Ok, see my review at Pattern Review DOT com.

Have a good weekend.  I'm off to yoga- as you can see from this back shot, I need it!

Pencil Skirt- Burda 8155- Fini! On to the next project.....

Gorgeous skirt with crisp waistband (not hemmed)

It's amazing what happens when the mojo hits you. It's like you want to do nothing else but sew as much as possible.  Well, when the new Vogues hit I couldn't believe how many great wearable styles there were.  I realized that I had to get through the fabric and patterns I had before the next sale hit or I would just continue to increase the pile of fabrics and patterns in the closet.....

Stitch in the ditch between the two pieces so you can't see

Perfect Waist Maker

I scurried home from buying an invisible zipper so I could finish the best pencil skirt in the world... First I remembered this tip from Cidell about waistband fusible that's made for waistbands- Dritz Perfect Waist Maker.  All you have to do is lay the perforated line on the fold line, press to adhere to fabric. Sew the thinner side to the waist, fold over at the perforated line and press.  I just turned under the seam allowance at the back side and stitched in the ditch on the front side  to finish.  

Styled with the cowl neck sweater from Anthropologie 

Back View with vent- will wear with black suede tall boots

What made me scurry home from the store to finish the skirt?  Not the Waist Maker.... it was the new rule I made myself about buying new patterns or fabric..... Well I think Suzy Orman was involved.  I saw a commercial where she pointed to a pile of money and then at a few dresses and said: "Would you rather have this or this...."  And I was thinking I don't have either one, I have a pile of fabric and patterns.  EVEN WORSE!!!!!!!  And when I went to the store to look at buttons I saw something I wanted to buy- crap!

After I married up all or most of the fabric I have with the pattern that belongs to them, I had a few non matched patterns to store in the back of my mind.  So, made the rule that I can't buy anything that doesn't already have a pattern or fabric in my possession AND must finish one project to buy a piece of next.... so finished skirt...  bought this awesome silk to match up with Cynthia Steffe Vogue dress pattern I already had.  This is such an awesome print.  I never see anything this amazing and there was only 5 yards left.  Yes, it was 20% off but I won't tell you of what price. But let's say you can't buy a silk dress for that much..... and keep it at that.  Quality people, not quantity.  Now I just need purple silk lining.

97% Silk/ 3% Lycra- weird to add lycra.  At Josephene's Dry Goods where I bought the buttons for next project

This is the next project- Wool Coat...... scary.......

Making the long version with single CF placket,  3 button cuff, debating collar. Fabric is Cashmere/Wool herringbone from Parone Fabrics in NYC.  Can't even utter how much it cost per yard, but they did give deal and the rest of the bolt. 

This is a better photo of the fabric. Button is plastic bowl with deep dish in the center.  Really cool.  2$ each- YIKES

One project finished,  permission to buy a new pattern and/or fabric......better get crackin' before I spy some more fine fabric.....

Pencil Skirt- Burda 8155

I cut out this skirt a while back, spent yesterday doing all chores and prep for the week to free up my day to sew and then..........no mojo.  Anyone have that problem?  I literally couldn't muster the umph to start.  Could have been due to the cold cold weather making my little windowed, uninsulated, old time apartment a freezer box?

Yes folks, those are little snow flakes coming at midnight. Well, the tide turned when it occurred to me that I should dress more like I was outside and I pulled on my base-layer wool shirt and a cashmere wool sweater and wool leggings under my sweats and wool socks and a beanie.  yep, like I'm outside.  Pretty.

So eventually after  a bunch of couch time- yes I have no kids or responsibility so I can just lie around and READ if I want- it's awesome- I started the skirt- yay.!   The other reason for my hesitation could have been that the pattern envelope came without any instructions.  I discovered it when I was cutting it out and panicked until I realized this is the easiest little skirt that I probably wouldn't even look at the directions, much.  But you know, it's better when they are there.  It gives you comfort.

I've sewn the darts and the center back seam and the side seams.  It was a tad snug so I took 1/8" out of all three seams.  Now it's perfect. And the flocking looks great on this skirt.  I was afraid it would be weird.

Next step: cut out lining and do the same thing.  But not today.  I need to go make a bunch of food to eat this week- busy career girl- no time to cook good food during the week.  And, I'm trying to eat clean all week. We'll see if that happens.

Oh, and the Ducks are playing in the BCS championship or some such hoopla tomorrow night.  I think my entire company will leave at 3 just to settle into their position to view the show.  Beaver or Duck, most are rooting for OREGON!

Tropical Print Dress, BWOF 6/2010 dress #123

Tropical disaster dress......

You'd think a dress that has two pieces would be easy for any sewer to execute with no problem.  That is where you are wrong (or I was wrong).  If you have any degree of smug confidence that is where you begin to disregard the instructions and trouble ensues......

Maybe it's the translation of instructions from German to English or maybe it's because I had two glasses of Chardonnay while attempting this dress, but each step I had to redo or fix.   Actually, I didn't have any wine while making this dress.  Only good 'ol Crystal Light, but it has so far been fraught with peril. Ah, the drama.....
So the dress comes in 38-46.  I cut a 40. The dress comes in two iterations- one with pockets and lace trim and one w/out pockets and lace trim.  So I traced the pieces and anyone who has traced off these pages knows it's a trick of the eye to find the right lines and follow them. But, the weird thing was that at the bottom hem of the front piece, instead of a solid line, there are just arrows coming down the side seam.  I had no idea what this meant so I just connected them across and made that the hem line.   Well it turns out that this length garners me a pattern piece that is about 4" too short to match up with the side seam. 

So I had to piece in a panel to extend the length to meet the other piece.  Because of the print, you can't even detect it in photos or in person.  Even that, didn't help my micro mini length that is exacerbated when belted.  And I didn't find it out till later. 

Anyway, you follow the first step and it says to "neaten seams" which I read as trim seams.  Then I connected connect the front to the back  at the back yoke area and reread the first step "neaten seams" which meant that I cut off the BLEEPing seams that were supposed to be the casing for the elastic. UGH!

So, I fixed that by making a makeshift casing out of bias tape.  That didn't work great and the casing kept slipping out of the stitching which makes it weird to gather the elastic.  I ended up having to pull out the elastic twice and put it in again for that reason.

After rushing to finish this so I could take it on my OSU weekend visit to Corvallis, it finished up ok, without further issues.  Looks pretty cute, but I'm not wild about it.  It's kinda boring and doesn't really do anything for me.  I really dig this fabric but, think it deserves a less sackish dress.

                                        KKG pledge sisters, class of '90 L-R: Traci, Sheila, me, Kim
Here we are on the steps of the OSU MU- that was closed, darnit.  As you can see I'm hunching, perhaps due to the french fries I ate for lunch (as an entire meal- as if I were still in college) or maybe to attempt to make my mini look less micro.

                                                         KKG pledge sisters, class of '90 L-R:Sheila, me, Kim, Melissa
 I don't have pics of me in it from the back but in hindsight it was 95 degrees, and this was quite comfortable.  I usually need something covering my shoulders and chest for sun shade reasons and the fabric was breathable and didn't stick to me. My thighs did stick to the booth in the restaurant but that's gonna happen.

Here's the back view on the form.  The moral of my story is not to be so smug that I know everything and read the directions more carefully, don't watch re-runs of Criminal Minds while sewing, and cut the attitude lady.

Wow, I think I just opened a can of whoop ass on myself. Where did that come from?
 
Post script- What a fine looking group of ladies.  AND, I never realized how much shorter I was than all my friends.  Note to self, meet shorter friends so I look taller or wear heals.

Where for art thou August issue of Burda Style Magazine?

I'm over this monthly search for one of the few copies of Burda Style Magazine that make it to Portland Oregon. 

On Sunday and Monday I hit Powell's World Of Books, Rich's Smoke Shop and called Bolt Fabrics.  No one has their copies yet.  Just now at lunch I went to Josephine's Dry Goods to buy bias tape for the last seam on the 40th birthday dress and I exclaimed out loud, "Oh!" and then "oh."  when I saw a Burda sticking out of the mag rack but then quickly realized it was a Plus issue from last month.  I didn't even  know that they carried it and the lady at the counter said that EVERYONE is waiting.

Powell's seems to get theirs mid month and it costs $9.00.  Riches Smoke Shop gets ONE copy, a few days earlier but it's $11.50.  When I was in there on Sunday the guy said someone bought it but I don't think it's really come in yet.  They told me to call late on Thursday when they get their next shipment. It's all a little bit more hoop jumping than this circus girl wants to do. But what else CAN I do?

Does everyone have their copy but me?  I'm pouting with my arms folded- wah!  What I don't understand is why in this day and age it takes so long to get issues from Germany to the west coast of the USA.   I am expecting them to stock the September issue (coveted) any day now, why can't they (the magazine distributors) get us a copy by the first week of the month it's publish for?  Why is it so hard? Am I in a snit for nothing?  I don't see anyone recapping the magazine picks yet, maybe I'm being unreasonable, and yet high expectations have taken me far in life.   WHERE IS IT?

Then I found this link for Canada that says it's mailing August 9th!!!  Balls, that was Monday, does that mean it's leaving freaking Deutschland on the 9th?

Is it time for me to get a subscription? I was thinking that might be a good Christmas or birthday present request (maybe a few people could get together).  However, I'm still waiting for my subscription to Vogue that the person who drew my name for Christmas opted not to get me even though they asked me specifically what I wanted.  I just don't know if my heart can take the toiling over when it will come in........
sigh....... rant complete.   Carry on with your day.

BWOF 6/2010 skirt 134, Revival of Sloppy College Sweatshirt.

Let it be said that I'm new to the blogging thing.  And therefore, I get going on a project and forget to take pictures as I go and end up trying to retro fit it so you can see what happened.  Here it is the original Oregon State University Sweatshirt.  (PS. I did not pick my living room rug based on my college affiliation)

Now, I graduated in '93, and I'm positive that I bought this either upon exiting the school or some time shortly after so it's a total mystery as to why it says 88 and why it shows XL as the size because it is a large.  At any rate I've had it in my closet for close to 18 years and I never never never wore it even around the house.  About 3 years ago when I moved back to Oregon from California I tried to motivate myself to wear big sloppy collage sweatshirt by cutting the neck a la Flash Dance, but alas it become no more appealing to wear. 

So, I've had in my head for some time to make it into another garment because it's a really great quality Champion thick fleece and if you look in the fabric stores it's nearly impossible to find a brushed fleece in heather gray anywhere.  Along comes the June issue of Burda Style and what do I find in the "sewing and styling" section but a grey fleece skirt and lo and behold there's a pattern for it!  Yippee.  Enter big sloppy college sweatshirt that has followed me around for 18 years and my scissors.  I cut and assembled part of the skirt before I took the above picture but you get the gist that this is what it looked like before I cut it up.  Anyway, I decided that I wanted to use the bottom rib hem for the hem of the skirt so I just layed out the pattern pieces and cut so that I just had to sew the darts and side seams. Magic right? 

The lame part was that in order to do that it meant that I could't get much of the design on the actual skirt piece because it was so long and I wanted it above the knee. And, I thought it was better to have the rib at the bottom then to have the logo XL across my bottom, which it kind of is, but if I wear a shirt untucked you don't see.  I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this does absolutely nothing for my actual XL a$s, but man is it comfy.   I digress.  So I ditched the pockets even though I did cut them out of leftover black knit and I was going to use the rib as the pattern advises, but because the way the sweat shirt was originally there is a double panel of rib along the side seam so that would be WAY too bulky on my hips and I didn't need the pockets.   The waist is finished with a facing and then the black and gray cording is passed through it for a drawstring.  I just punched holes in the front with my eyelet tool from scrapbook world.  I'm sure they'll frey out at some point.    But it works for now.

And finally because there was only half of the design used for the back panel, I thought I would use the rest to make a little kanga pocket on the front, repeating the rib at the edges of the pocket openings there instead of at the side seam. 

I just applied it flat to the front panel w/a raw edge in the rip n repair sort of manner which makes it OK that the the design is not centered on the pocket but pretty much is on the garment.   Also, I don't have a close up, but the bottom edge of the pocket is not jaged it's just the negative space in the print making look like it is.   

So there you have it the random skirt that I made from an old college sweatshirt and am actually wearing to work today.  We have a pretty casual crew here but I do usually try to step it up.  Then my boss tells me that some peeps are coming from a well know shoe company, that we are doing a collaboration with, today and I'm totally embarrassed that I'm wearing a sweatshirt as a skirt to work when we have a meeting that I didn't know about.  Whatever, they can get over it.    This is the perfect skirt for lounging around, doing laundry, running to the grocery store etc.  AND, this weekend I'm going down to OSU w/my sistas to visit the old sorority and have a sleepover!  So I can wear this skirt while we braid each other's hair and have pillow fights (yeah that's what we are going to do with our time).  Yes, look out Corvallis, we're coming to the Kastle and you will never be the same.  If we can stay up past 10 pm that is..... AND I hope to purchase another college sweatshirt or item that I will actually wear.

Maiden Voyage- Burda pattern 7493 view B

My first Burda!  From the 2010 collection:

I have not made anything from the magazine yet, but that's next. Have tracing paper, will trace. Stay tuned.

Fabric is 100% cotton Ikat woven stripe. Ikat is super hot right now. Mine is very light shirting weight, so I lined it with a 100% cotton lawn in olive color. Both fabrics purchased from the wonderful Josephine's Dry Goods in Portland, OR.

Since this was my first time making a Burda pattern, and the first fitted woven in many moons, I made a muslin.  Also, there was no pattern review yet for this style so I didn't want to risk it. Now there is!

Made the muslin out of, what else?  Muslin. Then put it on the dress form and marked the pieces with their pattern piece numbers. I wanted the side panel pieces to be on the bias, and then the side seams to chevron.  See below the interesting intersection of side seam and armband under arm. Next, I drew the direction of the grain that I wanted on each piece to guide me and marked the tissue pieces, so when I cut the fashion fabric I wouldn't get confused.  I also drew a sketch before hand- several actually.


I constructed the front and back bodice and skirt and then connected them at the waist, as the instructions. Then I also constructed all the same pieces out of the lining material, sewing them right sides together with the body fabric at the armhole and then turning the lining to the inside creating a clean finished armhole. This way I eliminated the facing (hate facings). 

The rest of the garment I made as per the instructions.  After getting hooked on reading all the blogs I was reminded by the lovely Amanda, that seam binding makes the a garment look finished and polished. She has some fantastic tutorials, and finishes everything beautifully.   My mother used to say "a garment should look as beautiful on the inside as it does on the outside."   Advice that I summarily ignored till I was in school and I was graded on it. Also, I realized that this fabric will probably fray a bit with washing as my other ikat project did when I pre-washed and lost about 1" to fraying.  So I used bias tape on the seam where I applied the zipper.

I finished the hem using 2" wide poly lace.  I didn't mean to get such a wide lace and then when I sewed it in it looked super cute, but itched the back of my legs like crazy when I sat down. So I need to take it out and do somethings else.

The fit of this garment was great in the chest and neck and bust. The mid bodice waist needed a little more fitting/shaping so it wasn't a "shapeless"shift.   I didn't go back in and adjust those seams as I didn't want to change the shape of the side bodice and skirt pieces. After seeing pics of me in it, I wish I did, but I've other Burda to conquer.

I know that with some drafting I could have adjusted the center and created more shape but ultimately I was looking for kind of a shift.  Also, it pulled a little at the hips in the muslin, so I sewed the side and cb seams with 1/2" seam allowance i/o 5/8".  I also shortened the skirt 5" so it was just above the knee.  This is a great kicking around doing errands when it's 80 degrees, or meeting friends for lunch dress.

The other advice I have on this garment is that finishing the neck band so that it's even is not easy. Mine looks a little wonky on one side but I think I might be the only one that can tell.  I would probably use a template constructed out of heavy paper to press it so that it's even all the way around. 

Edit... added photo 

Here it is: a photo of me in the dress.  I won't wear those shoes now that I see them.