Burda 10/2005-115: Still in the Jungle

This great snow leopard ITY was just crying out to be sewn for Jungle January, but none of my usual knit top patterns were singing to me. I was randomly flipping through some old issues of Burda, when I ran across this great top with draped collar in the 10/2005 issue that I had mentally earmarked to make, then forgot.

10 years later... Ok, not really. It's an issue my mom gave me, but it has still been several years. I'm always impressed at the longevity of some Burda patterns. When you weed through the uber-trendy, there are always a few high quality classics that will stand the fashion test of time. I think this design is one of those.

In essense, this is a simple design; a basic fitted tee with long, banded sleeves. The interest comes in with the semicircular, not-quite-a-cowl collar.

In an atypical move for Burda, there is not cleavage baring plunge here. The neckline is fairly high and the collar wraps around to drape over the shoulders.

In back, the shape of the collar is more evident. In matching the dominant black stripe of the print across the collar in front, the circularity of the collar makes matching in the back impossible. You can see how the collar is shaped by following the rotation of the leopard print. You can also see that I should have done a full butt adjustment. Next time.

I made no alterations to the pattern, other than the construction of the collar. Burda had the collar a single layer, with a plain hem around the edge, but this fabric is fairly slinky and I knew there was a much greater than zero chance of the wrong side showing as I moved, so I did a double layer collar, seamed at the outer edge rather than hemmed. It has very nice weight and drapes beautifully without exposing the wrong side, but it did eat up a lot of yardage, particularly as I matched the dominant black stripe.

All in all, I'm pretty thrilled with this top! I'll definitely  be using this pattern again. I'll probably lengthen it a bit to give it a more modern feel (and to balance out my short-waisted, long torso), and adjust for my prominent backside, but this is well on its way to becoming a favorite pattern. Now to breeze through those old Burdas again! Who knows what other gems they are hiding?

BWOF 08/2009-114

Whew! I haven't had this much trouble with something I've made in quite a while. I'm just glad it turned out wearable, although I may still shorten it.This is the sweater that I made to go with my Butterick 4461 skirt.
Here is the ensemble. Front.
Side.
and back. I'm holding Myra here, so I'm standing a bit weird.

So, on to the troubles... First of all, I should have known better than to try out a new fabric (sweater knit) on a BWOF pattern without the sewing course (which I've never done before) that more experienced sewists than I have had trouble with.

My first trouble was in the layout. I should have stopped there!! I didn't have quite enough fabric to get the sleeve part on grain. So I cut it any which way it fit. I know better, but I really wanted to make this sweater! That actually ended up fine. Turns out that this pattern really doesn't require stretch, and this knit was really stretchy.

Assembling the front bodice was a little odd. There is a partial lining that encloses the side front seam allowances. It went together, although in retrospect, I'm not sure I did it right. Also, that front lining is short and leaves a weird fold right at the waistline, where I do not want a bulk-producing fold. If I sew this again, I will either fully line it or at least make the partial lining full length.

Then it was time for my first invisible zipper!Now that it is all together, I can see that in a fabric with this much stretch, that zipper is completely unnecessary. Anyway, I now LOVE invisible zippers, but I will be getting a better foot for next time. The only one available for Janome at my Hancock was this crappy two piece plastic thing that kept sliding over. Way annoying!!

After that, it was time to tackle the facings. I knew that I would probably have difficulty with this, and in hindsight I probably should have just left them off, but I ploughed on ahead... The back facing made sense, but when I got around to the front, the instructions told me to attach it to the gathered front self facing, but I couldn't see how that was possible.
As you can see here, I ended up slipstitching the facing to the lining. It is secure and seems to work, but I don't think that is what Burda had in mind... I also have issues with the gathered portion. I wish that I had stabilized the gathers with stay tape or clear elastic. They keep trying to flip forward. I put in a couple of hand tacks and that seems to keep things under control.

Finally, after all this trouble and miles of hand sewing, I put on my new sweater, and...
oh no! Why can the world see my purple bra?!?! So, out came all that hand hemming and I sewed up the side seams an extra 5 inches above the pattern instructions.
Much better! I'm still not sure that I love this style on me and I do think it might be more flattering if it were a few inches shorter, although that means ripping out my handsewn hem and resewing it. I'm not ready for that right now, so I'm just leaving it. On the plus side, it is really comfortable.