Burda Sew Along - Planning

It sometimes seems like an eternity that I have been learning to sew, the good part is that I am learning all the time by challenging myself which helps advance my skills. But there's nothing like a bit of group support to spur you along and to learn even more techniques, so I've joined up for my first ever Sew Along which is being hosted over here.

 

Lucky for me my local libraries have a fairly good stash of Burda Magazines. Some of them have never even been touched so I have the lucky honor of removing the lovely pattern sheets at the back and trying to re-fold them to fit back into their little envelope, oh the joys.

 

 

I haven't really settled on what I want to make yet, being a typical Gemini I change my mind every 5 minutes so maybe having too much to choose from isn't such a great idea. Burda patterns seem to have either pretty basic to more flamboyant and difficult pattern with little in between. I want to be able to make items that I am going to wear. These are some ideas that I have come up with so far

Cascade Jacket from 08/2011 No. 117

Simple Blouse from 12/2012 No. 119

Two Tone Tunic from 12/2012 No. 150

Collarless Jacket from  04/2012 No. 121

Paper Pattern 7188

I can see all of them taking a hard earned place in my wardrobe, it's so hard to decide! Watch this space for updates (or additions!)

The Black Zara Top

Lets face it, there is nothing more comfy than a knit top. I like comfy things and I like leather so why not combine the two.

This is one of the items I had on my Wardrobe Planning post back here. I love it, but it was not without it's troubles. I did use Burda 09/2012 Top No. 123, which has been quite popular around the traps. Fabric was a Japanese rayon knit blend from Spotlight, really nice fabric which I would use again. I didn't make up a muslin, I figured something made out of knit is pretty forgiving and shouldn't be too hard to get the right fit.

I made the pattern up based on the bust size, but those sides were super fitted so I re-drew to be a little wider. I also had a super amount of trouble with getting the neckline to fit properly. After inserting the leather shoulder panels the front neckline had quite a bit of drooping going on. I unpicked the panels and brought the front up some, re-sewed the neckline after hacking some off, re-attached the facing and it was still droopy. So I did what my impatient sewing brain told me to do, I cheated and put a pleat in the centre front to bring it all together. It worked, wasn't really what I wanted but it's quite a nice "design feature".

I used some left over pleather for the shoulder inserts, and followed my inspiration picture and ran some quilting lines on the panels. I think the weight of the pleather had something to do with the neckline drooping.

Then I was a smarty pants and thought all tops are made too long and proceeded to cut a few cm's off the hem and then realised it was too short. Lucky I kept it so the top has another design feature of a double hem with an added seam.

Even though with all the troubles, I still really like it. It ticks alot of boxes for me and something that can be zhooshed up or dressed down.

Lovely Links

I treated myself to a day off last Friday to make an extra long weekend following on from Anzac Day. That alone has led to more sewing, more planning and more browsing. 

How amazing is this, a Craftsy Course on how to Make Leather Bags. Like I need to obsess any more over all things leather. 

The lovely ladies from Curious Kiwi and Modern Vintage Cupcakes are holding a Burda Sew Along for May. I have already signed up for my first sew along. All you need is a pattern from either the Burda Style magazines or one of their paper patterns, come and join in the fun and sign up here.

A new pattern find, the Staple Dress by April Rhodes. This could be a good one for summer. 

Another new pattern and this one is free! It is the Odette Top by Fine Motor Skills. Found this one Burda Style website, looks like a great multi functional pattern. 

I have almost finished my pants from my earlier muslin, only waiting for the hem and closure and then they're done. Very excited about this one!

The Creativity Gap

Found this somewhere, I don't even remember where but when I read it I was nodding along. It's all so true!

Pants

So I have finally started on my pants making journey. Borrowed some Burda magazines from my local library and decided on this pattern. Lucky for me one of the other Burda mag's I borrowed had one of their Sewing Courses in it for pants that are very similar.

Get ready with your sunglasses.....

So I did a muslin first as all good girls should but the major mistake I made was to make it out of not stretch fabric. I was pretty smug with myself and thought the fit was pretty excellent so dove straight into the stretch muslin version. What I did not even consider was the difference between the two fabrics so this version is about 2 sizes too big.

Luckily the fabric was super cheap (almost free thanks to a  gift card from from Spotty) so I was happy just to go through the process of putting it all together. Plus (cue drumroll) I inserted a fly front zipper.

Standback and admire the awesomeness. All in all I didnt find the process too painful and these came together well. I have now traced off 2 sizes smaller and have that ready to go to be hopefully my final version which is going to be in a dark grey. 

By the by, Spotlight has some lovely quality cotton sateen at the moment in some really cool colors and I also managed to some some lovely Japanese stretch jersey from there too. Slowly there are getting better choices, who would have thought!

Lovely Links

I have found some lovely inspiration this week, here are some things that have caught my eye

A newly discovered Aussie blogger Sew Amy Sew and her wonderful version of the Grainline Archer Shirt. I love the contrast green buttons with the fuschia background. 

Found these cute Polymer Clay earrings on Made It by Just Dot. So simple yet so beautiful.

One of my go to blogs for fashion advice is Elisha Casagrande. Her post about Principles & Elements of design is not only great advice for stylish dressing but also useful for making my handmade wardrobe a little more flattering and functional.

Take a look at this video on You Tube about how women perceive themselves compared to how others see us.

Wardrobe Planning

I am fully determined to get some hand made items churned out for the cooler weather, since last year was a bit of a flop. As usual, I have lots of wants running through my head. I'm starting to be hard on myself in what I would practically wear and what fits in with the rest of my wardrobe, so it takes alot more thought and planning. I had a short affair with prints over Summer but my heart really belongs to solids and neutrals, with a healthy dose of stripes to make my heart happy.

This is what I have in mind at the moment (notice I say at the moment because it will probably change tomorrow)

 Credit from here

 Credit from here

Credit from here

Credit from here

Credit from here

 

 

Well that's the plan but the truth is that I only have limited time that I can actually sew things. The priority would be on the Pants, Peplum Top & Leather Shoulder top. I am constantly saving things onto my Sewing Inspiration list on Pinterest, it's safe to say that Pinterest is a massive time suck for me. Maybe if I spent less time Pinning and more time sewing I might end up with more things I can wear rather than just dreaming about them. A girl's gotta have her vices.