Monday, August 21, 2017

Mixed Stripes - Burda 6579, Burda 04 2015 123

My recent sewing projects all involve striped fabrics. I was wondering if the attraction to strong linear designs was because the rest of my life has been a bit chaotic .  Two sons moving apartments both with a time gap between moving out of the old apartment and being able to move into the new one. Not only did I get my lifting and climbing exercises (what is wrong with a first floor apartment?) but my house was the interim storage location for both sons’ furniture and household goods. I  had to cancel the cleaning service and my kitties had a field day with their new playground of boxes and furniture.  And we are moving my 81 year old mother  out of the house she shared with my Dad, who passed last year,  to a smaller home closer to one of my  siblings.   My mother has grown feisty with age and says whatever she likes with no thought to the appropriateness of the situation or to whom she is speaking.  It can be funny, if you are not on the receiving end.  Moving my mom has been a very emotional and physical  activity for her, her animal menagerie and my brother and sisters.  But it will be worth it to me to know she will be in a home she can manage and a couple blocks from my sister. Ah, my poor brother in law, who is her landlord.  He is a saint. Criticisms of the house ( "You can tell it was renovated by a man. No cabinets in the bathroom for my beauty creams and potions.") and special requests: "Pave the backyard  so I drive up to back door, Dig me  some flower beds."   No wonder we siblings  drink when we get together.  Her fabric stash filled 40 large garbage bags. Lovely dressmaking fabrics from the 70’s and 80’s; wool blend plaids, rayon prints and poly knits.  We donated them to the local thrift shop, but we were told they go right to the shredder / chemical coating applicator to emerge as insulation.  Horribly depressing when I think of the size of my stash and the amount of potentially outdated fabric it contains. We are still dealing with the quilting and cross-stitch kits and tools, multiple sewing machines and sergers, boxes of buttons, zippers, and threads.

Anyway back to sewing.   First top is Burda 6579 envelope pattern.



Described by Burda as a patchwork V neck blouse. It is designed for woven fabrics and has seaming in the front which can be used for color blocking or patchwork. I used two coordinating striped fabrics, soft cotton twill weave from www.denverfabrics.com.

Burda 6579 mixed stripes


 I used the wide stripe for the main front piece and the narrow stripe for the back and front color blocked sections.  This is an easy to sew top, with neckline and sleeve openings finished by turning under and stitching. The perfect top and fabric for wearing in hot humid weather.

The second top is Burdastyle 04/2015 #123A




It features an squarish  neckline, raglan sleeves, front darts and a boxy silhouette. The sleeves are cut in one with the back.  I was concerned about the boxy fit and the sleeve length so I made a wearable muslin out of a cotton poly seersucker stripe, also from Denver Fabrics.



 In my normal  Burda size 42, it was very loose, the neck was too wide and the sleeves too long. I ended up shortening the sleeves to just above elbow length and going down a size to get a fit I  liked.

This top is shown in two fabrics in the magazine, one solid and one striped. The Extra Tip   on the picture of the striped version said "You can also experiment with coulour here. This top looks great with the front and back in different colours, also because the sleeves are cut on at the back." This triggered a memory of a  double sided striped fabric in my stash.  Part of a silk stripe bundle (men’s tie fabric) purchased from Fabric Mart  Fabrics years ago.  And I was actually able to find it buried deep in the stash.

Double sided silk stripe
This fabric was 36 inches wide and I had a two yard length. This made pattern layout an advanced exercise in stripe matching. I did it by adding a center back seam and  piecing the lower back, which I made a feature by using the reverse of the fabric.




I like the silk version. It is bright and comfortable and not too boxy for my style comfort zone. I originally thought the “bat sleeve “description used by Burda for this top referred to sleeves that are attached to the fabric of the shirt or dress as one,  and resemble the wings of the nocturnal flying creatures. But now I think the term is referring more to baseball “bat” sleeves because they are tubular and stick out from the shoulder.

16 comments:

  1. I love that silk stripe top! I empathize with the moving of your mother, the dealing with her saying whatever pops into her thoughts and disposing of many years of collected items. Bless you.

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  2. I just found out that any clothes without labels (ie all my handmade clothing) go straight to rag bags at our local thrift store. That seems depressing too, particularly because they are mostly made with beautiful fabrics.

    I love your stripes. I particularly like that first striped top. The combination of the 2 striped fabrics is particularly lovely.

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    1. I have often wondered if clothes without labels are handled differently at thrift shops. I have found obviously home sewn skirts at a some thrift shops, but never tops or jackets. I thought about laser printing on fabric, a tag with fiber and approximate RTW size, to sew into me made garments that I plan to donate. So far I have been too lazy to do it.

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  3. The silk version is AMAZING and I love the Burda. That is a lot of "life" to be happening at once...thank goodness for sewing :)

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  4. Wow, I now know I won't be donating any quality fabric or my barely worn and still wearable homemade garments to thrift stores anymore. I'll have to find other uses or recipients for these things

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  5. Oh dear, I laughed out loud at what your mother said! Reminded me of my mum who passed 3 years ago now. Its frightening what happens with our stashes when we go. Must make a better effort to actually make it all up. You're doing well with your new tops. All look great. You can do fun things with stripes.

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  6. Bat sleeve is an 80s term for dolman sleeve. Your mother would probably recognize it 😀. Seriously, you might consider winnowing down your own fabric stash before you drive your children to the same feelings - and you're even more sympathetic because you're a sewer yourself

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    1. The experience with my mother's stash did motivate me to start a purge of my own.

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  7. That silk top is unexpectantly chic! Wow! I never would have looked twice at that envelope picture.

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  8. Sounds like a lot going on with your family - still it's a comfort to know that there is still sewing to go back to, no matter what the changes elsewhere. I was really surprised to read that your charity shops don't see fabric - as long as it is good quality, vintage/retro fabric sells really well here - every year the hospice does a massive "sell your stash" fundraiser that attracts huge numbers.

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  9. The mixed print top is my favorite it looks so nice on you.

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  10. I've tried really hard this year not to add to my stash. But, I'm not sewing it much faster either. I just realized I have more fabric than I can currently sew and I don't want it going for a $1 a yard at the fire sale my husband will hold after I die. That said, we have a store called Scrap near us that takes pre-owned crafting goods. They have told me about receiving U-Haul's worth of fabric from mother's stashes that they are able to resell at a discounted price to beginners. Sigh. I guessI better get sewing.

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    1. Your comment made me remember there was a similar place in Richmond a number of years ago which took donations of craft supplies. I will have to do some research to see if I can find the name of it. I thought of you when I was sewing the silk top. I seemed to recall you sewed some silk ties from a similar silk stripe bundle you purchases from FMF.

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    2. Oh, yeah! It's totally from the same bundle, lol! Luckily, A Fabric Place got a huge stash of reasonably priced necktie fabric. I think he's going to have it for years :-D

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  11. Love the silk top...and I can empathize with your situation re your mom. Good to know she is safely settled.

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  12. Gorgeous pattern making idea. Beautiful colour combo.

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