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Burda 2 2005 114 |
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Burda 6 97 107 |
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Burda Tunic as swimsuit coverup |
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Burda Tunic with shorts |
Blog predominately devoted to Sewing, with little dashes of family and work life thrown in for context and variety.
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Burda 2 2005 114 |
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Burda 6 97 107 |
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Burda Tunic as swimsuit coverup |
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Burda Tunic with shorts |
My youngest sister lives in Tucson, AZ. Her birthday is in late February, which is also when the Tucson Rodeo is held.
This combination of events provides the perfect excuse for a vacation. A warm dry location, family, and fun stuff to do. The rodeo is a big thing in Tucson. Schools close for two days so that everyone can attend the Rodeo parade. People get dressed up, fancy boots, jackets, blouses/shirts and hats. Last time I attended the Rodeo, I wore "east coast go to the county fair" clothes. This time I was determined to blend in. I had the boots. They were leftovers from a western themed marketing campaign at the company I worked for. Employees were given the opportunity to buy a pair of Lucchese boots for ~$40. A lot of employees immediately sold theirs on eBay for about 10 times the price they paid, but I kept mine.
I wanted to sew a top or jacket in a western style to wear with my boots. In my Google search for patterns and inspiration I came across many colorful, embroidery embellished, vintage western garments from the 1940's. It appears to be a time when there was a lot of interest in the western lifestyle, and Hollywood released lots of cowboy movies. I also found McCall's patterns for western themed clothing from the same time period. Below are some of the women's patterns, but there are also similar patterns for men and children.
McCall 1295 |
McCall 1348 |
McCall 1297 |
I loved them. But these vintage patterns, if available, were very expensive. Luckily one link popped up for Decades of Style pattern #4008 1940s Rodeo Gal Shirt. It appeared to be a reproduction of McCall's 1297, and it was available in PDF format. The Rodeo Gal Shirt cover drawing shows the exact same illustration as the McCall's 1297, but with less embroidery and minus the smile pocket (non-flap, open chest pockets that are curved, like a smile, with a stitched arrowhead shaped tack on the ends.) I immediately downloaded the pattern.
Decades of Style #4008 1940s Rodeo Gal Shirt |
Wool blend gabardine was a fabric that was used for 1940 RTW western wear and also recommended by the patterns. I used a large piece of cream gabardine left over from my New Years Eve pants for the yokes and cuffs. I found a a rusty red rayon wool blend gabardine for the sleeves and lower bodice in my stash. The metallic gold piping was also from my stash. The snap fasteners from Amazon. Bemberg rayon was used for the yoke lining. The pattern sizing is current and the instructions were good.
There was one unusual detail I had never seen before . The sleeve had an horizontal slash dart a couple inches from the bottom that secures the sleeve pleats. The slash dart is sewn with the raw edges to the right side of the fabric and is later covered by the cuff. I think it is a clever way to add pleats above the cuff without extending them to the bottom of the sleeve, where they might have caused bumps in the seam where the cuff is attached like a reverse facing.
Slash Dart |
#4008 1940s Rodeo Gal Shirt Front |
#4008 1940s Rodeo Gal Shirt side |
#4008 1940s Rodeo Gal Shirt back |
1940's McCall Pattern Rodeo Shirt |
We had a great time at the rodeo. We watched it from The Vaqueros club (equivalent to box seats) out of the direct sun, with lots of drinks and food. I got several compliments on my blouse from other ladies in the club.
My Jan. sewing had a bit of a trend, tops with draped necklines. It wasn't planned, it just happened.
The first one was featured in the Feb 2021 issue. When I saw it, I recognized it as the same design featured in the Oct 2012 issue. Have you noticed that BurdaStyle is starting to repeat some styles? I have spotted about 4 other repeated styles recently. Younger sewers probably wouldn't notice, but for those of us with some experience and large collections of Burdastyle magazines .....
The 2021 version of this top was shown made in knit fabric while the 2012 was in stretch woven. The line drawings are identical. I traced the 2012 pattern because my chosen fabric was a woven. I am curious if the patterns are exactly the same or if the more recent one is drafted specifically for knits, but I am too lazy to do the comparison. My fabric was large scale, irregular plaid, in a twill weave wool. The fabric was sold by Fabric Mart Fabrics in 2001 in 72 x 60" panels that actually had fringe on both ends. I kept the fringed remnants to make a scarf. I bought 4 of the panels with some idea of making them into curtains for a dark library/man cave room. That never happened. Because of the fabric softness and the bias cut, I did not have to put in a zipper in this top. I am amazed at how small this top makes my waist look. I assure you, my waist is the same 33" one I have had for years. Ha Ha, maybe my hips got bigger. The top coordinates with the green wool pants I sewed late last year.
Top number two is style 115 from the August 2021 issue of Burdastyle.
It has a high, draped, cross over neckline on a basic boxy bodice. The fabric is a textured cotton blend knit from Metro Fabrics. I miss visiting Metro Fabrics. A friend of mine was recently in NYC and visited Kashi (Metro), Mood and I think, B&J. She said Mood was a mess, like major remodeling and B&J had gone to swatch samples at the end of each row of fabric, instead of customer browsing. I was thinking of going to NYC to look for fabrics for a mother of the groom dress, but my friend's report put me off the idea.
I have seen various makes of this top on the internet and the shape of the neckline is very much affected by the drape or stiffness of the chosen fabric. My fabric is fairly firm and the neckline stands up nicely. This top is a great alternative to the sweaters I usually wear in the winter.
Bye Bye 2021. You were better than 2020, but still not wonderful. Here's hoping that 2022 is the best! It is going to be a busy year. We have rescheduled a sailing cruise of the Amalfi coast. Fingers crossed it happens. It was originally scheduled in 2020 for my little sister's 60th birthday. It will be her retirement cruise now. And I will be the mother of the groom at a Sept. wedding. I may sew my dress, I may not.
December sewing has always been outfits for holiday events, using wonderful, luxurious fabrics featuring sparkle and glitz. I don't have as many events being retired now, and because of Covid. We searched out things to do so that we could get my 85 year old mother out of the house. She complains of not going anywhere, "But Mom, we aren't going anywhere either." We went to our first opera. Mom's comment was "One opera in a lifetime is enough". But I enjoyed it. Simple phrases like "I'm dying!" sound so much better in Italian. We attended a performance of the Nutcracker ballet. which is a family holiday tradition, and a Neil Simon play at local venue. The holiday event outfits were a bit more casual this year, but I could not give up the glitter.
Green metallic jacquard blouse and dark green gabardine pants. Sewn from vintage Burda Style patterns.
Burda 12 2014 117 and 1 2011 134 |
My New Years Eve outfit was the vest and tunic from Cutting Line Designs Artist in Motions pattern.
The vest fabric is a cream colored mesh with gold sequins. It was a bit of a challenge to sew. I used freezer paper, cut to the pattern, to stabilize the armhole and neck while machine basting the trim in place. I tore the paper off along the basting stitches and serged the trim in place. I know there is probably an iron on/rinse away stabilizer designed for machine embroidery that would have been easier to use, but I wanted to use what I had on hand. The tunic is a off white silk from my stash. Pants are a tapered leg, elastic waist style in wool gabardine from an old Vogue pattern. I couldn't find my Cutting Line Designs One Seam pant pattern that would have been perfect for this outfit.
Happy New Year everyone!
In early October, DH and I spent a week in New Mexico. I had been there before on a sewing related retreat and knew DH, with his love of rocks and old railroads, would love it. Planned activities were hiking, hot spring soaks, museums of all kinds, heritage sites, scenic railroad rides, and great food. Daily weather in NM in Oct. can be quite brisk, near freezing, in the morning warming up to mid 70's during the day. I packed garments that could be layered, coordinated well with each other, and would be appropriate for sightseeing or hiking. I had planned to sew many garments for the trip, but you know how that goes. We randomly picked the week, but by luck it was one that coincided with both the hot air Balloon Fiesta and peak fall foliage. The Albuquerque, NM Balloon Fiesta was a one of a kind experience. The sight of hundreds of colorful balloon ascending into the sky is awe inspiring. If you ever get a chance to go, take it!
Leaving Albuquerque we drove north, headed to Taos , There were numerous hot springs along the way, some just a short hike off the the main road where you can soak in either bathing or birthday suits, Other are commercialized, with the hot waters piped into soaking pools. And with sun shades, changing rooms and refreshments. One of the items I sewed for the trip was a new two piece bathing suit. There are situations where a 2 piece bathing suit makes changing (cars, semi public places) or using the facilities (the "facilities on small boats") easier than a one piece. So I always have one in my wardrobe, though it may not be my best look.
We stopped at one of the commercialized hot springs and had a nice soak under a clear blue sky. To be honest the water was a bit too hot for me.
From Taos we headed up to Chama, near the the Colorado state line. We took a ride on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, which has narrow gauge tracks and steam engines. The scenery was spectacular. The aspen trees, which I had never seen before, had turned a bright yellow and contrasted beautifully with the brown rocks and evergreen trees. The limited color scheme was so different from the red, orange and yellow of Virginia fall foliage. It was a nice change.
Heading south, we stayed the night in Espanola. We had a great meal in a local restaurant recommended by a fellow train passenger. And stayed at a family owned hotel with authentic adobe structures and architecture accented by hand carved corbels, portals and hand made Mexican tile floors.
I wore my me made shrug set , a sleeveless cowl neck top and matching shrug from Burda Nov 2013. I made it from a marled poly spandex knit from Walmart. When I got too warm, I just removed the shrug and tied it around my waist. It looked like a self fabric belt. I did shorten the tunic and added elastic to the edge of the shrug to keep it from stretching out.
Burda 11 2013 111 |
Burda 11 2013 shrug set |
And finally to Sante Fe. I highly recommend seeing the art collection in the State Capital building, visiting the Natural History museum and of course window shopping. I love being able to visit the Sante Fe Weaving Gallery, Santa Fe Dry Goods, and other clothing stores featuring unique, artistic garments. I always get so many ideas and inspiration for my own garment making.
We enjoyed it so much we are planning our next trip.
The outside temperatures have dropped significantly and it feels like fall. And a package of wool fabrics arrived from Fabric Mart Fabrics this afternoon. So I have pushed myself to document my late summer sewing makes. All sewn in August, all tops, all sleeveless, and all from Burda magazines.
Number 1.
Burda 6 2018 109 sewn from a remnant of a light weight silk crepe print. As I was cutting the fabric, I remembered how this fabric shifted about during cutting and sewing on the original project. Rather that do the bias finish on the neck and arm holes, I lined the bodice in cotton batiste. The silk was droopier than the lining fabric resulting in a "droopy boob" look on the upper bodice. Also contributing to this is the under bust seam which is not right under the bust as depicted in the line drawing, but much lower. The under bust seam starts 1" above the waist at the side seam. I double checked the pattern on the magazine insert. I also looked at the versions of this top sewn by the community on the Burda Russian site and many had the same problem. I will wear it around the house. Because it is red, my favorite color.
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Burda 6 2008 |
Number 2.
Burda 3 2006 104 . Love the lines of this one. Cut in armholes, seams for shaping and topstitching, and back shoulder darts (which I need). I made it out of a yard of turquoise white stretch chambray. Unfortunately the top stitching doesn't show very well. This one got a lot of wear.
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Burda 3 2006 |
Number 3
From June of 1997. Crossover top with tie accent, princess seaming, and the back shoulder darts again. The fabric is a cotton print. Based on the yardage of fabric I had, I suspect I bought it to back a quilt. This print says beach vacation to me. I am not the only one to pull this pattern out of the stash recently. I found a French sewing blogger that used the top pattern to make a dress in 2019.
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Burda 6 1997 |
Burda 2 2017 106 |
Looking at this pattern, I wondered what it would look like made in an ombre fabric. I tried making it from a lightweight silk ombre scarf I had in my closet. The fabric was too lightweight and the project ended up in the trash. I decided to make my own ombre fabric in a more sewable weight by dying a piece from my stash. The color of the silk fabric was a beigey yellow. Not an "in" color right now. I was lucky to find a small spool of matching thread in the bin saved from my mother's sewing room. I used Apple Green Rit Dye and the stovetop method to dye the fabric. It took about 15 minutes of dipping the ends of the yardage in the dye pot. Not long, but my arms ached. I love the way the flounce is draped, starting at the side seam and forming a sleeve as it goes to the back. Fortunately there are detailed instructions for assembling this top in the magazine. I did the narrow hem on the flounce by hand after unsuccessfully trying both serger and sewing machine techniques. I did not put in the slit at the top of the back because the neck opening is way big enough to get my head through. Even after I raised the V neckline slightly.
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Burda 2 2017 |
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Burda 2 2017 back |
I was amused to see the peppers we are currently harvesting from the garden are similar in color to my top.
Now I am off to pat and fondle my new wools to get inspiration for fall sewing.