Burda Blouse Blitz - #2

Another well worn blouse in my wardrobe is a mauve silk jacquard.

I wear it with a mauve/black/grey tweed jacket and dark grey pants, or with a grey collarless jacket with matching grey pants. Both combo’s are a bit color blocky and need jewelry or scarves to liven them up. When I found this quirky silk print of magnifying glasses in the same color way, I couldn’t resist.
Unfortunately I only purchased 2 yards instead of the typical 2.5 yards for a blouse. I have no clue why I did that though I suspect it was because I must have been trying to balance the guilt of buying more fabric, with finding fabric I just had to have. I was barely able to eke out all the pieces of BWOF 10-2005-102, a fitted blouse with French darts, hidden button placket, and tie neckline.

In hindsight, the drapey silk fabric was probably not the best choice for this style. Both versions of the blouse in the magazine were made in a shirting fabric. The long dart with slightly bias cut edges is better suited for firmer fabric.The front hidden placket, with its many precise folds, was a bit of a chore because of the soft, shifty nature of the silk fabric. I was getting quite frustrated until I decided to liberally apply spray starch to the front bodice pieces. This stiffened the fabric just enough to make the folding, pressing, and top stitching a breeze. I machine wash all my silk blouse fabrics prior to cutting so the finished garment is washable. I rinsed the starch out after finishing the blouse. I used silk organza as interfacing in front placket and cuffs. I am happy with the way the blouse looks with both jackets.

Burda Blouse Blitz - #1

Welcome 2010! Is it really mid Jan already? An update on the panda hat. T. loved it and sent me a picture of her wearing it.

Isn’t she cute? My DS the elder (17) met her at summer church camp several years ago. Surprisingly they have kept in touch and try to get together frequently. Ever since he got his driver’s license over a year ago, he has asked repeatedly about driving the 90 miles of highly trafficked roads to her house on his own. After talking to her parents and agreeing on some guidelines for visits, we got him a GPS for Christmas and tempered our parental anxiety long enough to let him make his first trip New Years Eve day. Thankfully, it was uneventful. DS is a good driver, but I worried he would encounter some of the idiot drivers I know are out there, and not have the experience to react safely.

Over my holiday break I spent time looking through nearly 10 years of old Burda magazines. I was looking for all the Burda blouse patterns I liked, but never had time to sew. I desperately needed some new blouses.

I have had the same dress code for work and relatively the same body shape and weight for many years, so I have garments in my wardrobe that are 10 to 15 years old and… I can still wear them. That doesn't mean I should. Specifically blouses. Some of my favorites were purchased in the early 90’s. They are favorites because they are made of beautiful fabrics like silk matelesse or iridescent cross woven’s in colors that still coordinate with many of my jackets. But they are so “out of style”. They have extended shoulders meant to be worn with shoulder pads, a loose fit in the torso, and breast pockets with flaps. I removed the shoulder pads long ago so you can imagine the look; droopy shoulders and lots of loose fabric around the waist when tucked into pants or skirt. As long as they are worn under a jacket, no one suspects. But I really need to wear blouses that are fit to be seen. I have personal global warming episodes when I need to remove my jacket to regulate my temperature. So I have been collecting fabrics in similar colors to the old blouses, in preparation for sewing replacements blouses. Here is the first of three I have completed so far.

BWOF 3-2009-112 collared V neck blouse with gathers along the neckline

I made mine in olive silk shantung to replace a olive silk matalesse blouse. The sewing was very straight forward. Here is the old blouse I am replacing.



Here is my new blouse,


I have a new coordinating jacket planned, but until it is done here are some of the RTW coordinates I will wear it with.

More to come on the other two blouses soon.

Hey Mom!

“Hey Mom, I have a sewing project for you” I heard my elder DS’s voice say from the computer room. “What?” I asked from my comfortable chair, reading my book and sipping my tea. “Come here” he replied. As I got up from my chair, I knew this was not going to be the typical rip repair request. “T. (his friend girl) wants this for Christmas. She sent me the link, but it is sold out.” He said, pointing to a picture of a fleece hat with big panda bear eyes and ears on a cosplay site. “Can you make it?” Mixed feelings swirled in my head. Flattered that he thought I could, there was also some reluctance because this wasn’t what I had planned to do today. My book would be there when I got done, so I prepared to be "Sewper Mom". The first thing we did was look for similar hats on other sites, but there were none as cute. So we looked for fleece hat patterns with ear flaps and ties. We found some great patterns and a source of unique outdoor fabrics at Finnish web site Shelby , a company that provides extreme materials and designs to do-it-yourself enthusiasts, students, designers, and manufacturers. They have patterns for sale as well as some free ones. The hat pattern we used is the free Shelby Kaava #403 Tunturi Hat Pattern . The crown section of the hat is made from four triangular pieces and the bottom section from one of three options: a short ear flap, a long ear flap with tie, and a Balaclava. The pattern prints out in 4 sizes.

I had to climb up the ladder to the unheated attic to check my fleece stash. I had every color except the black and white needed for this project. The main roads had been cleared after our weekend snow storm and we had to go to the Alltel store to get my dead cell phone diagnosed, so I talked my DH into going "just a little further down the road to the fabric store” to get the fleece. In the mean time DS asked T. what her hat size was. Fortunately she responded with her head circumference, which is what we really needed to determine which pattern size to use.

From a closer examination of the pictures, it looked like the pattern used was a little different than the one we downloaded. The hat was cut in one piece and the crown shaping was done with darts. To get the same pattern shape, I positioned the crown pieces on top for the band pattern with flaps and cut out the shape. Now the crown shaping would be achieved with large curved darts.


After I showed him how fleece stretches in one direction and not the other, my son did the pattern layout and cutting. He drafted the pattern pieces for the eyes, nose and ears. The ears were 3 inch diameter lined circles, that are inserted in the crown side seams. I did all the sewing. Boy, it had been a while since I zigzag stitched around curve shapes. That is definitely a skill and mine is rusty. The white fleece was thin and seams show thorough, so we lined the hat with the same fleece. DS was fascinated with turning the tie tubes using a long metal rod with a hook on the end. He thought that was pretty neat.

Wouldn’t you know, I checked the web site of the original inspiration hat today, and it is back in stock. But DS is very pleased with the result of our sewing collaboration and we both enjoyed ourselves. He refused to model the hat himself, so here it is on a hat form. I think it will look really cute on T. with her long red hair.

I Felt Loopy

Before I was sidetracked by the December issue of Burda magazine, I was working on a jacket. I bought the fabric in November in Hampton Roads, VA. I had driven my older son there so he could take his friend girl (it’s a long distance relationship so she really isn’t his girlfriend) to her high school’s fall Homecoming Dance. He doesn’t have enough driving experience yet to do the trip on his own. I dropped him off at the friend’s house and spent the rest of the evening shopping. In the sale section, at the back of the JoAnne Fabrics store, was a bolt of dark brown flannel like fabric with a variegated yarn felted to it in a meandering loopy pattern. I am pretty sure it is felted because there is no visible sign of stitching and the yarn fibers can be seen faintly on the back side of the fabric.

The local JoAnne Fabric store had a different colorway of this fabric last fall. I thought it was a bit overpriced for something made of acrylic/poly/wool, no matter how unusual the fabric was. It sold out very quickly. I always wonder what makes a fabric popular at one store and not at another. At half the original price, the fabric became more appealing to me. I decided a jacket with soft curved style lines would be a good choice for this fabric. Simplicity 2810 is a pattern for a double breasted, shawl collar jacket that fits that description.

On the pattern envelope, this jacket is shown in a paisley fabric with coordinating binding around the edges. The instructions say to finish the lapel outer edges and hem normally, and then apply binding made of bias strips cut from a coordinating fabric. I had a solid brown wool fabric that coordinated well, but as a binding over the finished edges it was too bulky. I considered cutting off the lapel edge seam allowances and binding the edge using the solid brown fabric, but that was still too bulky. By this time the binding issue was driving me "loopy" and the project stalled for a bit. I felt the patterned fabric really needed some kind of edge definition. Then I remembered a scrap of cream colored faux suede left over from a Davy Crockett/Daniel Boone costume project. You know the type of costume I mean...a leather looking jacket with lots of fringe. I folded strips of the suede in half and inserted the folded edge like piping. It extends about 3/16 inch from the front edge, about the same width of the yarn.

I had two fitting issues which are not normally a problem for me with Simplicity patterns. The full length sleeves were about 1.5 inches too short. I ended up sewing a bias band to the bottom of the sleeves to get them to the appropriate length. And the sleeves were also very narrow. Bicep circumference measurement for my favorite RTW jackets is 14.5 to 15 inches. For the size 14, the finished pattern measurement was 13 5/8 inches. I used 3/8th inch seam allowances on the two sleeve seams to get a little more room. The sleeves are comfortable over tops made of thin fabric.


One more day of work and I am on vacation until after the New Year. Gift shopping is done, thank goodness! I am actually feeling very relaxed about the upcoming holiday and am looking forward to luncheons with sewing buddies, visits with friends and relatives, and doing goofy stuff with the family like the Tacky Light Tour. The TLT is when you drive around the city after dark, looking at the Christmas lights on the homes of people who go to decorating extremes. I have not planned any specific sewing, but I am sure some will occur.

Strong Shoulders Revisited - Burda 12/09 Overblouse 108

I posted earlier this fall about strong shoulder silhouettes. My fascination with these extreme shoulder shapes was around the technical details. How did they construct them and what was used to maintain their shape? Some of the pictures in my idea file featured this sleeve used by Dolce and Gabbana in their Spring 2009 collection.


Yesterday my December issue of Burda magazine arrived in the noon mail and there was a “over blouse “ with similar sleeves. Shown in a brocade fabric, it was styled with leather pants, a wide black cuff bracelet and a clutch purse. Sort of a dressy up casual look, for holiday parties.

I had started working on a wool jacket that morning, but it was “same old stuff”. This over blouse was much more interesting, and after reading the instruction, I just had to make it. Was it a bit fashion forward for the Richmond fashion scene? Yes. For a lady my age? Yes. Would I wear it a lot? Probably not. But sewing is my hobby, done for pleasure, not production! If a new technique or style excites me, I will try it just for the experience. Okay, I do have a practical side. The blouse is actually a fitted sleeveless top, that is completely finished prior to attaching the lined oval shapes over the armholes to form the “shoulder puff’ sleeves. So when this fad passes I can remove the sleeves and have a very nice fitted holiday top.


I had a bunch of silk brocades in my stash, part of a bundle of tie fabric remnants bought years ago. So if this blouse reminds you of your husband’s tie, it may be the exact same fabric! And I keep a supply of lightweight separating zippers because I like to use them for blouses and indoor jackets. So I was ready to go. The blouse is in Burda Tall sizes. I fall in between the 5’9” of their tall size and the 5’6” of the regular size. I always make the regular size and lengthen leg and skirt lengths. I was prepared to “de tall” (shorten) this pattern, but during a test fit the bust point and waist fell in the right place for me. I did shorten the top at the hem a bit so it did not hit mid hip (widest point on me).

The sleeve pieces are two similar oval shaped pieces that are interfaced and lined. They are attached to each other along part of the seam that goes over the shoulder. I used a non woven fusible that tends to stiffen up fabric. It, along with the natural stiffness of the silk brocade, worked nicely to hold the sleeve shape. And the seam allowances on the shoulder curve are not trimmed. They are pressed open on both the lining and fashion fabric adding a lot of stiffness and shape in that area. The back sleeve piece is actually slightly bigger than the front, because it has go over the rounded contour of the shoulder back. I like the oval shape of the sleeves better than the circular shape used by D&G. It looks more “couture” to me. Someone did a very good job drafting this pattern.




Is this sleeve comfortable? Yes, when my arms are down or only bent at the elbow. (Note to self: Only drinks with straws, no bottled beer) When I start to lift my arm, I feel the stiffness of the sleeve edge, which is strange. If I lift my arms up a lot, the top goes with it. (Another note to self - restrained dancing only, hip shimmies and shoulders rolls) Ah ha, I just realized why they showed a clutch purse with it in the magazine picture. A purse strap would crush the sleeves. Ummm, I hope it’s warm the night I wear this. I can’t imagine what kind of coat or wrap to wear over it. I haven't seen a name for this sleeve. I think it should be called the Pauldron Sleeve. A "pauldron" generally refers to any kind of shoulder-pad style armor, covering the top of the shoulder. And the definition goes on to say that when the pauldron extends past the armpit, movement is restricted. I'd say that is accurate.



Laughing and head shaking is permitted.

Winter Coat - Vogue 8548

Yes, I am still around, Lots of weekend activities have cut into my sewing time, and then more recently, uncertainty over my job (layoffs) dampened my enthusiasm to sew clothes for a lifestyle that might soon be changing. Even though the severance package would have been great and we could live just fine with one wage earner, it was still stressful. Last week I was told I still had a job and I could feel my spirits lift as I drove home from work that day.

I reorder my clothes closets twice a year when the seasons change. I pull the fall/winter clothes out of the cedar storage closet and move them to the bedroom closet, at the same time I take the spring summer clothes to the storage closet. I also do the same thing to my sewing patterns and fabric. I put all the patterns and fabrics that I never got around to sewing this summer, in a storage closet, and bring out the winter type patterns and fabrics. One cold day a couple weeks ago, while fondling a pile of wools, I looked out onto the deck and backyard and noticed a startling large number of squirrels, all with acorns in their mouths, darting too and fro between the planters and the flower beds. Darned lazy varmints! They prefer to bury their nuts in the soft soil of those locations, rather than the hard packed clay of the yard. Every spring I have to pull oak and black walnut seedling out of the planters. I wondered if the mass squirrel scamper was a harbinger of impending colder weather. I really believe animals can sense weather changes before humans. For a winter coat, I tend to rely on an ancient lined raincoat. It works well for all weather conditions such as rain, sleet and snow, if combined with quick dashes between buildings and car. I haven’t made a coat in over 25 years. Not since I moved away from rural central Pennsylvania and its cold snowy winters. Ah, the memories of the 40-minute drive to work, following behind the snowplow on a narrow winding two-lane road. Anyway, I always read magazine articles about finding the perfect fashion forward, slim fitting, warm winter coat. Dashingly accessorized with a non hair crushing, non static generating hat, and artfully arranged scarf. Well, I decided to up my winter fashion game a bit and make a nice coat. I remember being impressed last fall with EricaB's version of Vogue 8548 coat.




It was stylish, but still fairly easy to sew. No notched collar, no buttonholes, and lined to the edge. I made version C ( gray check in picture above) with corded button loops and the smaller neck opening. The fabric I used was a charcoal gray and red jacquard purchased recently from Fabric Mart. I thought the fabric would be jacket weight. When it arrived it was definitely coating weight. I used the darker, predominately gray side, as the "good" side. I reversed the fabric on the lapel facing so that if it is unbuttoned, it shows a bit of a brighter color. I was able to squeeze the knee length coat out of two yards even after lengthening it by 2 inches.

Even though this was an easy pattern, I managed to sew the skirt piece together in the wrong order, I guess I was "sewing while distracted" and ignored the notches. I did not notice the mistake until the bottom half was finished, lined, edge stitched, hemmed and ready to attach to the bodice. Arggg, I hate ripping out stitching, especially on thick fabric in a coarse weave. The threads are embedded in the fabric and there is a higher chance of catching and cutting the fabric. While working on the coat, all the things I did not like about coat making came back to me. Working with heavy fabrics, especially the weight of the nearly finished coat than must be heaved about when working on final finishing details. And the fitting issues. I can fit a blouse or jacket, but am uncertain on how much ease is needed in a coat that will be worn over other garments. I made the size 16, but I think the bodice is a little large. The shoulders extend beyond my shoulders and the back the upper back is too wide. However our weather has warmed up again, so rather than tear the coat apart to downsize the bodice now, I think I will wait and wear it a few time over clothes to see if I really need to alter it.
Our cold weather spell, followed by recent warm wet weather has the poor Camellia bush confused. It is blooming profusely now, about 4 months early. But its red and yellow bloom look great next to the turning leaves of the red maple (both in the background of the picture) Can you till my favorite color is red? Not only in my wardrobe, but also for flowers and leaves of the plants I grow in my yard.

No Jewelry Required - Vogue 8594 dress

I had a business trip to Chicago earlier this week. It was my first visit to this city and I really enjoyed it. It had big city atmosphere and activities, but it was clean, with friendly people. Granted I saw a very small section, and from watching the local news, I know that things aren’t as nice in other areas of the city. All the direct flights from Richmond to Chicago leave early in the morning, so I had some time to kill before the conference kickoff reception that evening. I had planned to do some cultural stuff and fabric shopping. I took a taxi to the Chicago Art Institute and spent 3 hours walking around the exhibits. It was really exciting to see paintings and sculptures that I had only seen before in books, in person and up close. American Gothic, Monet’s Water Lilies, Mary Cassatt’s The Child's Bath,








Van Gogh, Frederick Remington’s paintings and sculptures, so on. The rest of the afternoon I had planned on fabric shopping at Vogue Fabrics and Fishman’s Fabrics. Some of the fabric stores often mentioned as the source of the lovely fabrics used by Chicago sewing blogger Cennetta . But my guilt over the amount of fabric I have recently purchased made me reconsider. Instead, it being a beautiful day, I decided to walk up N. Michigan Ave to my hotel, about 13 blocks , stopping in the stores and parks along the way. I did some snoop shopping in the designer clothes departments of Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom's for ideas to use up my fabric stash. Gorgeous garments! Paralyzing prices! Tired from all the walking, I finally reached my hotel late in the afternoon. My hotel room was on the 33rd floor of a building with a clear view of the lake, two blocks away. A strong wind was whistling against the window, and I could hear the creaks and cracks as the building flexed in the wind. It reminded me of the sounds I listened to the night that Hurricane Isabel roared through Richmond. I know the wind is not unusual in Chicago, nor I guess, is an out of town guest’s unease. Part of the bed turn down goodies included earplugs and a card stating "Pardon the Chicago wind noise… This building has been constructed to withstand high wind velocity, and like every high-rise building, it is designed to sway. Due to this factor, we do encounter creaking sounds in some of our rooms depending on wind direction and velocity. We hope that these unpredictable circumstances with not inconvenience you tonight. Should you hear the wind noise, the earplugs are provided for your sleeping comfort." Thankfully, by bedtime the wind had dies down and it was quiet.

The dress I wore the welcome reception that night was one I had made the previous weekend. Vogue 8594, a fitted dress with some interesting seaming.


I had really liked a simple brown sheath dress displayed with patterned tights and high heeled pumps on a mannequin at my local Macy’s store. I bought the tights with the idea of making the dress using this pattern. In my stash I found suitable brown fabric; a crepe type weave with multicolored threads of gold black and brown. One of the pattern illustrations, View A, showed contrasting fabric used for the triangular shaped sections on the side waist. I have a fondness for garments that combine fabric and matching leather. So I decided to see if I could find some matching leather to use for the side waist sections of my dress. I found some fake suede at JoAnne’s in a similar color, but later, digging through a box at Tandy Leather, I found 4 scraps of matching leather, just barely large enough to cut out the pattern pieces. The brown fabric, even with matching leather, was still a bit too boring for me. I don’t know why I decided to make a brown dress. I should know by now that I rarely wear clothes in earth colors like brown and dull green. I also liked the pattern view D which had "flexible trim" applied around the neckline. Finding trim that would curve around the neckline and match the brown fabric was going to be tough. And I didn’t have enough time to weave or braid my own a la Kenneth King. Instead I decided to jazz up the dress by using iron on metallic studs.


The studs were gold and silver, in various sizes, with an occasion small crystal thrown in, They were already arranged in a random pattern on a backing sheet. I cut small sections of the studs and arranged them in a 1.5 inch wide band below the neckline seam. I really enjoyed doing this.

I followed the package instructions, ironing the wrong side of the fabric with high heat to melt the adhesive on the back side of each stud. The adhesive held very well. I had to remove a few studs that I inadvertently placed too near the seam line. They came off when I reheated the glue using the iron. But they left glue residue melted into the fabric. After sewing the seam I affixed smaller individual studs over the glue spots to hide them.

I originally made a size 14 top and a size 16 bottom in this dress. A normal split of sizes for me when I use Vogue patterns. Surprisingly, the size 16 bottom was too big for me. Because of the seaming details I could not just take it in on the side seams like you would a simple skirt. If I had, the seams that started in the front and curved over the hips to the skirt back would no longer match at the side seams. Instead I had to unsew the skirt pieces and recut them to the smaller size. I highly recommend making muslin of the dress bottom if you think you might have fitting issues.

After adding the stud trim, I really liked the dress and I will wear it. And it doesn’t need any jewelry, what with all the bling at the neckline. A perfect travel dress! Alas, the patterned tights don’t look good with it. I guess I’ll have to make something else to wear with them.