Etta’s embellished sundress

Etta wearing her dress
I’ve taken on a few sewing commissions lately and this dress was very nearly another until it turned into a fabulous collaboration.

Etta had scored a bagful  of beautiful Asian braids from Portobello market and asked if I could either make her a white tiered-dress or show her how to make one so that she could then embellish with the trims she’d found.

Asian braid

I so love an idea that’s sparked by the decoration! Much like decorating a room to match the cushions!

I haven’t properly ventured down the teaching road to date so I thought I’d give it a bash. And Etta would be a great guinea pig to rehearse my teaching skills!

Sewing a tiered skirt would be the easy bit but I needed a quick and simple bodice pattern to work with and that is totally when my nine-year collection of Burda mags comes into it’s own!  In order to find what I want, I just search up the pattern options online and then note the magazine issue number. I’d like to report that I file my mags in date order to complete the efficient process but sadly that’s not the case!

Took a wee while to get to March 2013 but it was worth it for the perfect sundress bodice pattern. Nice and simple for a beginner too.

Burdastyle dundress

On first inspection I though the skirt part of the dress was made of gathered tiers but that would have been too flooky! Stitched on lace gives the illusion of tiers, here, but Etta wanted the real deal so we just needed to trace the bodice section and we would make our own tiers.

The look on Etta’s face was priceless when I explained we would have to first locate the lines to trace it off!! Luckily for her there were only 2 small pieces and a couple of straps.

bodice pieces

This was to be Etta’s maiden go on a sewing machine. She was a natural!  I must also give credit here to Brother for the 3-speed control on my Innovis 1250. The slow settings are great for stopping the over-enthusiasts from veering off piste!

Brother speed setting

Once the bodice and straps were sewn, Etta put it on so I could measure down to the desired length of the skirt.

To create the tiers we divided that measurement in half and accounted for seam allowance on each section (adding a bit extra for the hem on the bottom tier). Now we had the depth of each tier, I’m pretty sure we took double the width of the base of the bodice for the length of the first tier and doubled the length of the first to get the second.

I showed Etta how to make gathering stitches by using a wide machine stitch either side of the seam line; pulling up the gathers to fit, and then sewing the seams between the gathering lines. It helps to keep the gathering neat and in line.

Here’s a photo of what the dress looked like before it was trimmed. Etta had chosen a lovely white cotton twill which had a lovely weight to it.

dress without trims

We managed to sew most of the dress in a day, and I took it away to insert the zip and hand sew the bodice to cover the raw edges of the skirt inside. Etta had traced, cut and sewn every other piece herself.

hand finishing the insides

It’s a really interesting experience sharing knowledge. I’m sure all you teachers will be rolling your eyes at me now. For the most part I’m a doer. I rarely look up. And it never occurs to me how far I’ve come either in my day to day job as a designer or indeed my other part time passion as a seamstress. So on the rare occasion when I’m teaching someone I always worry about not knowing enough to share – that the pupil might know more than I’m about to teach – a terrifying thought! Is that a certified phobia?!

In reality the polar opposite has been the case. And I’m always asked lots of questions, to repeat procedure or simply slow down. Which is totally reassuring and absolutely fine by me!!

The deal of this exchange was to be some fabulous photos for my blog. And Etta stepped right up to the mark and took these beauts in her Granny’s lovely garden.

Ettas dress

Ettas dress

Ettas dress

Just love it when a plan comes together… doesn’t she look gorgeous?!

#Blazerof2016 and tips for tracing Burda patterns

So this week, I finally chose what pattern to use for #Blazeof2016. I’ve decided to make it extra difficult for myself by going for the minimal instructions of the Burda Style magazine pattern from February 2016 issue, and I’ve just got as far as tracing the pieces. It took most of Saturday afternoon but that’s ok because I had an empty house save Phryne Fisher and Jack Robinson to keep me company!

Burda blazer pattern trace

 

The tracing took longer than usual not just because of all the pieces but because I was aware of how easy it would be to miss a notch or a mark of instruction. So I was like a detective myself, scanning the spaghetti lines with eagle eyes! I want this jacket to work so I need to make sure every detail is attended to. It didn’t help that the red lines on the pattern sheet I was following clashed with the red pattern pieces of the featured ladies blouse. This could wind up a very interesting hybrid ‘blouzer’, but let’s hope not!

For anyone who’s daunted by the tracing of Burda patterns – and let’s face it, that’s most of us – the following might be of help:

Top tips for tracing Burda patterns

  • Work on a large clean flat area
  • Use pattern weights or similar to hold your papers in place as you trace
  • Refer to the Pattern Overview to ensure you capture every notch, seam number, slit mark and grainline arrow
  • Tick off each piece in the list as you go
Burda pattern overview
Pattern Overview and Cutting Out list
  • Label all of your pieces with Model No., size and piece description / number
  • Remember seam allowances are not included so write that clearly on your pattern pieces too OR add them to your pieces and mark that they are included*
  • Photocopy the image to file with your pattern envelope if storing separately

*I will be making size adjustments to the pattern so I have left the seam allowance off. It’s way easier to play around with minus SA. And then I will either add it at the end or mark it directly onto the fabric when the pattern is pinned on.

Incidentally, the fabric we’ve decided on is a gorgeous traditional boating stripe from Yorkshire Fabrics. 100% wool, made in England which raises a little smile every time I see that selvedge! Doesn’t come cheap so I’ve wrapped it up like a precious swaddled baby and put it away for safe keeping until the calico version is made good. No chances being taken here!

boating stripe fabric

I really am in the slow lane here but there is a distinct advantage to this. Have you seen how MaleDevonSewing is steaming ahead with his amazing tailoring skills? For anyone else who is pootling along like me, he has posted some cool construction photos and instructions. Most of which I’ve never heard of. All of which I will be employing!

Di Kendall has shared the progress of the lovely striped blazer on her blog and it’s great to see lots more activity from other participants of #Blazerof2016 on Twitter too. Keep posting your progress… I need all the help I can get!! 😉

ooobop review: Burda Style June 2015

burdastyle june 2015 cover

The skies may be grey and the sun may not be out but the June 2015 issue of Burda Style magazine most certainly is. And that’s enough to brighten my day!

There’s all sorts of summer fun going on this month. Opening with a cool, light and breezy dress (A). I’m not so sure I can pull off as much elegance as the model wearing it, but with a careful fabric choice, perhaps. I’m intrigued by the wide collar top (E). Moreso that it’s linen. I love linen.

Burda june 2015 section 1

Dress (G) looks like a comfy number. I don’t do comfy as a rule but if I can get over that fabric choice I think a plain colour jersey would make more of that gathered front detail.

The floral dress (B) is for teens and definitely not for my pear-shaped bod but I’d quite like a lace dress like (B). Burda suggests adhesive bra pads to avoid a bra strap. No big pants allowed here either!

Once again I’m having to get past the crazy print on top (C) to envisage a slightly translucent white or black lightweight cotton fabric. The skirt looks fun and easy though.

Great to see some teen designs in this issue. Almost always the kid stuff is for the little ‘uns. Just how cool is that Sergeant Pepper jacket (H)? I so wish my daughter would let me make that for her. She’s more likely to go for the parka though.

I’m so tempted by the jumpsuit (D), even though I haven’t worn a pair of trousers in years. Sold by the midriff. I do like a midriff! I might have to do something about the halter pieces though. Looks like a lot of fabric going on there.

I do like the seamlines on dress (F). Bit difficult to see here but they are panelled seams in corset-style. But I like dress (J), more. The front rouching and the neckline has a certain Asian chic about it. It’s made of jersey, would you belive it? So no zipper going on here!

The Happy Hour section takes us on a night out with lots of black and gold going on.

Burdastyle June 2015 section 2

I love the contradiction of a lace bomber jacket (K)! The interesting front seams are highlighted with satin binding and it has pockets, of course.

Top (Q) looks very elegant tucked in here but the contrast definition with the skirt doesn’t work for me. Especially with all that front drapey pocket business. Too much volly where I really don’t need it!

Ah see… I much prefer this dress (L) in one colour. Though I don’t think the shot does it as much justice. Looks a bit lop-sided here with one shoulder shorter than the other. It is an ‘easy’ make so it might be worth a try.

Cute little tube dress (P) here for all you daring ladies. And this certainly would be an easy one to put together for an emergency going out dress… just two side seams needed in that metallic jersey print.

I love how Burda fills the void in my lack of fabric knowledge. This dress (O) is made of metallic twill! Never have I come across such stuff.

And I love the corsetted detail on dress (N). One would totally have to pay attention to perfect fit and stitching on this one though. That satin highlights every glitch.

Lace is a great choice for this elegant top (R) A shortened version of dress (L). The armholes and neckline are beautifully bound with organza. Not sure why the hem would stay raw though.

And I maintain my love for the jumpsuit (M). Especially if I could get my hands on some gold metallic, viscose linen weave! Super stylish!

Next up is the Sunshine section, kicked off with this pretty shirt dress (S). A Peter Pan collar is enough of a change to give it a cute edge but I think I’d ditch the lower flounce. Not sure why that section appears to be cut on the bias too. Bit jarring with those stripes.

Burdastyle June 2015 section 3

Love the paper bag shorts (T)! Not sure if I could carry them off with a detailed top section though. It would have to be a plain T or similar.

Really like the yellow ensemble (Y). Especially now I can see more detail on that skirt. The buttons could contrast and be a lovely feature. The collar feature adds a little vintage-style twist. Gorgeously cool for picnic days in the park.

Love the shirt dress (W) cropped to a shirt too.

However I’m not too impressed with the colour section. Mostly because I don’t like the chosen colour palette. All too much for little old me, I’m afraid. And I’m finding it hard to see past the colours to focus on the designs. Short of my latest make, I tend to have black or red as a base colour and work up from that. My pick would be the Kaleidoscope tube dress (6). In black, probably. Call me unadventurous!

burdastyle june 2015 section 4

Plus Fashion goes all out adventurous on us though . . . on safari…with some mad sleeves!

Burda style june 2015 plus section

You can’t really see the detail in dress (9). The volume of fabric is concealed by the detail of the print but you can hopefully pick out the rouched seams all the way down to the wrist in dress (12). My favourite piece in this section of the mag is the ankle length lace coat. Or ‘chasuble’ as Burda calls it. Learn something new every day!

So whaddyafink? Have you got yours yet? Have you already whipped something up? Do tell x