Floral Velvet Dress with Contrasting Waistband - Burda 11/2018 #103

I think a touch of velvet is always stylish, especially during the winter months.  My latest floral velvet dress could be worn at the office with tights and booties or be dressed up with fancier accessories and strappy heels for a dinner date with hubby.

The pattern is BurdaStyle 11/2018 #103, a panel seam dress designed for knits.  The fabric for my dress is a stretch velvet purchased within the last year or so, although I don't recall where.

I choose the dress pattern for a number of reasons: the ability to easily do an FBA, the hi-low hemline, the comfort of knit, and the fact that this was a "tall" BurdaStyle pattern, which meant the waistline would likely hit my waist without an adjustment.  Spoiler alert: it didn't.

BurdaStyle 11/2018 #103 Photo www.burdastyle.com

As you can see from the line drawing, there are a number of great design details. The Dior dart (that short dart from the side panel), the darted elbow, and a small pleat at the center front of the skirt with adds to the fullness of the skirt without a lot of bulk, and the waistband defining the waistline. 

BurdaStyle 11/2018 #103 Photo www.burdastyle.com

I wasn't sure how to do the FBA on this type of dart, so I approached it like a princess seam.   This is what my full bust adjustment pattern alteration looked like.

It might not be the correct way, but it worked!

I debated about using a contrast fabric or the same fabric for the band at the waist, and you can see I went with the contrast. I thought since my waist has completely disappeared this year (sigh...) the contrast might give the illusion of a waist.  Alas, I don't think it does the trick.

Also, since I didn't add length to the bodice (except what was added with my FBA), the band hits my almost 2" above my actual waistline.  Now that I see photos I think the same fabric might have helped camouflage my lack of waistline better.

Oh, a note if you sew this dress. The waist band is interfaced and lined so there is a lot of bulk at the waistline when stitching the side seams and the adding the invisible zipper.

Speaking of invisible zippers...

I think I did a pretty good job of matching that waist band at the center back!

As I mentioned earlier, this is one of BurdaStyle's "tall" patterns, designed for 69-1/2" instead of their usual 66-1/4".  Instead of checking the pattern, I made an assumption that the bodice would be long enough that I wouldn't need to lengthen it to hit my natural waistline. Well, I should have remembered what my mother always said about making assumptions, LOL!

I also discovered the sleeves were too short, which I found odd as I typically have to shorten sleeves. I simply added a small contrast band.  I did, however, shorten the skirt by 3".

All in all, I'm pleased with the dress. The more I sew BurdaStyle patterns, the more I appreciate the designs and the drafting.  While the instructions are limited, the pattern pieces always seem to go together perfectly.

One final shot on this cold,winter day as I'm loving how the blue velvet pops against the backdrop of fresh snow.

Note: This is my November BurdaStyle Influencer project and I was provided the PDF pattern at no charge.   You can purchase the pattern here: https://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/panel-seam-dress-112018 Pin It

A Rose Gold Sequin Maxi Skirt With Burda 12/2015-115

I love me some sequins. Although I usually wear them in small doses, like a sequin tee peeking out from under a blazer.  No more!  I'm going bold with my sequin maxi skirt!

I love how the light shimmers off of the skirt.

 The skirt is a faux wrap, which is only apparent when I walk.

The fabric is a beautiful rose-gold baby sequin knit I ordered from Fabric Mart Fabrics. I originally planned to sew myself a pair of wide-leg pants.  However, after placing the order Fabric Mart emailed me to let me know the fabric was flawed (and the price would be reduced, yay!)  Because of the flaw, I scrapped the idea of pants and decided to try this maxi skirt instead. And I'm so happy I did!

The skirt is BurdaStyle 12/2015 #115, which can be purchased and downloaded here.  Here's the pic from the website.

 It's hard to tell from the photo, but the skirt has a yoke, waistband, and back zip.

Because my fabric is so sheer I decided to add a half lining. I even had the perfect color of silk charmeuse in my stash.  I was able to treat the sequin fabric like a knit. I had no problems sewing it on my sewing machine, and ended up finishing the seams with my serger.  I only had enough silk to line it to just above my knee.

Each of the two front skirt pieces fold back to form a facing.  The two pieces then overlap one another to create the faux wrap. It overlaps enough that I don't need to be concerned about the skirt opening up and exposing more than I'd like!

The waistband is 2" wide Petersham ribbon folded in half. I only had off-white and black ribbon in my stash and without time to order matching ribbon I choose the off-white. 

An invisible zipper is in the back of the skirt.

By the time I was done sewing this skirt I had tiny sequins scattered all over my house!  The floor in my sewing room was especially sparkly as so many had landed there while I was cutting and sewing the fabric. 

As soon as my skirt was complete, I modeled it for my husband.  Oh, if you could have seen the look on his face!  I was laughing inside as I watched him trying to find the right thing to say.

So maybe my husband isn't as crazy about my new sequin skirt as I am. But it sure does look fabulous!

 This is my October Burda Influencer project, and I received the PDF pattern at no cost.

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Vogue 9330, an Easy-To-Sew Oversized Pullover Top

The moment I saw the illustration for this oversized pullover I knew I wanted to sew myself one...or two...or a dozen.

I know it doesn't look like anything special. And it might not be, but I LIVE in big, comfy pullovers paired with yoga pants all winter long. Well, at least at home I do. I still have to dress professionally in the office :-)  This top is perfect for my at-home winter attire.

I picked up this lightweight terry knit (with a hint of sparkle!) at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago with the intent of trying out this pattern.  It's soft, so the shape of the collar and sleeves are not apparent.  And the metallic thread makes it a wee bit scratchy at the collar, but I don't care.

I have to tell you - this top is soooooo big!  I know, I know.  The signs were all there. The pattern description says “very loose-fitting” and I could have paid attention to the measurements printed on the pattern pieces. But I didn't.  Instead I cut my usual size, ignoring the amount of design ease. There is a silver lining though as I didn't have to do a FBA!

The sleeves are quite wide, especially around the wrist area. There are darts to draw in some of the fullness, and after I tried the top on I went back and made those darts even deeper. Bur I still think the sleeves are too loose.  I will also remove some of the width in the body of the top.  In the middle of winter (when we hit our series of below zero temps outside, and our temps inside the house remain pretty chilly) a top that is loose at the wrists and lower body like this will just let the cool air flow around my body. I'm getting chilled just thinking about it! (Ha, ha - I'm not real sure what I was doing when my hubby captured this pic, maybe we were talking about the football game?!?)

The collar!  It’s my favorite part.  It’s cut with the grain, which meant the stretch of the fabric does not go width wise on the collar.

I thought it might be a mistake as I was placing the pattern pieces on the fabric, but I think that might be how the collar stands up so nicely!

Another cool design feature is the side panel that is sewn to the front and back of both the body and the sleeve. I was curious why the pattern description said “sleeve in three pieces” and now I understand. I think that panel could make for interesting colorblocking. For example, I was thinking of sewing the top out of a Ponte Knit and using a faux stretch leather for the contrast panel.

This one was my test top.  Now that I know what I'll do differently, I’ll be keeping my eyes open for the perfect fabric for my new (dozen) stay-at-home pullover top(s).

Before I leave, here's a pic of the pattern envelope and a link to the Vogue website where the pattern can be purchased.

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A Splash of Blue to Welcome September: A Review of Vogue 9329

I live in Minnesota, and September signals the unofficial end of summer...sigh.  The weather will fluctuate between hot and muggy and cool (cold) and windy.  Of course, that can happen here in the middle of July too, LOL.

Since I’m out quite ready to say goodbye to summer, I’m quickly stitching up some of my colorful fabrics that I will use to slowly transition into the fall/winter season.Such as this bold blue and white abstract animal print!

This is is a new pattern release, Vogue 9329. The Marci Tilton pullover dress design features a handkerchief hemline, cut-on sleeves (two lengths), and pockets.

It's not obvious from the pattern envelope, but the dress is designed to have a partial contrast back. You can see it in the line drawings. I eliminated the contrast.  Instead I took the back pattern piece, folded it in half, and cut one back piece on the fabric fold.

 I like that the pockets are single layer and stitched in place to the front of the dress. I finished the edge of the pocket, pinned it in place, and used a contrasting thread color to baste it in place.

 

I then stitched on the right side of the dress just to the side of the basting.The contrasting color made it easy to remove the basting after the pocket was stitched in place.

The dress is described as close fitting through the bust.  I checked the finished bust measurement printed on the pattern and decided to add two inches. I used a pivot and slide method so there is no dart.  It provided enough extra room so that the knit doesn't pull across my bustline.

The sleeves are cut-in-one with the bodice.  I choose to sew the shorter sleeves, which hit just at my elbow. The sleeves are finished with a band (meant to be contrasting fabric). The neckline is finished with an interfaced facing that is topstitched in place one inch from the neckline. The pattern provides good instructions for mitered corners on the hem.  I'm not sure exactly what I did wrong, but my miters are not as nice as I would like them to be.

The ITY knit fabric was one I picked up about three years ago from SR Harris Fabric . I'm glad I decided to not sew what I had originally planned (knit top and wide leg pants) as I really like the fabric in this dress!

If you follow Carlos Vogue Pattern designer on Instagram, he shared a black stretch velvet version of this dress as one of his "closer look of this pattern" posts. It was lovely and I plan to sew myself one to wear this winter with tights and boots.






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BurdaStyle 07/2018 #120 Pants with Embellished Bottom Bands

"I need these midi-length pants!"

That was my immediate reaction when I saw these.  Look at the details!  The length, the slight flare, the pocket detail, the side zip, the narrow waistband. All of these spell winner in my book. Here's the line drawing.

I was especially intrigued by the idea of using the bottom portion of the pants as a design feature. Because it is stitched to the pants separately it was easy to come up with a variety of ideas.   Here's some of my sketches.

On my first pair I used a sheer embellished fabric for the bottom. I debated whether or not to use it as a sheer or as an overlay on the black fabric.  After consulting my incredibly fashion-savvy friend (hey Jude! I'm talking about you!) I left it sheer.  I really love it!  I think wearing it with flats helps tone down the "fancy".

Next I started working on a denim pair.  I inserted floating rick-rack in the seam between the leg and bottom portion.  But before I could take pics and post here and on IG, a floating rick-rack tutorial from the Bernina We All Sew blog popped up in my blog feed.  Grrrr...I decided to wait and share the denim pair later as I didn't want to appear as if I was copying that post.  Isn't it funny how some ideas in the sewing world all come out at the same time?!?

I quickly changed gears and decided to sew a pair of black pants with beaded ribbon trim inserted into the seam.  I LOVE them! And I'll probably wear them more often than my denim with the rick-rack trim.

The black trim on black pants is subdued enough that I can wear these to the office. If you're following me on Instagram (@sharonmads) you may have seen a sneak peek of the trim in one of my IG stories.

The fabric on this pair is a fabulous Donna Karan stretch woven purchased locally at SR Harris Fabrics.  Note the price of the fabric is always 50 percent off of the marked prices on the bolt. I didn't do a burn test, but I'm guessing it's a linen blend.  I can tell you it was a dream to sew!

The fabric on my sheer band pants is also from SR Harris. The black is a lightweight stretch wool blend that I purchased years ago, but the sheer I purchased specifically for these pants.

Here's a closeup of the bottom of the pants. The two side seams on the bottom band are finished with French seams and I used the scalloped edge of the fabric for the hemline.

Here's the back view and closer look at the bottom of the black linen with ribbon trim pants.

I left the pleated fabric pocket detail off of both of the black pants as I think the lower edge deserves all the attention!  Plus I rarely tuck in my shirts so that pocket detail would be lost.

However, I did add it to my muslin. I wouldn't normally take time to add a design detail like this to a fitting muslin, but it was so cute I had to see what it looked like!

Speaking of muslins...I rarely do them, but I've gained some weight and am still trying to figure out what size I should be using when I sew. For my muslin I used a stretch linen blend that's been in my stash for years and quickly stitched them up with no zipper, no bottom band,and no waistband.  I'm glad I did as I ended up identifying where I needed to make adjustments before sewing my "real" ones.  I just might take these apart, make the adjustments and sew them, although I still haven't decided whether or not I like the stripe changing direction at the bottom.

The waist band is narrow - about 1" - which I really like. The pants close with an invisible zipper and a hook and eye at the waistband.

 Here's a pic of the design from the BurdaStyle website, and the link to the pattern which can be purchased as a PDF (yay! no need to trace!) on the BurdaStyle website. https://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/midi-trousers-072018

With my short legs, I really didn't think that the midi-length pant trend was one I would like, but these pants have changed my mind! 

 

(This PDF pattern was provided to me at no charge as my August BurdaStyle Influencer project.) Pin It