DD3 has wanted big, oversized plaid shirts for a while, but we’ve not been able to find any that both fit properly and that she liked.  And, since she’s taller and much more shapely than most 13-year-olds, it just is a whole lot easier to make clothes for her.  Initially she was going to do the sewing after I did the cutting, but that wasn’t happening as the weeks passed, so I just decided to get on with the project and let her finish them by sewing on the buttons.

She shopped my pattern stash and decided on the boyfriend shirt from Burda’s 2013 February issue.

I asked if she wanted interesting touches like a bias front binding, or bias cuffs or a bias back yoke.

No.  Plain as day. Nothing interesting fancy. Thanks, Mom!

But I cheated.  I deliberately offset the front bands on both shirts, although it fit the check pattern perfectly in the blue.

And added a bias pocket to the blue check.

From these photos you can see how much wearing ease there is in this design. I did a 2cm FBA by cutting away the seam allowance spreading the front armscye, hinging at the outer shoulder point.

And I decided on a bias yoke simply because it meant no matching stress.  Lots of room in the back. The red fabric is a rayon, and it hangs beautifully.  The blue is a cotton flannel.

I’m stating the obvious, but this is not a fitted shirt, so DD3 usually wears it open over a tee or tank.

I have nothing special to say about this straight-forward pattern.  The sleeve plackets are a simple bias binding, not a fancy placket.  I must say, though, as someone who is used to the very precise markings on a Vogue collar/stand pattern, Burda leaves a lot to be desired.  These collars took a lot of checking and double-checking because there was no point on the collar stand marked where the collar edge should be.  Just a personal (slight) annoyance.  Vogue spoils their sewists with their markings, that’s for sure.

Remember my discouraging post about overthinking? How elusive and brain-numbing playing with a patterned fabric can be?  Well, I got over the hurdle and jumped into this blouse from Burda’s January 2016 issue.

The gorgeous silk is from EOS, and when she first posted it I started drooling.  She’d suggested the purple denim as a coordinating fabric, and, since I needed new jeans, thought I would happily splurge on the combo.  I am so happy with the colours in these fabrics.  So gorgeous!!

I cut the sleeves out first, because I wanted them to be symmetrical.  They don’t get in the way even though they are incredibly full.

The next cutting challenge was the back. The design is printed in a slowly squiggling line, so centering the design took some effort. One of the yokes was cut slightly off centre, so I used it as the yoke lining.

The front of the blouse has a slit opening. I disregarded Burda’s suggestions and used a strip of fabric cut on the straight instead of the bias and finished it by hand. And for the life of me I couldn’t find a button I liked, so I made one using a strip of bias tubing and the instructions from Vogue 1107.

The neckline and the sleeves are bound in a narrow bias binding.

And the yoke has little interesting bias ties that serve no purpose whatsoever. I don’t even think you notice them much in this fabric, but they’re a unique decorative touch.

Did I mention I really love this fabric? I had a little less than 1m combined  of various-sized pieces left over after cutting and matching, and I just couldn’t bear to see it sitting in my trash bin. So I pieced together a tank top using Burda 4/2015 #103.

In order to make some sense of the fabric design and to accommodate an FBA, there’s a seam down the centre front, one side front, and the left shoulder is pieced to the depth of about 8cm.

I wasn’t sure when I made it if I would ever wear it – I just wanted to use the gorgeous fabric for something!  But, as summer is around the corner, who knows?  I’m sure it will get worn.

Here are the promised pictures of the finished bandage bodice dress. 

Here’s a close up of the layered elastic forming the bodice.

And another one almost showing the full length skirt.  It did hang rather nicely despite the unusual combination of heavy polyester jersey lining and thin polyester crepe fashion fabric.

I cannot tell you how glad I am this unusual request (experiment) turned out so well.  I must say, it suited the client to a ‘T’.  She was pleased, and I’m sure will get a lot of wear from it once I hem it to be worn with flats.

Stay tuned for the next graduation commission in yellows and pinks.