Winter Coat: Burda 1/2016 #123

January 1, 2019January 5, 2019 ~ Tia Dia ~ 31 Comments

So, one of my goals for 2018 was to make jackets and coats: I had declared it “The Year of the Coat”. I managed to make one.
I finally got around to the project at the end of April. I pulled two pieces of fabric out of stash: a lovely green/brown ‘bubble’ wool from EmmaOneSock in 2013and a piece of velvet linen, purchased randomly from Scalamandre’s Third Floor around the same time. I had this from BurdaStyle’s January 2016 in mind for both: It’s a ‘tall’ pattern, but I wanted something long and dramatic. So I left the length, and adjusted the waist length by 2 inches (5cm). Here’s the back:
I did not like the tie collar (and the linen would not have worked for it, imho), so I frankenpatterned Vogue 2590 (an OOP Montana military-style coat). I love the high collar, and I must say, working with a Vogue pattern vs. a Burda magazine pattern in the same project was a sober reminder (and an elated reminder) of why I love Vogue patterns so much: there were more markings on the collar pieces than the entire front coat pattern piece from Burda. A clearly marked pattern makes construction so precise, and easy construct with (relative) perfection. Well, I am happy with it, anyways!

The coat does not have buttons. I debated doing the hand worked buttonhole exercise, but opted for the large snaps Burda suggested. I like them! And, no, I did not bother to try to choose a fabric that would match the coat so they could be covered. I just put them on. Finis!

Some details of the interior finishing:

There are in-seam pockets.
Here’s the side view.

A loooong belt tie.
A tall, statuesque drink of water I am not, which is perhaps accentuated by the tie belt. But I love the length and drama of wearing such a coat.

Miss V’s Wardrobe 2015

April 16, 2015January 28, 2016 ~ Tia Dia ~ 15 Comments

I always love hearing from Miss V with her cheerful announcement that she’s got a bag of fabric that needs to be turned into clothes. She is back from Cambodia for a few months, and needs new clothes. What fun for the both of us. Here’s a catalogue of what she has added to her wardrobe this time ’round.

First, a plaid blouse, base pattern Burda 9/2010 #110. Believe it or not, this was the first Burda pattern I ever made. It seemed like a good place to start for the shawl collared sleeveless knit top that needed to be copied. Never mind that this fabric is a poly woven. The blouse has a lot of wearing ease, so I just cut off the fronts at the CF, omitting the overlap of the pattern.

Then I added a band, about 4 inches wide, cut on the straight grain to the bottom of the blouse, leaving a 4-inch gap between ends at the left side seam.

This simple shift dress is Miss V’s favourite. I use Vogue 9595 with a mock wrap sarong that I copied from one of her dresses. It has a hidden welt pocket.

This next dress is my least favourite, and imho, a fabric disaster. It’s not only a sheet, but the weirdest sheeting fabric ever. I’m sure it must be a 70/30 polycotton mix, and it’s as light as a voile. Anways, she’s pleased with it, although I’m not. The bodice is Burda 2/2011 #101, the first iteration of which you can see here.

I had originally put on a dirndl skirt, but she didn’t like that, so I substituted in the A-line version of Sewaholic’s Cambie with pockets. I confess to doing a less-than-stellar job of accurate cutting. *sigh*

Now this sweet little number is none other than the free Marfy 1913, lengthened into a dress. If you search Google images, you’ll see a entire world of versions of this great pattern. I added side seam pockets and lined it.

This orange striped polycotton jumped right out of her bag of goodies and screamed, “SUNDRESS!!!” I used Burda 9/2014 #130, which is the basic bodice associated with DD1’s recent LBD.

The skirt’s pleats are all edgestitched, both on the inside and outside to keep the pleats in place after laundering, and to prevent the fullness of the skirt flying up in the wind. I cut an A-line lining and attached it to the skirt using thread chains. Apparently it’s quite windy in Cambodia, and flying skirts aren’t an option!

Here’s another version of Marfy 1913, with side hemline vents and a side zipper in addition to it’s CB opening. It can be worn outside the trousers, or tucked in.

The trousers are Vogue 2064, which I used to re-make a sari Miss V brought last time. The pattern is for jerseys, but I find sizing up one size takes care of the negative ease and makes the pattern work for wovens. Miss V wanted a dramatic waist sash with a bow to finish it off. I’m really sorry the only photos I have of this outfit on the dress form. The fabric is quite stunning in person.

And that’s all, for this round of Miss V’s sewing. Keep stitching!

Frankenpattern: Princess Leia Costume

January 8, 2014January 28, 2016 ~ Tia Dia ~ 10 Comments

My DD2 wanted to dress as Princess Leia this past October (yes, it’s taken me this long to blog about this) and since Carnivale is just around the corner, I thought I’d share my version of this famous outfit.

My starting point was Burda 1/2013 #148, but I made a lot of changes. My fabric choice wasn’t jersey, like the original Leia costume, but white polycotton broadcloth because it was cheap. Obviously it doesn’t have the drape of the jersey, and it’s a bit transparent, so I doubled it for the body of the dress.

First, I added width and length to fit DD2 with enough extra ease to fit over her clothes. I actually think I used Burda 4/2011 #135, a traced pattern from this tunic for the front and back because it would be faster than grading up the Leia costume, and added enough length to achieve a slight blousing effect over the belt. I left a hemline slit at the side seams from the knees down to facilitate easy walking.I used the sleeve pattern from Burda’s Leia pattern. It’s a nice shape.And for the collar I traced off the collar pattern from Vogue 8846 but only attached it from the back sleeve seam of one sleeve across the front of the dress to the back seam of the other sleeve.The back of the collar was left unattached at the back with a velcro closing.I cut an over-sized hood, using Vogue 7110, and attached it to the back between the sleeves, turned down the seam allowances to make a casing and ran elastic through it all to facilitate easy dressing. This is the centre back of the dress with the hood up. The belt was a new adventure into leather land, having never sewn or cut leather in my life. My husband had brought home a large upholstery-quality piece of black cowhide from a business colleague of his, and I thought it would be perfect…. So I used the Burda Leia pattern, spray painted it silver and added a little centre spot of copper paint. Not very accurate from a costume point of view, but it did the job. It fastens with velcro in the back. My favourite part is the hood. BTW, frankenpatterning is great fun for someone draft-challenged (or draft lazy) like me. Just pull all the pieces you’d like from 100 different patterns and see them work.

Vogue-Butterick Franken-dress

September 26, 2012September 24, 2012 ~ Tia Dia ~ 14 Comments

I love this dress. It wasn’t my idea, and I wasn’t quite sure it would work, but I love this dress! The skirt is Vogue 8711. The bodice is Butterick 5674, and the sleeves (cut on the bias) and skirt back are Vogue 8413 .

The fabric is a polyester woven, and I really was concerned it wouldn’t work with the Butterick or the V8711 because both patterns call for knits. Two-way stretch knits, no less. Now, in my experience with Vogue knit patterns, I can always go down a size or two to get the desired look because they’re drafted on the big side. So for this dress I cut the actual dress size and it had the perfect amount of ease to accommodate the woven fabric.

There’s a little bit of button detail on the left skirt yoke. Don’t you just love the cuffs on the 3/4 length sleeves? The bias sits so nicely and is super comfortable to wear. It’s like wearing jersey.

The back has a CB zip and is rather staid. All the drama is in the front of the dress. There is a LOT of fabric in the bodice. The shoulders are about 5 inches wide, and there is double that amount of fabric pleated into each one. It’s like a cowl on steroids but cut as two pieces and the left bodice only extends as far as the midriff and is sewn into the lining. Here’s a shot of the interior.

And you can see how the left bodice is sewn into the lining below. Then the right bodice is cut as one piece, draping from the shoulder waist, extending to the left side and overlapping the lining midriff to create the illusion of a one-piece cowl neckline.

This was a happy project, which was a refreshing change after the last couple of growing experiences. It was like eating the ice-cream after being required to finish ones veggies. The request projects are now done, so I’ll be able to get back to sewing for myself. There was frost on the roofs this morning, and, as usual, I have been caught sewing off-season clothes. I need a few things, but I intend to SWAP for the first time in my life. Steph’s posts on wardrobe and colour planning have been hugely encouraging and informative to a chronic impulse sewer like myself. I’ve decided this is going to change for Fall 2012. Now I’m off to look through my stash and come up with a plan! Wish me luck!