Burda Knee Length Sweater Coat (with Oopsies)

Joining in Patti's Visible Monday!

I mentioned on my last post that Elizabeth brought this pattern to my attention. It is a Burda from the Dec 2010 issue, but it can be downloaded on the Burda site.

This coat is a fairly simple design and is perfect for showcasing a special fabric. It has no lining or facings or closures. I elected to finish it with a binding and I added some closures.

I had a very special fabric in mind for this coat.

A year ago, I bought an Italian wool sweater knit from Emma One Sock. It's a lofty, fairly stable, sweater knit, though the cut edge does curl a bit. I bought a little over one yard, which was all Linda had left - I planned to mix this fabric with another. Margy had also bought a couple yards of this fabric. Then Margy went through a bout of wool/lanolin allergy and she gifted her fabric to me.

So generous!

(By the way, I see that Marcy currently has some of this fabulous fabric for sale on her site.)

When I saw this Burda coat, I knew I wanted to use the wool sweater knit. I purchased the pattern and printed it out. I decided to use a size 40, based on my upper bust. I did do a vertical-only FBA, though I avoided sewing the dart and eased the extra fabric at the side seam at bust level. I made no other pattern alterations for fit.

I did make some very stupid mistakes when making this coat. People don't seem to believe I make stupid sewing mistakes, but I am quite capable! My first mistake happened when cutting. This fabric has an amazing selvedge, which is different on each edge. I decided to put the selvedge at the hem, reminding myself that the back and the fronts needed to be positioned along the same selvedge.

I first cut out the back. There is supposed to be a center back seam, but I didn't want to interrupt the fabric, so I placed the CB on the fold line. As soon as I finished cutting the back, as soon as I took that last snip, freeing the piece from the yardage, I realized my first blunder.

I forgot to add a seam allowance.

I was quite proud of my reaction. I didn't reach for food, alcohol, or anything else. I started thinking of how I might fix this. I then (calmly) called Margy. I said to Margy, notice how calm I am? I then told her what I had done and some of the ideas I was forming to work around this blunder. Margy proposed that I just add twice the seam allowance to the front (for example, to cut the front out with 1" seams, instead of half inch). I knew that would work well, as I really only had to worry about the shoulder and side seams - the neckline and front was to be finished with a binding. And I always have to cut fabric from the armscye anyway, thanks to my narrow shoulders.

First problem averted.

I then proceeded to cut out the fronts.

As soon as the fronts were cut out, I realized my second blunder. I had put the fronts on the OTHER selvedge edge, which definitely looks different, so the fronts and the back would not match up at the hem.

Once again, I was calm. I went to bed and decided I'd worry about it in the morning.

In the morning, I decided that I didn't want the selvedge on the hem anyway. The selvedge, while beautiful, is light-colored and I didn't want a lighter color at the hem. So, I cut the selvedges off the front and back. I decided that I wanted a slightly shorter coat, anyway. I hemmed the coat by turning up the raw edge.

Second problem averted.

I had a third blunder. And, you know what? I can't even remember what it was. So it couldn't have been so bad. ;)

Wait! I do remember! My third blunder was that I placed the pockets too low. I thought I had carefully marked where to put them, but they ended up too low. Not much I can do about that except pretend it was on purpose. :)

The pattern is designed with in-seam pockets. I am not a fan of in-seam pockets, so I sewed curved welt pockets. I used wool crepe for the welts and the pocket bags are made from scraps of black ponte.

Curved welts made from wool crepe
Pocket area reinforced with interfacing.
Completed pocket

I decided to bind the front and neck edge with a speckled, floppy sweater knit that was left over from a Sandra Betzina sweater I made years ago. But before binding, I wanted to stabilize the edge of the sweater. I sewed a 1/4" twill tape to the front and neckline edge, by hand.

Neckline and front edge reinforced with cotton twill tape.

The binding fabric sheds like crazy when cut. I cut the strips at 2-1/2" and folded the strips, wrong sides together, matching the raw edges. I sewed the raw edges of the binding to the front edge with a 1/4" seam allowance, wrapped it to the back, and hand stitched in place. (Because the knit was so floppy, I first hand basted the binding to the coat before stitching on the machine.)

Sweater knit used for binding, up close
Which sheds, when cut. (I used the back side, which is less shaggy, for the binding.) Binding up close
More binding

The coat is designed with no closures, but I used jumbo snaps at each front corner and a leather toggle just below the bust. I purchased the closure at Britex and used my hole punch to create the holes. I then sewed it on using black perl cotton. The coat is more functional in our foggy SF climate if I can close it.

Closure, up close, sewn with perl cotton

Finally, I took half a yard of faux Persian lamb, also purchased from Emma One Sock many moons ago (for another project), and sewed up a Koos style infinity scarf (sans twist).

There are lots of ways to wear this coat, thanks to the optional scarf and the optional closures. I have already worn it for three days straight. This may be one of my favorite makes ever! (It's like wearing a snuggly blanket.)

Faux Persian lamb infinity scarf

More Pics

With faux fur cowl
Without cowl
One lapel down
Both lapels down
Worn open

Pattern

Burda 2483 - A Holey Sweatshirt

This top started with the fabric. I found this novelty fabric on Marcy's website some months ago. It is a fuzzy grey fabric with holes edged in a bluish teal color. The back of the fabric has a teal colored blue tulle fused to the grey fabric. So the holes are "filled" with teal-colored mesh. Very unusual.

I knew right away that I wanted to use a solid teal contrast. I then bought three rayon lycra fabrics, two by mail order, and one in a fabric store, but without a swatch of the novelty fabric at hand. None was right. All three are a greenish teal and not a blue teal. I now understand when a friend of mine talks about the challenge of finding the "right teal". Blue-teal, in particular, seems to be hard to find these days.

I finally decided enough was enough. It isn't a perfect match, but I used the green teal. In the photos, it looks like a close match, but in real life, it is off.

I spent a lot of time dithering on whether I wanted a zip-up sweatshirt with a hood, or a pullover with a tube neckline. The tube neckline won, largely because I wanted to try this double collar. The outside collar, out of the holey fabric, is finished with a channel. At center front are two black grommets and a thin self tie is threaded through. The inside collar, made from the teal lycra jersey, is taller than the outside collar and is finished with a channel through which I inserted plastic tubing from the hardware store.

Other than the collar, this is a very straightforward pullover. The novelty knit has 2-way stretch. The stretch ran along the length of the fabric, so I cut it on the crosswise grain so the stretch would go around the body. I did my usual knit FBA, which meant lengthening the front 1-1/2". But when I went to sew the side seams, I could not ease the fullness in at the side seam because the knit, quite literally, had no give whatsoever in the other direction. So I sewed standard darts and that worked fine. The only other alteration I made was to narrow the shoulder by 2".

Finally, I wanted to add a pocket. I used a hanging pocket, also trimmed and lined in the teal rayon lycra jersey.

And that's it! (Oh, I should mention that I am wearing this over a black tee, or you would see through it.)

Arrow points to the upper right corner of the hanging pocket. I resisted the temptation to put two googly eyes above the mouth-like opening. :)

Burda 3254 - Striped Top

One of my sewing pals was recently de-stashing her patterns and this one called to me. It's an OOP Burda envelope pattern — my suspicion is that it's long out of print, but I'm not sure. I love how the stripe chevrons all over the place — CF, CB, above the sleeve, below the sleeve. I made a shortened version of view B.

Based on the desired finished size I wanted (4" negative ease at the bust), I made the size 16. The original pattern is designed for woven fabrics, but of course I wanted to use this knit fabric from Marcy Tilton. I added 1" length to the front to accommodate needing a longer length for the bust.

Before making the stripe version, I tested it out in another knit from Fabrix. This is another print that I wasn't that crazy about, but I really loved the quality and price of the fabric at $2.39 a yard. I did not cut this version out on the bias, and I did cut it at full length. It was too long, so I chopped off about 8". Then it was too short, so I added a little flange to increase the length.

Test version. I cut off a bit too much, so I added a flange.

I also shortened the sleeves 1-1/4" and shaved off the shoulder "bump" which was too far out from my natural shoulder.

Despite making the test version, the stripe version, cut on the bias, is a bit snug. Before cutting, I tested the stretch of the bias and it seemed ok, but I guess it was a bit less stretchy than the test fabric. I cut the stripe version 2" longer than the test version (before adding the flange).

For the test version, I cut a 1-1/4" strip for the neck binding and sewed it with a 1/4" seam. For the stripe version, I cut a 1-1/2" strip on the cross grain and sewed it with a 1/4" seam.

For both tops, I hemmed the bottoms and the sleeves with 1/2" Steam-a-Seam 2 Lite.

More Pictures

Burda 2730 - Anna Sui Silk Chiffon Blouse

So blustery! More pics

It's funny how one can absorb fashion trends by osmosis. Sheer fabrics have been on the runways for some time now, and, for some time now, without thinking about it, I have been collecting them, but not sewing them up. I'm not sure what was holding me back, but I finally broke through the barrier.

I don't know when this Burda pattern was published, but it's perfect for chiffon fabrics and it's very on trend. It's too bad it's out of print, but I found it on ebay for a couple of bucks.

Materials:

• Silk Lurex Tie-Dyed Crinkled Chiffon Panel by Anna Sui 48" Wide, 98% silk, 2% lurex (890928) from FabricMart. I used three panels, one for the back, and one each for the left and the right fronts. I needed two for the front so I could match the design at CF. It almost looks as if these panels were intended to be scarf blanks, but I'm not sure how Anna Sui used them. I would have preferred the fabric without the lurex threads, but oh well.
• 3 pair of black snaps.
• 3 buttons from Fabrix.
• Black silk organza to use as interfacing for the collar.

Construction Notes:

• The pattern comes with 3 sizes in the envelope: S (8/10), M (12/14) and L (16/18). I made the large, using view A with the collar and button front. View B is a button-less, collar-less cardigan with sleeves.

• I made no alterations. I decided I didn't mind if the hem is uneven, so I did not bother with an FBA.


• This is very easy to sew, though I didn't follow the instructions, exactly. I used French seams on the shoulders. I hemmed all edges and then sewed the side seams - it's just much easier that way. If you use the pattern instructions, you will have exposed seam allowances.


• I didn't want to sew buttonholes in the silk chiffon, so I used three snaps and then sewed the buttons on top of each snap - they are purely decorative.


• When I was cutting out the collar, I fussy cut one layer on the black part of the fabric and the other layer on the white "stripe". After constructing the collar, I decided I liked the black collar better, so the white stripe version ended up as the undercollar. You can see it here:
  

  

  The stripe ended up as the under collar. You can really see the lurex threads here.

  

  The solid ended up as the upper collar.

I was planning to wear this top for my birthday outing, and I put it on, and took some photos. It was so foggy, cold and windy, that I thought the photo shoot was a failure. But when I uploaded them this evening, they were better than I had thought. So I am using the pics from that shoot, even though it was blustery. But isn't all that floaty movement the reason that chiffon is fun? :)

I ended up changing my outfit to a warmer one for my outing.

I love this top. It is so billowy and fun to wear. I have already cut out a second one, using another silk chiffon border print. I am changing the front on that version, but this is a great pattern and I will use it again and again.

I am now ready for a pool party!

More Pics

I tried changing locations, but it was just as windy.

It's a bit hard to see, but I carefully matched the pattern on the front. It's also hard to see the three buttons/snaps.

Back. You can see the door's window through the top. It was breezy when I took these hangar pics too.

Burda 3251 - The "Shuffleboard at 2pm" Tunic

I mentioned in my last post that I've been unfocused lately (mostly distracted by work) and it's affected my sewing. Seriously, what is UP with me? Apparently I am sewing for my alter ego and my alter ego is my grandmother-on-a-cruise. (Though both of my grandmothers passed long ago and neither one ever got anywhere near a cruise ship, but you get my drift...)

This is a long out-of-print Burda, but I really liked the silhouette and I thought it would work for me. Maybe it still would work for me in another fabric. Or a shorter length. Or worn with leggings. This is a fairly fitted top and I liked that. The button front is open below the waist and there are side slits. I like all of the above. Or so I thought.

I started with a size 16 (42) and altered the heck out of it. I usually start with a larger size, often a 20, but this time I decided to use my actual high bust measurement (42") and go from there. I think that did work well and I should do this more often.

The fabric is a pleated rayon that I bought at Yardage Town in San Diego last July. I intended this for a skirt that I drafted a couple years ago. I'm kinda sorry I didn't save it for that project. :/ This fabric is very stretchy (due to the pleating) and very unstable in the selvedge-to-selvedge direction. It also ravels easily and is very wiggly. And, of course, because it's a stripe, I had to match the pesky stripes. (It would be so much easier if I didn't like striped and plaid fabrics so much. :)

Materials and Notions:

• Pleated striped rayon fabric from Yardage Town in San Diego.
  
• Coordinating solid cotton for the facings, from Fabrix.
  
• 4 7/8" buttons from Fabrix.
  
• Twill tape to stabilize shoulder seams.
  
• Fusible tricot interfacing for facings, also from Fabrix.
  

Alterations and Modifications:

• This pattern has a dart and it actually pointed to the right place on me! (Wow, that never happens, though using a smaller-than-normal pattern size did raise it up a bit.) The dart was too long and too small, so I did my usual FBA, AFTER chopping the bottom of the pattern off. After the FBA I re-attached the two pieces, so the hip was not modified.
  
• I lengthened the sleeves to below elbow length.
  
• I shortened the shoulders by 1/2". Usually I have to shorten the shoulders by 1" when I'm using a larger size.
  

Construction Notes:

• I stabilized the shoulder seams with twill tape cut to the length of the shoulder seam on the paper pattern.
  

  

  Stabilized shoulder seam and contrasting facing.

• I did not want to use the same pleated fabric for the interfaced facings, so I use a coordinating solid blue fabric. It's a cotton "linen-like" blend. I have enough to make some coordinating pants. :)
  
• I used 4 buttons that were larger than what the pattern called for. I found them in the giant button bin at Fabrix where you can buy 100 buttons for $5, but you have to sift through them to find matches. I used four buttons in three different shades of blue. Just for fun. You can see them in the pattern picture below.
  
• I matched the stripes as well as possible. It wasn't entirely possible. For example, look at the picture below, where I am twirling. See how the stripe tilts down just below the armscye. This is because of the mammoth 6" bust dart. I matched the stripe at the top of the sleeve, at the CB, below the dart at the side seams, etc.
  

  

  Twirling exposes the stripe matching and the effect of the large dart (just below the armscye).
  

• After the top was mostly completed, I tweaked the fit and removed even more width from the hip. I have started pinning the bust dart right on my body and, wow, does it improve the fit.
  

So, what do you think? I will wear this top, I'm sure, and maybe it will grow on me.