Heavenly Burda 2012-09-123 wrap up!

Finally! The write up about my Dolce & Gabbana inspired embellished Burdastyle 2012-09-123 T-shirt. I was debating whether to hold off until I make a matching gold A-line skirt to do style shots with. But that’ll take too long and I’ll have forgotten all my construction details. So here goes…

The Pattern

I chose this because I wanted a T-Shirt sloper from Burda to gauge the fit of Burda knit tops. This one is perfect because if you join the front yoke to the front bodice, it’s a very basic T-shirt. The neckline is high enough to be jewel neckline that you’d expect of a sloper. The style is fitted enough. The fitted long sleeve again makes it a good baseline to gauge design variation.

The only thing I’m not sure about is the ease in the sleeve cap. Is that really necessary in a T-shirt made from stretchy material?

The Embellishment Inspiration

Style Shots & Mug Shots

4-bs201209123-style1-54-bs201209123-style1-2
Worn here with my Bird & Blossom Taffeta Skirt.
3-mug2-1F 3-mug2-4SR 3-mug2-3B2

4-bs201209123-style2-1 4-bs201209123-style2-9

4-bs201209123-style2-15

4-bs201209123-style2-19 4-bs201209123-style3-1

4-bs201209123-style4-3 4-bs201209123-style4-5

4-bs201209123-style5-1

This last one is with fabric for the matching gold A-line skirt
that I hope to make some day soon!

Fabric & Notions Used

Size Used

Size 34. Going by sizing chart instruction I would be a 38. Going by FFRP‘s instruction (chest/high-bust used as bust & choosing smaller size when in between) I’d be a 34.

Changes Made

1-pattern-alt
Fitting changes = T-Shirt Block
  • Removed 3/4″ from front & back shoulder seam. (1/4″ of the front amount was done at the front yoke seam to preserve neckline curve. The armscye curve no longer match the original, but matches the curve adjustment below quite well.)
  • Sloping Shoulder Adjustment: removed additional 3/8″ from front & 3/4″ from back shoulders at armscye end. Lowered armscye 1/2″.
  • Wide Shoulder Adjustment: extended shoulder by 1/8″
  • Protruding Shoulder Blade /Rounded Upper Back Adjustments: extended back shoulder additional 1/4″. But in retrospect I think I’ve overdone these. The difference between front & back was a whopping 3/4″. Even with the stretchiness of the fabric, I got a little bit of puckering in the back shoulder. Oops.
  • Narrow Back Adjustment: removed 3/8″-1/2″ from back side seam.
  • Wide Arm Joint Adjustment: scooped out a bit from lower part of armscyes – 3/8″ front, 1/2″ back. Extended side seams at underarm out by 1/4″. (So back underarm end up with a net change of -1/8″.)
  • Adjusted side seam curve for shorter torso – curve back out to hip higher up than in original pattern. (This was basically copied from my previous Cowl-Neck T-Shirt Block based on McCall 6078.)
  • Lowered neckline at center back 3/8″.
  • Thin Arm Adjustment: removing 5/8″ from both sides, but tapered to 3/8″ at underarm to match Wide Arm Joint Adjustment on bodice.
  • Reduced the cap height by 1/2″ & adjusted the armscye curve. This pretty much removed all of the extra ease in the sleeve cap that I was complaining about further up.
  • Shortened the sleeve by 1″.
Design changes
  • Redrew the front yoke seam line so that it’s more slanted. I’ve removed quite a bit from the front shoulder, so I was a bit worried that a short almost horizontal yoke might emphasize my relatively broad shoulder.
  • Lowered the neckline 1/2″ all around.
  • Shorten hem 2-1/8″ in the back &  2-5/8 in the front for a more flattering & versatile length between high hip and full hip.
  • Replaced original facing & back neck opening with stretchy self-fabric tape facing – I want to say bias tape, but for most knit the stretchiest grain would be crossgrain rather than bias.
  • I used the two sides of the same fabric for the contrasting pieces, and matched the sleeves to the front yokes for a pseudo-raglan look on the front.

Verdict on the Instruction

I didn’t really follow the instruction as I’ve made a few changes. Plus I wanted to work out a more efficient way to sew up a T-shirt and try out some of the techniques mentioned in my Singer Sewing with Knits book.

Here’s how I constructed this one:

  • Before I start, I spray starched and ironed the fabric edges because this one LOOOOOOOOVEs to curl. I also spray starched the edges of the pieces after tracing out the patterns.
  • Next I embellished with fabric paint on the uncut pieces. Embellishment details in my earlier post.
  1. Sewing-wise, I started with the front yoke like in the pattern instruction, but pressed the seam allowance down (to de-emphasize a broad shoulder). I also sewed one shoulder seam at the same time (stablized with clear elastic & pressed towards the back), and overlocked the bodice and sleeves hem edges.
  2. Next is attaching neck tape facing to the neckline. Because the neckline hasn’t been sewn closed at the other shoulder seam, this is essentially a straight line rather than a circle.  So the short ends of the facing are lined up with either ends of the straight line – ie at front and back neck edges of the other shoulder seam. Facing is then understitched – seam allowance pressed towards facing, edge stitching on the facing close to neckline seam.
  3. The other shoulder seam is then stitched along with the short edges of the facing – effectively an extension of the shoulder seam on the neck side. The facing is then turned under twice – like typical hems – and stitched in place from the right side of the bodice.
  4. Sleeves are attached to the bodice next.
  5. Then sleeve and side seams as one continuous seam line.
  6. Finally sleeve and bodice hemming.

The usual Walking Foot and stretch stitch on sewing machine advice applies. This time I tried to do as much on Bernie the serger as possible as Saffy the sewing machine was still unwell at the time.

My serger skill is still a bit dodgy. I tried step 1 without pins or basting and the ends didn’t line up. Urgh. Thankfully I discovered how easy it is to unpick the 3-thread overlock seam. Hmmm, should I be worried about the strength of these seams? Anyway, I ended up hand-basting most seams. It was still quicker than unpicking seams multiple times. Hopefully with more practice my serging skill will pass Great British Sewing Bee judging standards! LOL

Would I sew it again / Would I recommend it to others

You bet! Or at least the T-Shirt block I derived from it. Every girl needs a TNT  T-Shirt pattern. This will be mine.

And I’m just drooling over the possible design variations this opens up!

I love how this T-shirt turned out. The neutral color goes well with so many other garments. And the shinier pseudo raglan sleeves reminds me of a suit of armor. Together with the Byzantine icon on the front and wings on the back it makes me feel like a foot soldier angel in God’s Army!

If you missed the previous posts, here’s the full thread of on my Burda 2012-09-123 adventure.

0 comments on “Heavenly Burda 2012-09-123 wrap up!

  1. This is beautiful! And your list of adjustments is overwhelming. But you’ve got what you set out to get: a Burda sloper, which should make whipping up any Burda dress/top an easy peasy task now, right? 🙂

    • Yes, the adjustments when listed all out always seem ridiculously long, doesn’t it! When you’re doing it, it just seems like a tiny bit here and there, no big deal. Especially when you’re just tracing over a sloper like this – you don’t really bother measuring.

      I do hope that with practice I’ll know in the future what’s worth adjusting and what to leave alone in design patterns.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.