knit block

Heavenly Burda 2012-09-123 wrap up!

Leave a comment

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.

T-Shirt Block: Burda 2012-09-123 part 3

Leave a comment

Muslin No. 2

muslin2-planThis time I chose a fabric more like the muted gold one that I’m going to use eventually: The Cerise 4 way Stretch Soft Touch Lycra Jersey from Tissu Fabrics. The key ingredient is of course spandex / lycra. This one is slightly more light weight and more drapy though. So not so great for very fitted top which would show any lumps and bumps that we acquire along the way. Unless you’re wearing Spanx of course. Anyway, not great look for ladies of certain age. But as this is a color that I’m not too sure about, I don’t mind using some up for making muslins.

As for the pattern…


The green lines are original size 34. The red lines are my adjustments.

I made a few more changes:

  • Taken 3/4″ off front shoulder seam in the hope it’ll pull the upper back up and keep those sway-back wrinkles at bay. Let’s hope this won’t choke me in the front neck instead!
  • Raised the underarm part of the arm scythe back up, and adjusted the arm scythe curves slightly.
  • Narrowed the sleeve by removing 1/2″ from both sides. Actually, I compared the pattern to my most recent measurements for wrist, elbow, bicep, and high arm width (front crease to back crease). That’s how I determined I can comfortably remove 1″ from the sleeve along the whole length.
  • Shortened the sleeve by 1″ and reduced the cap height by 1/2″. Adjusted the arm scythe curves by slide & pivot method, joining up my new width and height reference points.

Here’s how it sewed up – or hand-basted together…

Not bad, I can live with that.
White flag to sway back, I’ll have to live with that.
Note the bit of wrinkle at front underarm…
Underarm wrinkle visibily reduced & without the miracle cream!

OK I cheated again. The less wrinkly underarm side had additional adjustment:

  • Lowered the underarm part of the arm scythe back down 1/2″.

It was too dark to take photos last night after my first basting. And I was too impatient to wait overnight before attacking that underarm wrinkle. As a compromise I only changed one side so you can see the before & after picture in one go. BTW it’s more visible in real life. Light condition is still not great for photo-taking, so it might not be so visible in the photo.

Final pattern for Burda 2012-09-123

pattern-alt-2

Again, green is original size 34, red is my final pattern, orange is Muslin No. 2 take 1. The few final adjustments are:

  • Shortened the sleeve a further 1″. Measurement-wise Muslin No. 2 should be correct. But maybe because this Cerise fabric is light-weight, drapy 4-way stretch, it succumbed to gravity and grew lengthwise.
  • Redrew the shoulder piece 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 piece might emphasize my relatively broad shoulder.
  • Widened bust area by 1″ total and sleeves underarm area by 1/2″ to match, so that I’d look less like a slightly over-stuffed and lumpy sausage. I also widened hip by 1/2″ total on the final copy of the pattern, but forgot to update this working copy.

And my Fitted T-shirt Block

pattern-Tshirt-Block

Although the final Burda 2012-09-123 is almost basic as you can get, it nonetheless has one design feature left: The slightly widened and lowered neckline. I want my T-Shirt Block to be like a second skin, with the minimum ease necessary, so that I can base a variety of designs on it, including turtlenecks. So the final changes added are:

  • Lengthen shoulder seam towards the neck by 3/8″.
  • Lengthen CF upward towards the neck by 1/4″.

So there you are, T-Shirt Block done. And Dolce & Gabbana inspired Burda 2012-09-123 in muted gold ready to roll. Once Saffy the sewing machine comes home of course.

Now what do you think I should do with the Cerise Muslin No. 2? Unfortunately I only added 3/8″ for seam allowance, so I can’t make it much looser. One possibility I’m considering is cutting a new front and make it into Burda 2013-02-113…

bs-2013-02-113_techbs-2013-02-113

The back hip might be slightly too narrow. But maybe the extra fabric in the front will loosen the fit and hide the bulges. Lengthwise the Muslin is long enough to reach my hip – I tucked it up in the photo to see how a high-hip length fitted T-shirt would look like.

If you have any other suggestion for this Muslin No. 2 please share! Muchas gracias 🙂

T-Shirt Block: Burda 2012-09-123 part 2

Leave a comment

OK, let’s get down and dirty. First off…

Size Selection & Pattern Alteration

pattern-alt-0I used my TNT cowl T pattern McCall 6078 to compare the Burda sizes with. 34 came closest, though according to sizing chart I’d be between 36 & 38 by bust measurement. I think Fit for Real People mentioned Burda 34 is equivalent of Vogue size 8, which is what I’m now using as my go to size with FBA.

Overlaying size 34 Burda 2012-09-123 (translucent tracing paper) on my adjusted M6078 (opaque paper), I decided for the back pattern to follow the M6078 shoulder line and side seam, trace the neck and arm scythe seam lines but cut on the Burda pattern cut lines.

The front was harder to compare since M6078 is cowl neck. So bust up is probably wider than a standard T-shirt block would require. So the only change I made initially is to graded out to size 36 at the underarm to match M6078.

Muslin no. 1

OK, these aren’t the initial results. I forgot to take pictures. These are after I made some further tweaks:

  • Lower CB neck slightly.
  • 1/2″ sloping shoulder adjustment on front.
  • Truing the side seams by adjusting the front side seam curve to match back side seam curve – making sure that CF and CB are parallel (front pattern is now about 1/2″ wider).
  • Lowered underarm part of arm scythe by about 3/4″.

I thought I’d fit the bodice first.

Looks good…
Looks goodish…
Ugh, slight sway-back wrinkle still.

All in all I thought it fitted relatively well. I think I’m giving up on the sway-back adjustment for knit. I just can’t seem to completely get rid of those wrinkles in the lower back.

Then sleeves on. And what’s this?

Armhole grew, shoulder lengthened.
OMG bad case of wrinkles!
Readjusted for back photo.
And that sleeves, that over generous sleeves.
I can pinch ~1″ at upper arm.
And even at underarm.

They weren’t kidding about sleeves stretching things out were they? And I thought I was being clever fitting the bodice first to avoid any problem there throwing off the sleeves. Maybe that theory would work better with woven.

Part of problem might have been the wrong choice of fabric. This mid to hefty weight 100% cotton interlock jersey from Tissu Fabrics / Tia Knight stretches and stay stretched…Until the next time you wash it maybe. Then it’ll probably shrink on you. It is however quite lovely to touch and to sew with. The color range is also fabulously vibrant. Bright enough to need sunglasses.

But I don’t know. It’s not really me. I just can’t think of what to do with a fabric like this with little drape, a bit of heft, yet not stable enough for a light jacket or something.

m6612-style1-1I had used up some of the Turquoise for an earlier T-shirt Block attempt based on McCall 6612. I don’t feel chic in the result. So it’s only worn at home as a slob out top. Hence I’m not feeling motivated to use up what’s left of the Turquoise. I’m not even motivated to finish this first muslin.

And I still haven’t touched the 3 meters of the Bright Orange! This might be the rare occasion when I give away the fabric, send it to a better parent who know how to cultivate it to get the best out of it.

BTW the colors in the shop photos aren’t quite accurate. Even my Turquoise photos here look different from real life. It’s a bit duller and less blue. But the Bright Orange is brighter and not so yellowish and warm. That’s the peril of internet shopping. But I did read somewhere that Tissu Fabrics do send out swatches. Trouble is I’ve just never been patient enough to wait for swatches through the post!

Anyway, the pattern is now further adjusted and ready for Muslin no. 2. Stayed tuned.

T-shirt Block. Again. (aka Burda 2012-09-123 part 1)

Leave a comment

So while Saffy’s at the sewing machine hospital, I decided to tackle fitting for my upcoming projects…By way of a detour of course!

I needed to get to grip with Burda sizing. So I’m using Burda 2012-09-123 as a basic T-shirt block.

bs-2012-09-123_tech   fabric-gold-lycra-wrongfabric-gold-lycra-right

The plan was originally to use the muted gold lycra from Tissu Fabrics / Tia Knight as muslin. But I’ve since fallen in love with it. Especially after seeing Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall / Winter 2013 collection…


Photo credit: Style.com

I loved Byzantine art when I took art history in college. All that old muted gold. Yum.

So the new plan is to make a proper version of Burda 2012-09-123. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to use the shinier side for the shoulder detail pieces and the darker, more muted side for rest of the body. I want to avoid my trunk from appearing thicker than it is.

Then play with the different tones of gold fabric paint to create mosaic design or Byzantine icon of some sort on the front. Hopefully one of the gold fabric paint will match the shade of the fabric’s shinier side. I might also add a line painting of something like this on the back!

(Machine embroidery design from Urban Threads.)

If I only had an embroidery machine…Though it still wouldn’t help on a stretch fabric like this!

Next up fitting alteration & muslining…

Psychedelic Leopard 3: Modified M6078c cowl neck top

Leave a comment

So this was suppose to be a shortened Burdastyle Magazine Blumarine 2011-06-139 wrap dress. But after I traced out and altered that pattern, I just couldn’t squeeze the wrap top out of the leopard print fabric. And I laid out pieces for all 3 projects at the same time to conserve fabric too. No luck. So another sleeveless cowl top it is then.

As V1282 has all the drape from bust down, I decided this one should have all the drape from bust up. Just for variety you know. So people don’t think I’m wearing the same stinking top day in and day out! (Not that my DOH could tell the difference.)

The Pattern

I made M6078 view B before and was quite pleased with the result. So I’m sort of using this as a TNT pattern / design block for cowl neck tops in moderate stretch knit fabrics.

Style Shots & Mug Shots

Fabric & Notions Used

Size Used

XS (4-6) like my last make of M6078 view B. Recommended size for me would be M (12-14).

Changes Made

Fitting changes = Adjusted M6078 view C pattern
m6078cMod-2

M6078 view C pattern (minus SA) on top of my final pattern (with SA)

  • Wide Shoulder Adjustment: 1/4″
  • Rounded Upper Back Adjustment: additional 1/2″ on back shoulder, eased during sewing
  • Misc shoulder / upper-back adjustments (based on fitting assessment of my last make):
    • Raised front shoulder/neck point by 1/4″
    • Lower back shoulder/arm point by 3/4″
    • Raised CB Neck by 7/8″
  • Narrow Lower Back Adjustment: 1/4″ at under-arm to 1/2″ at waist
  • Sway Back Adjustment: Slashed across waistline & overlapped 3/4″ lengthwise at CB. Redrew CB below waist and removed 7/8″ width from back hip as a result. Added back 3/4″ lengthwise at CB hem.
  • Narrowed bodice for a more fitted look: 1/2″ at under-arm to 1″ at waist
  • Shorten hem 2″
  • Raised armhole by 1/4″. In retrospect I think I should have left it alone. The result was slightly tight. I raised it because the armhole of my previous make seemed a bit low. But that could have been because I laid the patterns on the crosswise grain which is stretchier, so gravity might have pulled down the armhole.

Now before you say “Woah! That’s a hell of a lot of changes” I just want to say “not this time”. I’ve already made most of these changes when I made view B. There were only a couple of tweaks this time. But I listed all the deviations from the original pattern so it’s clear I’m not using the unmodified pattern. As you can see in the photo above, once I got a good fitting version of the pattern, making design changes is Play not Work! 🙂

Design changes
m6078cMod-1

Final pattern with design changes

  • Added a pleat in the front shoulder – like view B
  • Added a rectangular tube-like cowl collar by extending the facing outward from shoulder-neck point half the amount of back neck width
  • Raised CB neck / straighten back neck so the collar / facing wouldn’t sit too low in the back
  • Pleated the back collar vertically so more drape is on the collar outside than collar inside
  • Omitted the shoulder area loops
  • Used self-fabric binding tapes for armhole finishing

Verdict on the Instruction

OK, I didn’t follow the instruction this time as I was too clever for my own good. I thought I’d streamline the process and make 3 projects simultaneously production line style. I probably ended up spending more time on each than if I had followed instructions and done one at a time. But with my design changes I would have had to figure some steps out on my own anyway. The original pattern instruction is pretty easy to follow though.

Here’s how I constructed this one:

  1. m6078cMod-3Stabilized back neck line and armholes with Vilene Bias Tape.
  2. Sewed & overlocked side seams and collar / facing CB seam.
  3. Sewed & overlocked shoulder – back neck / collar – shoulder seam, applying clear elastic in the process to stabilize the shoulder seams.
  4. m6078cMod-4m6078cMod-5m6078cMod-6

    Turned CB collar / facing edge inside and slip-stitched to CB neck seam (like I did for my Golden Cowl Neck Tunic – are you getting the same sense that I LUV COWL??? :-D)

  5. Pleated the back collar / facing vertically, leaving only the desired collar height on the inside (in my case about 1-1/2″ on the insTextide). Secured the outside pleats to the inside collar / facing portion with a vertical stitch along the collar CB seam.
  6. Oops. Tried on the top and discovered the armhole was a bit tight. Ripped out the Vilene Bias Tape to allow the fabric to stretch naturally.
  7. Sewed binding tape to armhole (in the same method as instructed by V1282 I was making at the same time).
  8. Overlocked hem edge then turn and sew hem in place.

The usual Walking Foot and stretch stitch advice applies. I didn’t bothered with twin needles for hems because I always get a ridge between the two stitching lines and it drives me crazy! One day I’ll treat myself to a cover stitch machine. But I haven’t earned it yet.

This time I also omitted the interfacing for the hem and hoped for the best when overlocking. Unfortunately my fabric was too stretchy / difficult to control. I ended up spray starching the hem to temporarily stabilize fabric for overlocking and heming.

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

Probably not this particular pattern modification. It didn’t turn out exactly as I envisioned. Then again my visions tend to be a bit hazy! }:-)

I do like the concept, so I’ll probably play with this type of cowl neck again. I just need to figure out where exactly I want my drapes and where I want it snug.

I would most definitely recommend the original pattern, and for the more adventurous amongst you, playing with this type of modified cowl neck.