Burda 6969 - Summer Dress

In honor of throw-back Thursday, a blog post dedicated to my stellar skillz in procrastination!

But actually.  If there was a procrastination olympics I'd be a gold medalist.  But that can wait until later.

Anyways, a while back I started AND finished Burda 6969.  I apologize, the link doesn't go to the Simplicity site where I originally found it, it goes to PatternReview.com (but it can also be purchased there, if you so choose).  As a side note, I've been having some problems accessing Simplicity Pattern's new website.  I can't seem to open in it google chrome on either my computer or phone.  It seems weird, but maybe my electronics are finally revolting against me and this is their first step towards taking over the world.  Who knows.

But I digress.  Here is a picture of the pattern:



And here is my version!

I am SO proud of how I got the black dots centered!!

I will say that I am not entirely pleased with how it turned out from the side.  I felt that maybe it was a bit too wide in the waist.  It floats away from my midsection, making me look a tad bit like a cocoon.  The times I have worn this dress, I added a black belt to give it more shape.

The back.  Also very proud of centering the dots here!

LOOK AT HOW MATCHED UP THEY ARE.  If pride is a sin, I apologize, but LORD look at that!

Detail of the front keyhole.

 I do find the keyhole very endearing, but I wish it wasn't quite as low on my bust.  Actually, the whole neckline sits very low.  I have to be very careful with how I lean forward in this dress!  I attempted to shorten the straps, but I also didn't want to unduly restrict my arm movement (gotta be free if If want to retain my status as an honorary pterodactyl).

A zoomed out shot of the front.  Just in case you forgot what it looks like.

Overall, this pattern was not very difficult.  I didn't bother making any adjustments or muslins because I knew it wouldn't be very fitted.  If I were to make it again, I think I would make a muslin to fix the low cut nature and the bubbly-ness of the waist.  But it's great if you want a quick project and are cool with belting it!

The fabric I used is a silk from Hancock Fabrics.  It was not quite opaque enough to retain my modesty and the eyelets were little peep-holes, so I ended up lining the whole dress.  The pattern doesn't call for it, but it was easy to add (just to the front and the back, no need to do the straps).

Until next time!

The Gretchen

Burda 7057 Dirndl/Halloween/Sound of Music Madness!

FALL FALL FALL FALL FALL!!!

Can you tell I'm a wee bit excited for the season?  There's just so much to enjoy about it!  In addition to all the pumpkin flavored everythings and the excuse to wear every sweater I own simultaneously, sewing's favorite holiday is just around the corner - Halloween!

When else do I get to make completely impractical clothing I'll only wear once?  Well, I actually do that on a regular basis, but now I can acknowledge it and have fun with it!!  And this year I decided to take a little inspiration from one of my favorite musicals, The Sound of Music.

Having short blonde hair, I naturally thought I should dress up as Maria Von Trapp.  But on closer examination, I realized that my favorite singing nun's movie portrayal had a less than glamorous wardrobe.  I wasn't exactly keen on making exact reproductions of such costumes as this:

Iconic? Yes. Glamorous? No.

I know it may seem a little silly, but I decided if I was going to sew a whole costume it should at least be a bit more... well, more!  But there are some costumes I love, such as the ones Maria made out of the drapes for the children.

I always wondered why Maria didn't make one for herself... they're just so cute!

I was also inspired by the made-for-tv movie version of The Sound of Music and the dirndl-style dresses Carrie Underwood wore as Maria.  The original will forever be my favorite, but dang were her costumes cute!

So, I decided to create the hypothetical situation in which Maria did create her own "curtain dress" but in the style of a dirndl because... well, because I can!  

I chose Burda 7057 to create my Maria/dirndl/curtain:

Specifically, view B,D,F

I then went on a hunt online to find some accurate-ish drapery fabric, but to no avail.  I found some cottons that were almost passable but they didn't have large enough patterns for my taste.  In the end I decided to choose a completely different fabric that was drapery weight.  This was my final choice, purchased from Hancock Fabrics:

I was extremely please with the quality of the fabric, plus it's got a lovely sheen!

My mother purchase the white cotton I used, so I am not altogether sure where it is from (JoAnn's perhaps?)  but I greatly enjoy how soft and flowing it is.  I did end up lining the undershirt bodice due to its sheer nature, but that was easy enough to accomplish.

This is my final product:

The Front of the Dress

Detailing of the front bodice

 I used some brown ribbon I had lying around for the laces. I may change it later, but they serve well for now.

Burda 7057 Front Detail

 I chose not to use stabilizer on the bodice as the fabric was already quite stiff; if you were to use a lighter-weight fabric I would definitely use it, though!

Just in case you forgot what the front looked like...

 I omitted the detailing around the collar of the dirndl because I thought my fabric was too heavy to make it.  That, and I'm lazy, haha.

Back of the dress; note that the neckline of the dirndl is lower than that of the blouse in the back.

 If you're new to dirndls, you might want to know that the under-shirt is usually only half a shirt, meaning that it comes down just below the bust and not to the waist.

Detail of the back

Since I was using a symmetrical damask, I spent a bit of time making sure that the panels of the front and back mirrored each other (As in, the right panels all mirrored the left panels).  If you do use a one way designed fabric, make sure to note that you will be cutting half of it upside-down if you follow the suggested pattern layout.

I'm also not exactly sure where the hooks I used were purchased from, but I know someone on Etsy sells them.  They were a bit hard to find at my normal fabric stores, so I'll be sure to figure out where I got them!

*FITTING*
For me, fitting this pattern was really easy.  I cut it out the size I measured out to (10 in Burda) and didn't have to alter anything!  I have found that Burda fits me really well, so I normally have very few fitting issues and this pattern was not exception.  The only thing I might say is that I could have maybe made it wider in the shoulders, but my shoulders are pretty broad and the puffiness of the sleeves makes up for the space I would need anyways.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed making this pattern.  It looks and fits wonderfully and wasn't too difficult to put together!  It took me approximately 2 complete days of work to piece it all together (which translates to 2 whole seasons of Downton Abbey, or approximately 15 hours)  and it took me about 2-3 hours to cut out (I cut out slowly!).  In total, the whole process was about 18 hours long.  Keeping that in mind, I would recommend this pattern for an intermediate sewer as it is a bit of a time commitment and there is some fiddley hand-sewing.

If you're interested in seeing a more faithful interpretation of Sound of Music costumes, I would highly recommend Edelweiss Patterns!  She made an absolutely lovely version of Liesl's curtain dress that also served as inspiration for my creation.

I cannot wait to wear my dress on Halloween and I hope you have an impractically fun (and sewing) filled fall!

But first, ME in the dress!

Until next time!

-The Gretchen

Burda 7056 - Lilly Pulitzer Inspired

Ever heard of Lilly Pulitzer?  Haha, well, I'm sure it has run across many people's radar, especially when Target started carrying its limited edition Lilly Pulitzer line that sold out within hours.  Needless to say, the brand's bright and cheery aesthetic are quite popular!

I don't know if I could pull of such a sun-shiney look everyday, but I was inspired by the summery feel it embodies.  So, instead of pinching my pennies to save up for one of the iconic frocks, I decided to make my own!  

I was inspired specifically by vintage Lilly Pulitzer:

From Pink Clouds blog

Modern Lilly Pulitzer maxi dresses:

From Neiman Marcus

From the Lilly Pulitzer website

And exposed zippers!

I love the subtle hint of gold!  This is the Lilly Pulitzer Penelope Shift Dress (no longer available online).

I already owned Burda 7056, and I loved thought the maxi dress in view C would work perfectly:

I actually love all the views in this pattern, it was hard to just pick one!

So I got to work, and this is what I came up with:

The front

The dress turned out less form-fitting than I thought it would be, giving a very column-like shape.  But I have to say, the simplicity of it grew on me!  I appreciate how the simple design balances out the colorful, busy pattern of the fabric.

The back zipper

There are a couple ways to put in an exposed zipper, but I chose Keightly Studio's tutorial.  Their version exposes only a bit of the sides (rather than laying the zipper completely on the outside) and includes top-stitching.

I truly wish I could put an exposed zipper on everything I make, but they can be quite pricey!  I bought this zipper from Hancock Fabrics and it is normally sold for $20, although I purchase it with a coupon :-P

And for funsies, more of my zipper (I'm so in love with it!):

Close up of the top of the zipper.

Close up of the bottom of the zipper

 This pattern was extraordinarily easy to sew and I would highly recommend it to any sewist, beginning or otherwise.  Truly, the hardest part was installing the exposed zipper and I elected to do that myself!

I chose to do the dress in a lovely cotton by Tina Givens (unfortunately not sold online! But you can occassionally find her fabric listed on Fabric.com and Etsy).  The cotton was easy to work with but has ended up driving me a little crazy with wrinkling (especially after sitting in the dress)!  If I made it again, I would use a more wrinkle-resistant material and with perhaps a little less structure.

As a fitting note, I ended up taking in the sides near my hips, making that area 1 to 2 sizes smaller than was originally cut out.  The dress was a bit too tent-like for my taste at first, but I believe part of that was how it was designed.  Either way, altering it is easy as the seams are quite simple!

Well, that's all I have!  If you have any questions, input, or comments, let me know!

Until next time,

-The Gretchen

Burda 6853 Completed (for now..)

The lovely Iris (Iristrend on Instagram) recently asked me to post a picture on my blog of this finished Burda pattern that she also completed (you can find her blog here).  I am planning on getting better pictures (weather permitting) but here it is, all finished on the hanger!

Front of the dress

Detail of the fake pockets (I do so wish they were real!)

Detail of the elbow dart.

Side of the dress

I am so pleased with how it turned out!  Putting on all the vintage trim by hand was a lot of work, but I definitely think it was worth it in the end.  I hope to write more about it, but we'll see how the rest of the semester goes!

Until next time,

-The Gretchen

Burda 6853 Beginning

Hello!

I'm back!  Yes, I haven't posted the finished product of my Christmas dress, I had to leave for college before I got around to it.  But I swear it's done!  Pictures will come eventually! I have since moved on, as you may have guessed, to Burda 6853 (you can find it online here). This is what the pattern looks like:

The pattern!

I'll be doing view "B".  I absolutely fell in love when I saw it!  I love how Chanel inspired it is while also being youthful (hence Burda "young," haha).  Here's a picture of some classic Chanel suits, for reference (and so you don't think I'm a total nutcase!):

The suits!

The pattern definitely isn't an exact replication, but in my mind it takes the idea of the classic suit in a different direction.  I love the black trim and clean lines of the original, but I also love the pleats of the pattern!

Now onto my work....

The Materials

I chose this bluish-greenish-grayish wool (if you can think of a more exact name for the color, let me know!) from JoAnn Fabrics.  I absolutely loved the weight and unique color; perfect for the winter season.

I initially had some trouble deciding on trim.  The trim on the pattern cover is quite wide and I thought it looked considerably wider than the 3/4 in. trim called for.  I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for at the store so I ended up buying this 1 1/2 in. Project Runway-inspired trim:

It's nice, but I soon discovered that it was way too wide!  I should've known, but I was so excited to get started.  I ended up icks-naying that and bought this trim from Etsy:

I haven't gotten it in the mail yet, but I'm hopeful!  It's 1 inch wide and supposedly vintage, which always makes me happy.  I wasn't sure how I felt about the open chain concept and being able to see the fabric underneath (not very Chanel).  But in the end I decided that it was such a unique trim along with being the only one I liked, so it was worth the risk.

Finally, the buttons:

Just your sort of run-of-the mill, classic gold buttons.

Cutting and Fitting

I don't have too much to say about cutting out or fitting.  Burda usually does an excellent job sizing its garments to the way I like them to fit on me (they run very true to size).  I cut out the bust a size 8 and my hips a size 10.  From what I've made so far, it fits like a dream!

Construction

Once again, not too much to say.  The directions are relatively straightforward and I had no issues.  But pleating can be tedious!  It's worth it in the end, but keep in mind if you've never pleated or are ironing-adverse, you may be in for quite a learning curve.

 I understitched the collar even though the directions don't tell you to.  My lining was flipping outside, so if you have that problem, understitiching may help!

And then there's putting on the trim...  I couldn't figure out when to do that, but I found that the very last direction is to put all the trim on after the garment is constructed (other than the trim on the pockets).  I didn't really want to do that, partially because I don't want to see the trim stitching on my lining.  I've halted construction until I get the trim, but here it is so far:

The threads on the bottom are basting to keep the pleats in place!

I've put together the body of the dress and attached the lining to the neck, but not the arm holes.  I've also put together the sleeves but not attached them yet. And I put in my label!

So gratifying to get it in!! Officially mine!

That's it!  I'll be posting pictures of the finished product after I get my trim, but if you have any questions in the meantime, let me know.

Until next time!

-The Gretchen