Burda Style 01-2011-102 and 02-2011-103 Final Review

The thaw has begun, so here are some outdoor photos as promised.
First up is Burda Style 01-2011-102. Here is the technical drawing to refresh your memory:

And here is the finished blouse:

As you can see, one major change that I made was to use regular buttonholes rather than the loops in the drawing. I also trimmed 3/8" off of the center front edge of both sides. As drafted, the blouse would have had a 2" overlap in front, and I thought that was just too much.

I think the front of the blouse looks a little bit sloppy. The gathered waist darts look awkward and cause the front to hang funny. Also, the tech drawing is a little bit misleading. It shows the gathers at the yoke going right up to the front edge, when in reality they stop about an inch and a half away. The result is that most of the fullness is way out toward the sides, which isn't all that flattering.

And this pattern runs big. I cut a 42 from shoulder to waist, and a 44 for the peplum. This was after starting with a 44/46 for my muslin. Even with the smaller size, I can pull this baby on over my head without unbuttoning it! Of course the fullness meant no FBA, so that's good. I made a 3/8" petite adjustment above the bust, which just saved the V-neck from being obscenely low. Another fraction of an inch and I'd need a cami under this.

I decided to try tucking the blouse in and I have to say I like it a lot better:

Here it is with one of my favorite skirts, M5590.

The top is still very blousy, but the high waisted skirt helps control the fullness. I'll be wearing it like this.

Here's a close-up of the fabric, a jaquard from stash. My mom bought this fabric back in the early 80's- does that qualify it as vintage? You can also see the inset corner where the sleeve is set into the bodice. There are four of these corners.

If I were going to make this again (and I'm not) I would omit the front darts. Instead I'd cut the front into two pieces and gather the bodice onto a separate peplum piece. I'd also distribute the gathers better in the front and in the back, bringing some of the fullness toward the center. And I'd maybe go down one more size. But there are other blouse patterns to try, so I think I'm going to file this one away.

The next project is Burda Style 02-2011-103, the high waisted pencil skirt with godet:

I knew upon first sight that I had to make this skirt. I used a mystery fabric from stash, a rose and black textured piece with some stretch to it, and black "no cling" lining from Hancock's. I cut a 44 waist and graded out to a 46 at the hip. Here it is worn with Burda Style 07-2010-121:

I ended up taking the waist in 1/2" on each side. If the fabric had less stretch, I might not have needed to take it in so much.

I used an invisible zipper in the back. I love the funky back darts and the flippy little godet. They are what makes this skirt unique. You can just barely see the darts in this photo. Hmmm. The V formed by my darts seems somewhat wider than the tech drawing.

The darts were easy to sew, though quite large. And the godet was easy to construct as well. You just need to mark them well so that the tip of the godet and the darts all meet at one point. I didn't really read the instructions, it's Burda after all, and it's just a simple skirt, but I would recommend hemming the godet with a narrow hem before sewing it to the skirt, and then hemming the rest of the skirt at the end, tacking the edges of the main skirt hem to the godet seams. I sewed my godet in and then tried to make a 1" hem all the way around. The godet is small and very curved and I couldn't ease the hem in and make it invisible on the outside. I ended up using bias tape to hem. It worked okay, but it makes the hem a little bit stiff.

I do plan to make this again, maybe out of a pinstripe like in the magazine photo, to show off the dart lines. I'm not 100% pleased with this version because of the fabric. It's a little bit too thick and spongey for this pattern. I had a heck of a time making sure the bottom of the zipper tape didn't show- the first time I tried it on, the tape stuck out and made a little lump. I looked like I had a tail! A good pressing and adding the lining seemed to help. And speaking of lining, the pattern uses the exact same pieces for both the skirt and the lining, so you have to sew the darts and godet twice. I imagine if you didn't want to go to all that trouble you could just make it unlined and wear a pretty slip- who would ever know the difference? Although I have to admit, I really like wearing a lined skirt.

And there you have it, two finished projects. Now I'm going out to enjoy the "warm" weather!