Tag Archives: Burda 8071

Thoughts on hem lengths; linings and slips

One of my wardrobe renovations performed lately was to shorten this skirt by a good several inches; a super quickie reno, but one that nevertheless completely transformed this skirt for me from something that almost caused me to shudder whenever I happened to catch sight of myself in a shop window reflection, to something that I have been wearing with a lot more pleasure and more confidence in how it fits nicely in with my style now.  Although I made it to wear this winter, it didn’t really “go” stylistically with any of the tops and cardigans, heck not even any of the shoes and boots that are the mainstays of my current winter wardrobe.  When I trialled pinning it up a few inches; hey presto, problem instantly solved.
I do have this theory that when it comes to skirts we all have a personal Ideal Hem Length; that is good for YOU, and it could be a bad idea to mess around with it too much.  For me, I think I prefer winter skirts to be EITHER about 10cm (4″) above the knee, OR quite long at midi-length, like roughly 20cm (8″) above the ankle.  These are lengths that just look better with all my tops, all my shoes and that suit my personal style.  Obviously I reserve the right to change my mind about that one, at any moment, according to any and all fleeting fashion whims.
Good thing I can sew for myself, hmmm?  😉

I had already finished the lower raw edge with violet bias binding, so to unpick and re-stitch it up a coupla inches higher was an ultra quick renovation…  and the extra length is still there, should my wardrobe tastes migrate to embrace the aesthetics of different hem length.

now that’s a nice deep hem!

And now to another topic, slightly related…

Kathleen wrote a comment bringing up the topic of skirts; specifically, to line or not to line? That is the question! which I thought worthy of further exposition.

In the photo above I am actually wearing a full slip underneath my outfit, not that you can see it, which is the point really!

I line the majority of my skirts but not all of them, and it is always something to consider, how do you choose which gets lined and which does not?
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the horrible experience of your unlined skirt slowly and inexorably riding up your stockinged legs, as if driven by some strange evil impulse of its own… which is why a lining is a good idea.  But for many of us in hot climates a lining can be a pesky thing that clings hideously to your sweaty legs for most of the year.  So what do you do if you want a bit more versatility, for your skirts to see more active duty, to be an all-seasons item as it were?

The answer is of course, a separate slip or petticoat.

I chose to make this skirt without a lining because I wanted it to be transitional thing, to wear on both winter-y days and warmer bare-legged days too.  And on cold days when tights are on, as above, I have a few slips, or petticoats that I can wear underneath, that do the same duty as a lining.  In the outfit above, I am wearing a pale blue silk petticoat, chosen because the colour went with the rest of my outfit, not that you are supposed to see it! but still, just in case  🙂 I like my colours to “go”.  So when re-hemming the skirt I was careful to hem it to a length that I could still wear my petticoats underneath it.

It’s always really good to have several petticoats or slips on hand from which to choose.  I have eight full slips or petticoats in total, half of which could pass as little summer dresses if worn with extras: this pale blue one, a pale pink one, a beige one (easily my most useful one), a cream broderie anglaise one and a black one, shown long here but I have since re-hemmed it quite a bit shorter, and also three long and full-skirted ones, in yellow, pink and a white Metalicus one.  I don’t have any half-slips… but then until I started listing them for this post I didn’t realise just how many petticoats I actually had and maybe I have an abundance already!
So, in summary: To Line, or to Slip? that is the (paraphrased) question…

Later edit: for those looking for a pattern; the lovely and clever Sherry of pattern scissors cloth (I miss her!) designed and uploaded the Ruby slip, a pattern for a simple bias cut slip with the option for a lace bodice, and also generously provided extensive and super helpful instructions.  Available for free download here  

Details:
Top; Vogue 1115, blue denim details and my review of this pattern here
Skirt; Vogue 8363 heavily modified, green cotton corduroy, more details here and my review of this pattern here
Petticoat; Burda 8071, pale blue silk, details here
Tights; self-drafted, blue denim-look jersey, details here
Shoes, Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes
pinterestmail

A petticoat and an ISTJ

OK, so I have posted about this new… er, thing before; and in a comment janesewandtell expressed surprise that a petticoat should have a zip … the answer of course is that even though I did describe it as a “petticoat” of course it really was only masquerading as a petticoat.  Actually it is a bonafide dress, and can very well be worn as one!
So I thought it really deserves its very own post to show what it looks like on!  Since it has a fitted bodice it does need a zip so that I can actually get it on and off.  I supposed I described it as a petticoat since it is made of a lusciously soft silk that is kinda flimsy.  Meaning it can be worn underneath a loose lightweight thing like my tunic top and function quite well as a slip.  But the fact is that as the weather warms up this is the kind of light and airy sundress I will love to pop on and wear on its own too!
So here ’tis!
And sorry to mess with your heads, but I’ve accordingly copied the petticoat/dress’s info from the original post it shared with the tunic top to here  🙂
I used Burda 8071, a terrific basic pattern I have used ten times before; for ten different dresses and petticoats.  This is the eleventh!  To see a gallery of my previous versions of this pattern, go here  🙂  The bodice is lined with ivory silk charmeuse, leftover fabric from this top.
All the seams are French seams and all other raw edges are finished with HongKong seaming, in a lightweight ice-blue cotton leftover from this shirt.
Details:
Dress/petticoat; Burda 8071, powder blue silk
Sorry, you can’t see them very well in the picture above but I am wearing these sandals; a gift from Misano. 
I loved reading about sewbusylizzy’s Myers-Briggs personality! and no one is going to be surprised to find out that I am a ISTJ; the Examiner, or the Duty Fulfiller.  The type of person who sees out to the bitter end what she has started even if she is hating it. This explains why I am dutifully continuing with the year of self-auditing my sewing habit, which I am heartily wishing I had not started… is everyone bored stiff with my meticulously accurate but excruciatingly dull accounting??  That’s OK.  I wouldn’t blame you one little bit  🙂

OK, the Organisational Odds n’ sods for October…
Fabric;
a re-fashioned ball gown
Patterns;
Vogue 1170, used previously
Zip; recycled from the same dress
Hook
& eye; from stash
Total
cost: free
Fabric;
leftovers
Pattern;
used previously
Dye; (first time used, bought at a 30%off everything sale at Spotlight) $7.77
Bra cups; $12.95
Hook and eye closure; $2.49
Underwires; $2.49
Elastic; 2x $3.49= $6.98
Ribbon; $0.10
Total cost: $32.78
Fabric;
$28.00
Pattern;
McCalls 2772, used previously
Swimwear elastic; $4.99
Thread; had already
Total
cost: $32.99
Fabric;
gift from Craig
Pattern; Vogue 1309, $8.75 on special
Zip; $2.50
Thread;
had already
Total
cost: $11.25
Fabric, zip and thread;
gift from Cassie
Patterns;
all used previously
Buttons; gift from ElleC
Total
cost: free
Fabric;
from my friend C
Pattern;
self drafted
Buttons and thread; had already
Total
cost: free
Slender Man mask
Fabric; $13.19
Zip; $0.65
Total cost: $13.84
Miscellaneous
No
miscellaneous purchases this month
Total costs for October, not including Tim’s mask:  $77.02
pinterestmail

Of the palest blue

I still have one or two really lovely pieces of fabric given to me for pressies last Christmas, as well as from my birthday last year (blush) Beautiful fabrics that I have been too chicken to take the scissors to.  I know, ridiculous, right?!
Including a length of luscious powder-blue silk from Fabulous Fabrics, given to me by Cassie. 
This is a pure silk, but an unusual silk like none I have ever come across before.  The texture is very slightly rough and “grab-y”, almost suede-like; but somehow it still manages to be ripply and totally divinely soft against the skin.
No kidding, it’s like wearing a pale blue whisper.  
I’ve given staaaacks of thought as to what to make with it… and eveeeeentually made a decision.  Hey, I’m a Libra yo.
I really love my billowy black shirt, made last year.  It is so easy to wear and I feel so so good in it.  I feel like it is really flattering.  I love the shawl collar, the elegantly draped and gathered sleeves.  It is close to being perfect, and I wanted to make another one sorta similar, with a few modifications.

When I laid my pieces out on the fabric and realised I was going to end up with an unacceptably large piece of leftover fabric… aaagh!  More scissor-phobia and had to immediately pack it all up for a bit more thought.  And finally came up with a plan; yes, I still wanted my shirt, but I thought I might be able to squeeze a little petticoat from the leftovers… and I did!  Just!!!  And I have absolutely NO leftovers! Whooeee!
I had to cut the two back bodice pieces of the petticoat on the cross, and piece together one of the shoulder straps, but whoa!  Self high-five!  The high that comes with achieving zero waste in a project is pretty darn extra euphoric, yes?  No??
Hmmm.   
Maybe I need to get out more  😀

The nitty-gritty:
For my shirt/tunic: I used the same basic shirt pattern as for my billow-y black shirt, with some minor fitting modifications too; the bodice is based on Burdastyle 10/2010, shirt 102 (my review of this pattern is here), the shawl collar is adapted from Burda 8218, and the sleeves were partially based on those of my black blouse for which I used Burdastyle 5/2010 dress 101.  But I have to confess I didn’t use the pattern piece this time but drew a different one.  The sleeves have a shallower sleeve cap, are shorter, slightly more slim-line and not quite as bell-shaped; as the sleeves on my billow-y black shirt.

Another modification was to make it a tunic top rather than a shirt, with the front cut in one piece and with a half opening.
below; insides-ies…
The beautiful pearlescent marquise-diamond shaped buttons were a gift from the lovely ElleC, thank you ElleC!  Snipping these buttons off of their card was another little hurdle that made me hesitate for a day or two, gathering strength; but eventually I forced myself to acknowledge that my new silk tunic was deserving of the very best buttons too  🙂  Initially I sewed them on vertically but they popped open like nobodies’ business, so I re-sewed them on the horizontal which helps them stay buttoned up.
For my petticoat: I used Burda 8071, a terrific basic pattern I have used ten times before; for ten different dresses and petticoats.  This is the eleventh!  To see a gallery of my previous versions of this pattern, go here  🙂  The bodice is lined with ivory silk charmeuse, leftover fabric from this top.
All the seams in both garments are French seams and all other raw edges are finished with HongKong seaming, in a lightweight ice-blue cotton leftover from this shirt.  The one exception to this is the armscye seams in the tunic; I initially finished them with HongKong seaming but decided they were too bulky and made a bit of a hideously unacceptable lumpy-bump on my shoulder  :((  so I unpicked it all, trimmed the heck out of them and finished them on the overlocker instead.  
Sometimes, one’s quest for perfect inner appearances must be ditched in favour of perfect outer appearances after all… hehe.
Details:
Tunic; my own design, adapted from several patterns, powder blue silk
Petticoat; Burda 8071, powder blue silk and lined with ivory silk charmeuse
Belt; of emu leather, from luxe boutique (sadly no longer open)
Sandals; Pedro Miralles, from Soletta shoes
Just some housekeeping: I have no idea why, but I have been unable to comment on WordPress blogs lately.  I type in a comment but it totally disappears… what is with that? So, to my WordPress blogging friends, sorry!  I am reading, and trying to comment  🙁
LATER EDIT;
this blouse has received a dye bath and now looks like this:

pinterestmail

Burda 8071; a rogue’s gallery

In my previous post I mentioned flippantly that I had used this pattern nine times, well I was wrong!  I have made ten dresses using this fantastically versatile pattern, or at least using key elements of it… and I like to think that the different fabric choices and other little twists have given each one their own distinct personality, so each one stands out as being different from the others in some way.
Below is version 1, never appeared here on the blog before.. because this is the best picture I have of it, and I no longer have the dress, unfortunately!  It was made straight -up to the pattern with no changes.  The fabric was quite interesting; white cotton with red taffeta ribbon sewn through in a criss-cross fashion just like a corset lacing, and also blue fabric cut into strips and sewn through the fabric in a running stitch  (difficult to describe)

Version 2, I still have, but have been using it as my painting dress for a few years.  Hmmm, taking real good care of my dresses, huh??  but anyway I was a bit over it and needed a painting dress sooo  (blush)  at least it is getting worn still, right?   The dress part is quilting cotton, printed with golden wattle (Australia’s national floral emblem), the bodice is denim, lined with green and white gingham, which is the fabric I used for the pocket flaps also. The little pockets have a pleat in them, and buttons from my grandmother’s stash, which will be retrieved before the dress is given the final heave-ho, don’t worry. I ran a naive style, pale yellow running stitch around all the denim edges…

Version 3, I no longer have this one either, nor even any pictures of it! but I have reproduced it here, hehe… (and just because I love mucking about, drawing fantasy dresses in my Fashionary)  This was of grey/silver metallic cotton, that had a dull metallic sheen to the surface… I made up the gathered bodice version of the pattern and used ivory piping cord for the bodice gathering cord come shoulder straps.  It was actually pretty cool, but the sheen on the surface of the fabric didn’t last very long…

Version 4; a cocktail dress, using pale pink silk taffeta, and with a heavily sequinned and embroidered overlayer.  Shifted the invisible zip closure to the right side seam and added net sleeves, attached to the shoulder straps.

Version 5; back to the princess seamed bodice, made of ivory broderie anglaise cheesecloth.  Have worn this one a bunch of times on this blog, and did a 6 different ways post on this dress too.  Just the colour and the very plainness of it has made it an incredibly useful little wardrobe builder, and it has been a staple in my wardrobe for the last four years or so… now sadly probably on its last legs if I’m being honest with myself… 🙁

Version 6; using an old navy-blue polo shirt of Craig’s for the dress part and some navy and white striped cotton for the bodice, this is still a hot weather favourite.  I used the sleeves of the Tshirt to make inseam side pockets in the dress also, and widened the body of the dress accordingly to accommodate them.  (dressmaking details here)

Version 7; adapted the princess seamed bodice to have wider shoulder straps.  This dress has an embroidered pale gold silk taffeta skirt and a pale green silk taffeta bodice.  I was never super happy with that bodice and eventually ended up removing it.  This is now a very successful high-waisted skirt.

Version 8; a beige/pale gold satin petticoat, made to wear under a silk-taffeta cocktail dress/coat.  It also went perfectly under this silk chiffon dress, that has been since passed onto Cassie, but I kept the petticoat! Don’t worry, she has her own petticoat…

Version 9; a pale pink satin petticoat, made to wear underneath my pink lace dress.  This ensemble has also been seen a tonne here on the blog…

and finally
Version 10; the Missoni knit and linen dress I posted about just previously.  With the gathered bodice, and with the body darts drafted out of the skirt piece, so as to keep the pattern of the fabric intact.

So!  Obviously this pattern has been enormously successful for me in my wardrobe and I highly recommend it!  It is simple, versatile and a creative and imaginative seamster can create looks all the way from extremely casual, to lingerie, to extremely glamorous, just by juggling about with different fabrics, different trims and employing a healthy dose of imagination  🙂

pinterestmail

Sorta Missoni

Firstly, thank you so much for all those lovely comments on my cardigan!  I was overwhelmed to read so many kind words… and with regard to my little rant; also to stress that I am not down on Burdastyle per se, which has so many talented and madly creative people to delight and inspire; but just their sucky anonymous ratings system…  yes anonymous.  A situation beloved by trolls, am I right?  It’s just a mystery to me why they’ve still got it…  but in short I shall continue to virtually hang-out at Burdastyle and contribute, while simultaneously and quietly acknowledging that the ratings system blows.  


But on to far more exciting affairs, ahem; my new dress.  The lovely Passiona Cottee sent me this gorgeousness in fabric form in a very generous give-away last year; thank you so much Passiona!
The fabric immediately struck me as very like a Missoni style of fabric, maybe a diffusion line?  I wish I knew for sure…  The fabric has the signature Missoni design; those distinctive stacked zigzags in a multitude of colours (although having said that I do actually possess a genuine Missoni scarf, seen here, that has hardly any zigzag).   Close inspection of my sample revealed seemingly every shade of green under the sun.  Das is gut.  Green is definitely me.  Adding interest to the colour mix; a bit of rust, a dash of salt-and-pepper, a hint of sky blue, the odd startle of vivid orange and even a few rows of ivory; all melding together in a disparate and yet pleasing cacophony of oily swampy shades… 
Missoni is a stalwart of the Italian fashion scene and so I wanted make it up into something Italian inspired, and dreamed up this design with a blouse-y linen bodice reminiscent to me of those loosely gathered Italian peasant tops…  I only had the teensiest bit of the knit fabric really.  Actually, (warning; eco boast following) I used basically the entire piece of fabric… and the bodice is the leftovers from this shirt… so the dress is green in more ways than the obvious, hehe…
I used Burda 8071, a real tried and true, standby pattern that I’ve used heaps of times before.  Lost count actually… (hmmmm just did a mental count, and including two dresses that have gone years ago, I’ve used this pattern nine times now.  Yowza!)
The dress piece was cut with the right side on the fold, to eliminate as much of this side seam as I could.  Also, in lieu of body darts which would have destroyed the regularity of the zigzag design, I cut the exact allowance of each dart from straight out of the side edges of the dress pieces (I’ve done this before too, for this dress here.  Works a treat for where sewn-in darts in the fabric are not what you really want, but you still want the shape). 
I hand basted the remainder of the right side side edge invisibly together from the right side to ensure the pattern was matched perfectly.
For the left side seam of the dress piece, I cut and sewed bias strips of the khaki linen along the seam allowance, to stabilise the knit fabric behind where the invisible zip is inserted… and the zip was hand basted in place, again so I had complete control of matching up those zigzags as closely as was humanly possible.  Yeah; I am neurotic that way, it’s OK I admit that… but I am pretty pleased with the results.

The lower hem, well unfortunately the lower edge of the fabric was not in super good nick and was already unravelling in some spots; the stitch loops were threaded through with one flimsy stay-thread which was not doing its job very well.  I carefully pulled this out bit by bit, darning where needed, hand embroidering the edge in a tightish blanket stitch leaving lumpy decorative (I hope!) blobs on the points of the zigzags.  I’m hoping it looks a bit like a crocheted edge…  just the type of crafty finish that I think finishes off this slightly rustic dress to peasant-y perfection.

Dress; Burda 8071, khaki linen and knit fabric.
side view … and I’m chuffed that I can barely tell that side seam.

and back…  Rustic frolicking-in-the-fields would ensue, except that it is a pretty warm day…
pinterestmail

In the pink; a cocktail dress

I came across this old thing when I was cleaning out my wardrobe…

hehehe
Well truthfully, it is a bit of an old thing, but obviously when I made it I put considerable time and effort into it (OK, I hope that that is obvious anyway 😀 ) … plus it is made of the very luxe-est fabrics that were jolly expensive!  I haven’t even worn it for a couple of years and can count on the fingers of one hand the functions we go to per year that are snazzy enough for it anyway!  Also feel like possibly it is a tad too… well… young? for me  :(( so sad to have to say that!  But I am happy to have moved on sartorially to a more sophisticated style now… but of course I am not tossing the dress out on to the Good Sammy’s pile!  Banish that thought!  Cassie might want to wear it one day.  Anyhoo since I haven’t put it up here on the blog yet then here it is having its turn.

(Later edit: I should have mentioned that this was made around 7-8 years ago now…)
Details:
Dress; partly Burda 8071, overdress of my own design, silk taffeta with embroidered and sequinned net overlay, and lined
Sandals; Sachi, bought from some little boutique in Melbourne

So; the nitty gritty…
The base dress was made using Burda 8071, of creamy/pale-pink silk taffeta.  Then an embroidered and sequinned pink net fabric was carefully cut and fitted to be an attached overlay dress. The embroidered and sequinned motifs on the pink net were lined up as to be exactly centred but offset on the front and back of the dress; so, the front has two motifs at the waist, whilst the back has one, and so on.  (I can remember this taking quite a bit of careful measuring) The net dress (being sheer) has French seams and is sandwiched between the dress and its lining at the neckline. (the lining is also Burda 8071, with the same silk taffeta bodice and a polyacetate skirt section).  The heavily and beautifully embroidered and sequinned border was left just as it is to form the lower edge of the overlay dress.
The bodice facing is part of a full dress lining, meaning the dress has three complete layers…  The dress has an invisible zip at the left side seam for closure, and the net overlay dress was hand-stitched inside the zip seam and the dress lining was turned under and slip stitched to the zip tape.  All the seams inside are turned inside the layers and there are no raw or seam edges visible inside the dress.  The hem of the base dress is hand slip-stitched, and the lining is machine stitched.
Once the dress and the overlay dress were finished; motifs from the remainder of the embroidered and sequinned overlay fabric were carefully snipped and hand-stitched together and to finish the front and back  bodice edges.  More of the net fabric was fashioned into sheer sleeves (also with French seams) and hand-stitched to the dress straps.  These themselves were then covered with more embroidered and sequinned motifs that were also arranged on the skinny straps and hand-stitched in place to hide it as much as possible.

pinterestmail

The colours of Valentine’s Day

I’ve been off colour for a few days, and feeling blue… but I’m not complaining, as things are definitely looking more rosy today… This evening my husband and I strolled down to the river together for a picnic under the paperbarks to celebrate Valentines Day.  We don’t go out just the two of us very often at all, so it’s nice to make the effort once in a while, no?  
As well, last Friday we went to a BIG party where some good friends celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, so it really feels lately like romantic celebrations are in the air…!  I wore my Sandwich Bag dress and it was the perfect dress for partay-ing in a sweltering summer evening.
But for today, what could say romance more softly and prettily than pink? so I dug out the most romantic pink dress I own and put some pink champagne in the fridge to chill.  And after yet another oppressively hot day like today, it was enough to just chuck some chook on the barbie, chop it up into a green salad, chased down with a few dark chocolate truffles for afters…  a simply lovely feast!
Wishing everyone an equally gorgeous Valentine’s Day evening … 

Details:
Dress; based partly on Simplicity 3745, pink and beige lace
Petticoat; Burda 8071, pink silk satin
Hat; Country Road

pinterestmail

New life for an old polo Tshirt

Dipping into the ol’ bag of toss-outs I took out an old polo Tshirt of my husband’s.  He never wears it anymore, but the fabric is quite OK if not super duper beautiful or anything…  It is made of a type of sport’s fabric which is really cool to wear in summer so I thought of turning it into a little summer dress.

First thing, it had an embroidered logo.  Obviously that was not going to do…
So I unpicked the pocket and moved it up and over the logo to hide it.  I also unpicked the neck facing and seam holding the collar in place and removed the collar, and cut off the sleeves.

Using an old favourite pattern Burda 8071, I cut out a dress body, keeping as much length as possible and keeping the original hemline intact to become the new hemline of the dress (hey, every bit helps).  In lieu of the body darts stipulated in this pattern which would not have worked with this kind of stretchy jersey fabric, I simply removed a slice from each of the side edges that would have been the dart allowance…
I re-used the sleeves to cut out pocket pieces, constructed these and inserted them in the side seams.
Now as polo shirts button up at the centre front I was aiming to keep this feature and use it for the dress’s closure, rather than putting in a zip.  With the very last leftovers from Craig’s striped shirt, I managed to get out the pieces for the bodice, cutting the back in one piece and the front with a button and buttonhole band for a centre front opening.  I used a little scrap of piping cut on the bias to add some interest to the front opening.  The lining was the last leftovers from my most recent white shirt

The shoulder straps are just some cotton banding I had in my stash, and on the bodice I used little white shirt buttons matched in size to the navy blue buttons already on the polo shirt…
The inside seams of the dress are finished with overlocking, and the bodice lining is invisibly slipstitched in place.
Et voila!  Not glamourous, but I think quite cute enough, and will be a very useful little knockabout dress for a hot working day around the house.
Which is what is on the agenda for today…

Details:
Dress; partly Burda 8071, partly my own design, refashioned from an old polo shirt and some scraps
Sandals; Micam by Joanne Mercer, Hobbs shoes

pinterestmail
Switch to mobile version
↓