BurdaStyle 09/2016 - 118 Long Waistcoat & 110 Stretch Trousers

Two pieces from the 9/2016 Burda worn together!

I first made this long knit waistcoat as a gift for my sister and planned to make one for myself. (previously blogged here).  It only took me a year to get around to it!

09/2016 - 118 Long Waistcoat

I actually made the trousers at the beginning of the year, but they proved so impossible to photograph that they didn't justify their own blog post.  I do want to highlight the pattern though because it is a good one.  Designed for stretch fabrics and with front and back seams, a back yoke and a centre back seam in the waistband, you can really easily tweak these and get a great fit.

Mine are in a black ponte and I left off the ankle zips.

09/2016 - 110 Stretch Trousers

Back to the waistcoat....the version I originally made for my sister was in a knit boucle, a much better fabric choice than this one in a very soft sweater knit which stretched like crazy!  I had put the pockets in, but they ended up somewhere near my knees and were quite bulky so I removed them.  I also had to trim the collar down considerably and you can see that the hem is wavy also.  I might fold it up again and see if that helps.

This really should have been a quick and easy project, but ended up being incredibly frustrating to make.  It is great for our current in between weather though so I am trying to forget all the annoyances!

Style Arc Nina Cardigan

A big thank you to Jen and Valerie for the photography tips, I have a decent, if aging a bit, Sony compact digital and I will definitely take the time to explore more of the white balance & snow settings.  I hope neither of you are going to be too disappointed in my efforts in this post, I experimented a bit, but realised I have a lot to learn and it's going to take time!

So, this is another Style Arc pattern I have been interested in for a while and finally got around to trying, the Nina cardigan, a waterfall style cardigan with a draped front, waist seam and a fitted back.  I do find some waterfall styles a bit shapeless on me as they add volume everywhere so I wanted to try this version.

Style Arc Nina

It is incredibly quick to make on a serger.  I got a bit confused by the instructions referring to a hipband, but there aren't many pieces so it was easy to figure out -this is the lower back piece which wraps round to the front and I can't come up with a better name for it so hipband it is!

I love how this turned out, it is exactly like the illustration shows.  There are a couple of things I would (will!) change  next time:

• lengthen the upper bodice slightly, the waist hits a bit high on me, only a problem if I want to wear a belt with it
• I didn't like that the front and hem edges are just serge finished, I turned and stitched mine, but I'd like to explore self facing the front neck band entirely 

Difficult to see, but the front band is sewn on last and you need to pivot where the waist seam and hipband meet.  This is what gives it the nice drape at the front while still keeping some waist definition.

You can see here that the waist seam hits above the natural waistline where the belt sits.

BurdaStyle 09/2016 - 118 Long Waistcoat

This is one of two garments I made for my sister, now that Christmas has been and gone I can share them here. Not that I think she reads my blog, but I didn't want to risk it.  

I wanted the gifts to be a surprise, but I also don't know her exact measurements, just her sizing relative to mine so I chose patterns that weren't close fitting.

09/2016 - 118 Long waistcoat

I loved this whole look in the magazine and may well make this for myself, it would be great for the between seasons weather we are having.

I used a lovely knit boucle in variegated black and white.  The pattern is easy to put together, I just changed a couple of things in the construction:

• I used Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing book for the side seam pockets, the Burda instructions send you off to another pattern entirely which is understandable, but annoying.  I'd forgotten what a great book this is, her methods are always reliable.  My notes say that she has you sew the pockets first and then the side seam rather than stitching the pocket and side seam together. To be honest I don't know why one method works better than the other for me, it would be interesting to try both methods and compare them, but I find the SB method easier to get everything lining up and laying flat.

• I added narrow belt loops into the side seams before sewing them instead of doing handworked ones at the end.

I wish I had paid attention when cutting the collar so that the stripe effect ran in the other direction, but otherwise I am really pleased with it and more importantly so is my sister!

I think you have to be a bit careful styling this so it doesn't look like a bathrobe, which it kind of does on my dressform and I didn't think to style it on there when taking these photos before gift wrapping it.  

I like how Burda has it over a dress and I think skinny pants and boots would also be good.  I've no idea what my sister has been doing, sorry I don't have any photos of her wearing it!

McCall's 7254 Cardigan

Last winter I wore my Mc Call's cardigan / jackets (6996 / 6844) so often that when this pattern was released earlier this year I bought it straight away.

McCall's 7254

I made view E, the longer, sleeved version in some leftover black double-knit.  Those collar bands however are fabric hogs and I didn't have enough so I decided to use a contrasting textured fabric for the outer band.  As soon as I pinned the collar band on I realised how stupid I had been because of course the band folds over and you see both sides.  Fortunately I had enough of the textured fabric to cut another band and unpick the original to salvage the textured fabric from that one.  If you decide to colour block remember both the inner and outer collar band need to be in the same fabric - trust me it looks silly otherwise.

Other than that silly error the cardigan went together really easily.  The textured fabric was tricky to sew and press - kind of like bubble wrap - so the edge isn't as crisp as I'd like and getting the seam to roll to the correct side is almost impossible.  Binding the raw edges together might have been a better option, but I am definitely not unpicking it again!

I'm still debating on whether to put some kind of fastening on the front, I'll probably wear it open most of the time, but I feel like it needs something.  I like the toggle option on view D which could easily be added on later.

I think this will get as much wear as it's predecessor, the things I loved about that one apply equally here - it looks like a jacket, but feels like a cosy cardigan to wear. I plan on getting some sweater knit for another version and I would like to try the shorter view too.

I'm excited to report that I have finally retired my 20 year old dress form and bought a new one from a store in the "garment district" of Hong Kong, Sham Shui Po (Nan Yang Mannequin for future reference).  Ordering was interesting as the saleslady had limited english, though it was certainly better than my cantonese, so there was lots of sign language involved, but I had printed things out from the website beforehand which helped.

Speaking of 20 year old notions, a commenter previously asked about my pattern weights which are ancient, but were made for Olfa to be used with cutting mats and rotary cutters.  They must still be available although I've seen tips to use large washers from DIY stores which look perfectly up to the job to me.

Anyway, now I have a proper working dress form and no more scheduled houseguests I'm hoping to get back to regular sewing and blogging.  Lots of catch up posts in the works!

McCall's 6844 Cardigan / Jacket

I recently started getting adverts coming into my gmail account along with a message that I could go into my account settings to change them.  When I went into my profile, where I had only input the bare minimum of details, I saw that "based on the websites that I visit" they have decided I am in the over 65's age group!  Well thank you google!  I find it kind of hilarious and also a bit sad that sewing is still stereotyped that way, but I figure over 65's get sent less email adverts than the over 40's so I'm leaving my profile unchanged.

Anyway......

I've previously made view C of this deservedly popular pattern and this time tried out view B, the longer length straight version.

I used a hefty doubleknit for this, slightly unsure how it would work out to be honest, but I love the end result which looks like a blazer, but has all the practical advantages of a jersey cardigan. Plus it is so much quicker and easier to sew than a blazer, I made this in an evening (and I am no speedy sewer).

While flitting around the internet (looking at sites suited to 65+ ladies naturally!) I found this similar looking Donna Karan jacket made from a stretch linen blend (and costing 1,335 pounds, though that does include the leather belt!).

Again I made the small size, although I did add a little extra to the side seams below the waist and also to the width of the arms as my heavy fabric has less stretch.  I had a bit of fabric left over so I made a tie belt in case I want to go with a different, more casual look and of course there is the Donna Karan option of a proper belt.

I have one small tip to share - often when I am sewing a corner I do not trim off the seam allowances, but instead press them in the shape of the corner, then hold them with my fingers as I turn the fabric right side out.  The seam allowances kind of fill the shape of the corner and I get a much better result than trimming.  The photos below show this on bottom edge of the neckband.

I often wear a blazer jacket with jeans, either dressed up with a dressy top or dressed down with a tshirt and I think this knit jacket is going to be a favourite, I'll definitely be looking out for more jersey like this so I can make it in more colours.  Colours that are easier to take photos of.  I've had to really adjust the exposure in these so you can see the jacket which has done weird things to my skin, don't worry I am ok!

Unbelted

With tie belt

With leather belt