A "New" Silhouette

It's August, but the weather is more like October. I'm not ready to get out the chunky cardigan just yet, but I'm not keen on being cold either.

So yesterday, I got out my trusty brown wool vest (rtw) and put it over a me-made puff sleeved blouse and skirt (and it isn't even Self-Stitched-September yet!). Viola! A whole new silhouette, a bit Dirndl (the Bavarian folk wear, not the skirt), a bit 1930's. Today's a repeat performance with another self-stitched blouse and skirt. Love. I never thought to wear this blouse with that skirt, but it works. Isn't it fun to try out new combinations from the closet? (I don't do this nearly enough.)

No sewing going on here (other than a placemat and a couple of keychains for the school cone). My oldest child starts 1st grade on Tuesday. I'm not ready for this at all. Can't they grow up a bit slower?

Wishing you all better weather and fun with your own homesewn clothes!

Blouse Burda "Frankenpattern"

Three's a charm, so here's my third, best-fitting blouse so far:

The inspiration:

Fall fashion previews made me crave a flowered blouse to wear with chunky cardigans when the time comes. As usual, I'm fastest when I begin to sew after inspiration strikes. I thought of this on Thursday, decided on a stash fabric (intended for pajamas!) and sewed the bodice on Friday and finished it up today.

How I did it:

I started with pattern Burda 8/2007/114 that I made this blouse from. Since that was a bit snug in the bust and billowy in the waist especially in back, I tried it on and decided to add a good inch in front. To take out the front width in the waist, and to further take in the back, I took the back darts of the original pattern (2 of them) and tripled them - 4 in back, 2 in front. I looked at a RTW blouse and positioned the front darts about 1/2 inch down and towards the middle from the bust darts' tip, the back darts were just spaced somewhat evenly. I lucked out, the fit is great:

(Worn with skirt Burda 4/2009/101 reviewed here.)

Other changes made to the bodice front and back:

I made the bottom curve more shallow and as usual (I have a long torso) a bit longer.

The armholes were cut a bit deeper.

The shoulder curve was straightened by about 1/3 inch. I did this by taking a bit off at the neck side of the shoulder since I have a slim neck and didn't want to tighten the armhole.

I just "re-drafted" with my shears, so I don't have a pattern of the changes I made. Hopefully I'll remember to look it up here next time!

I then took the sleeves and collar from pattern 3/2010/124 which I made here. I made the sleeve band according to my arm circumference not the pattern. I didn't redraft the sleeve after changing the armhole because this sleeve has a lot of ease which took care of any differences.

After not quite liking the collar (and doing it upside down) last time I did a lot of measuring and a bit of re-sewing this time to get it right. Sewing collars still isn't my favorite, but it worked! I also added shell pink buttonholes and button thread. Why? Because I could!

One last question:

I think this fabric is called "dotted Swiss cotton" in English (I love how light and transparent it is! See the gratuitous "lightbox" shot above.) What is it called in German? (I think I know more English sewing words than Germans by now, thanks to all the English sewing blogs!)

Here's to sewing when everything goes just right!

I'm back!

We had the most wonderful vacation - though we didn't get to do to the Netherlands but a small German island in the North Sea. Look at this:

Don't you want to take off your shoes, dig your toes in the sand, and breathe?

The weather and all the biking we did called for rugged garments like jeans and tees, so not a lot of homesewn clothes got worn. But I made a little collage that has a me-made garment or accessory in every picture:

I missed you all, and since I haven't sewn a stitch in about four weeks, I miss sewing. Yeah, poor me, all that vacation and gorgeous summer weather!