Sunday, June 10, 2012

Burdastyle 09-2011-128 Blouse

All hail the return of my wandering mojo.  I wouldn't call this what I felt like sewing, but it's what happened, and I'm pretty happy with it.

In other words, it's 90 degrees out there, and what's better than white linen?  Full review here.

Pattern Description: From the magazine: Clean chic at its best! This simple sleeveless blouse makes a good impression, thanks to fine details like forward shoulder seams and two pleats at the fronts.

Pattern Sizing: Burda sizes 36-44; I made a size 40, which is my usual deal in Burda with woven fabrics.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? More or less, especially since I made it in white. Were the instructions easy to follow? They're Burda instructions, which means even at their best, they're somewhat inscrutable. These could have been worse. They first have you make the pleats, press them and baste at the shoulder seam, then sew on the front facing and finish it, only basting it at the top. After that, you attach the outside collar band, then sew the inside collar band only at the top, fold the side edges and flip it in, stitching in the ditch to hide the seam. It encloses everything very neatly, and you just have to do it on faith, because the words don't make a heck of a lot of sense.




What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  I'm not quite sure what I liked, but I still like it. This isn't my normal style, and sometimes when I sew outside my comfort zone, the result ends up being given to a friend or co-worker. This one, I think will actually stay with me. I like the shoulder pleats; they're a little strange, and very springy in linen, and they remind me somewhat of the illustrations in Japanese pattern books, except a lot less complicated. Does that make any sense?

 I really like how the pleats tuck up into the collar. It snugs up nicely at the neck.

Fabric Used: White 100% linen, pre-washed and dried on hot, so it's a little thicker than it started out, but also a lot less prone to wrinkle like tissues. I tend to abuse my linen this way to make it wear better. Glass buttons from stash.


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: There wasn't a lot to change with this pattern; I cut about 2.5" off the hem (I'm 5' 3" and it was a little too tunic-length). I calculated the new length by whether or not I could sit on the tails; since I spend most of my day stuck in a cubicle, stuck in a chair, I didn't want to stand up and have an accordion behind me. I also tapered the side seams so that the blouse wasn't so boxy.


Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  I don't know as I would sew it again, though I'm tempted to try it in a drapy fabric and see what happens to those pleats. I'd recommend it - it went together pretty quickly and it looks more complicated than it is.

Conclusion: My mojo took some unscheduled vacation this month and this is my first attempt at forcing it to come back. More or less successful, though of all the projects I had in mind, this wouldn't have been the one I would have chosen to work on.

In other news, Max is doing well, other than objecting to the sudden heat, but no more than the rest of us.  There are deflated furry bodies sprawled all over the house, under furniture, under ceiling fans, wherever they think they can catch a breeze.

I'm with them.  I'm not liking this August-in-June thing, not at all.  It's just as weird as June-in-February, but not as welcome.

The garden, however, is loving it.  The tomatoes are sprinting - they're already as tall as their cages, so obviously I need to find taller cages.  The beans are growing up the trellis, the lettuces are scorching, and every time I think I've adequately hilled the potatoes, they grow another 2".

The chickens are grumpy; Bonnie's still laying but Gilda's on strike again.  It's cold, she stops laying.  It's raining, she stops laying.  It's hot, guess what?  Well, guess what, Gilda?  I've got a crockpot and I'm not afraid to use it.  Think about that while you're not in the nest box.

That's all the news from the sewing room, the farmyard and the garden.  Work again tomorrow.  Seems like I was just there. . .


9 comments:

gMarie said...

Oh I tried that blouse and it's crumpled under the ironing board right now - I'm definately missing something. You're version looks very nice. Sorry about Gilda - aren't laying hens tough? g

Vicki said...

Looks nice and cool.

ReadyThreadSew said...

I've had that blouse in my to-make pile for a while now but we seem to be having February in June here in the UK so I haven't got any mojo to sew summer clothes.

Andrea said...

This top turned out really nice, and I can't wait to see it in person. I've had that one on my list for a while now.

Elaray said...

Poor Gilda! What a horrible threat! (LOL)

The Slapdash Sewist said...

I like this--a good twist on the basic white blouse.

gwensews said...

Perfect for a hot summer day. Looks terrific.

Little Hunting Creek said...

Pretty blouse-aI like the pleats and the buttons!

Liverpool_Fi said...

Really appreciate this post, Burda instructions are terrible, so your description of the collar helps a lot! Thanks! X