Burda 11-2018-113 knit top with neckline modification, plus pants to match

Do you get a little thrill when you see someone you follow sew up a pattern that you are contemplating? I often find inspiration - or maybe confirmation - when someone whose style I like sews up a pattern that caught my eye. Also some people are so quick off the mark with new patterns. I'm more of a "put that in my mental filing cabinet" and try use the pattern when time, season and fabric converge. However this time I was fairly quick myself and have sewed up a t-shirt from the current November 2018 Burda magazine.

Talk about quick, KS_Sews blogged her version of this top almost 2 weeks ago. Speedy! Mine has some design changes which I will detail below.




I made my pants also - those are actually what got me started on doing a t-shirt to go with. I found the knit fabric at Joann, they seemed to have added a lot more garment fabric, at least at the one nearest my house. This is a soft rayon jersey and I took a little swatch of the pants fabric with me on the off chance I could fine a nice knit for a top. Score! The pants are a pattern I made from copying a pair of jeans I have, now I've sewn them 3 times, never in denim. This burgundy color fabric I bought at Stone Mountain at the end of last winter, I think it's a stretch cotton blended with lycra and something else. It has nice recovery and I just bought it because I like the color with no idea in mind.




You probably can't see it but the pattern has a 2-piece front with a diagonal seam and then the waist is gathered on one side to create a bit of drape. I made mine a bit loose so that detail doesn't show as much as it could. But the big change is the neckline.



I am always cold! Once September is gone and autumn arrives I plan to be chilly and dress accordingly until March or April. I would NOT survive in any place that has snow. We joke here that the snow falls in the mountains where it belongs and not in our driveways. When I skied a lot I was definitely a fair weather skier, but if you've ever been at the top of a peak at Lake Tahoe when the sun is sparkling on the lake and you are wearing a short sleeve t-shirt, jeans and sunglasses then you know what I mean. Why suffer when a sunny day will come along? (although sure, the snow might be better on those stormy days but the fun quotient is much higher when the sun was out - at least to me). It's my neck that always seems to feel the cold first, probably due to short hair and I might wear a turtleneck all winter but fashion-wise that can bet a bit boring. This pattern had a boat neck shape and that won't work for me.  Here's the technical drawing from the magazine.







Here are the pattern pieces that include the neckline. The original pattern as designed is the purple line, which would be wide neckline. I measured the shoulder seam on a t-shirt that I had which had a crew neck, and that's how I decided how much to bring in at the shoulder seam. The question I always get is how to figure out the neckband (which this pattern didn't have - they call for a turn and stitch neck which is not my favorite). I have measured the length of the stitching line on front and back, add that together, double it and then calculate the neckband.







Then I cut the neckband to whatever length calculated, machine baste it on, leaving the center back 2 inches or so unstitched and try it on to see if I like the neckline shape. If not I take it off and make any changes. In this case the back neckline came up a bit high so I reduced it about 1/4". I like a half inch wide neckband but the important thing is to know your seam allowance and then how wide the finished neckband you want, add those together and x2 for width.  Once I like how the neckband fits then I stitch it with regular stitching, trim seam allowance if needed and then edge stitch on the right side. I don't bother with serging on knits. I've just never been in the habit of constructing things with my serger and then to go back and serge knits seems like double the work.

So that's the scoop on this top. The pants have a fly zipper, jeans pockets front and back. Now that I've made them three times I'm ready to try something else. The overall fit is good but I'm not 100% satisfied with the width of the legs, although I'm not really sure what I want. Some jeans making is in my future as I'm doing a jeans class at Hello Stitch in late January so I'll give that pattern a try over the Thanksgiving weekend.

And this expression can be translated as "squirrels I see you stuffing acorns in my roof, cut it out"




  


The last two Burda magazines have had a LOT of stuff I would like to make, although when I might get around to any of them is another question. There's a really cute jacket shown in red in the magazine but I don't have the right fabric currently. I would like it in red but I already have a nice red jacket.  I'm thinking sapphire blue so I'll be on the lookout for that.

Like the Vogue patterns size 12, the Burda size 38 is a really nice fit for me in the neck and shoulders. I'm kind of obsessed with shoulder fit lately, after doing a demo at a Bay Area Sewists meet up in Oct. on shoulder adjustments. As it happens I don't really have any adjustment of shoulder slope :) which leave me more time and energy for any/all other adjustments needed.



So that's the latest on this project that I snuck into my sewing queue in the midst of finishing 2 different things for Heather. Last night I finished the lining hem on the silk wrap dress and sewed on the final button for her wearable muslin blazer. That silk dress seemed never-ending, probably because I just worked on it in smallish chunks of time which makes a project seem to go on forever. Photos soon and I will blog the details.

The Jan- Feb class schedule at Hello Stitch is taking shape and is available now on their website. 
In addition to the jeans workshop we are repeating the Lander pants class, as well as the Kimono jacket, Wrap dress and Garment copy classes. Not listed yet but coming soon will be some classes that extend over several sessions. Beginning Sewing will be for those starting out, I will show how to get started with garment sewing and well will make a boxy top. Intermediate Dressmaking will be a class to level up in your sewing and include some fitting instruction along with sewing.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and I hope you have a great holiday. Either restful or productive - whichever one you are wishing for. Tomorrow is pie making day - always my contribution to the Thanksgiving table.  Something to be thankful for, it is raining here as I sit and write. Really raining, a downpour. Finally! the air already feels better.





Happy Thanksgiving weekend and happy sewing,
Beth

Today's garden photo, a dahlia from a few weeks ago.