A Trio of Tops

I wound up with two, one metre remnant cuts of Liberty cotton lawn and a piece of modal knit from Fabricmart that arrived looking like it had already been washed with some dark blue socks.  I thought I'd sew these unlikely pieces up quickly into some basic, short sleeved summer tops.  Here are the results. I now have all the sleeveless tops a gal in the UK could possibly need!

Burda 128-09/2011

This was a quick and simple top to make, once I had a clear idea of how the back collar attaches at the shoulders.  Karen gave good review of this top on Sewing Pattern Review, where she includes a picture of the inside of the inside of the blouse, where the back collar and shoulder meet.  This was all I needed to get going.  

I shortened the length of this blouse a little, since I would probably wear it tucked out.  Also, I made the blouse from a scant metre of cotton lawn, so I didn't have enough fabric anyway.  I had to use pre-made bias binding tape on the arm holes to eek it out.  It means the arm holes are a little stiffer than otherwise, but it was a worthwhile compromise in my eyes to be able to get a top out of the remnant.

Colette Sorbetto

I finally joined the ice-cream social!  For anyone living under a rock, who hasn't downloaded the Free Sorbetto top pattern from Colette Patterns, here is the link!

I was easily able to make up the top with a metre of Liberty cotton lawn.  I even have some left over for quilting squares.  In my version, I inverted the pleat and left it open at the bottom for a little more room in the hips.  I sewed an 8, as indicated by my bust size.  I sew a big4 twelve, and wish I'd gone for the Colette 10.  I forgot that Colette Patterns designs for a C-cup rather than a B-cup.  This means the shoulders/arm holes are smaller than I planned on, but it's still very wearable and comfortable.

Burda style 110B-05/12

Knit tops don't get any easier than this.  Just two pieces.  Simply fold over the arm holes and cowl, no bias tape, nada.  The cowl hangs well and isn't too low.  My only warning is the hips.  I normally need to flare out in the hips a size or two.  Not in this case.  I had to go back and sew the hips tighter!  It may have been my fabric, some modal from FabricMart.  This pattern will look like a sloppy mess if it does not hug the hips.

See, hips are plenty roomy.

This is the tail end of my summer sewing.  I have another sleeveless top, in white linen cut out to sew.  And, I'd like to try sewing some simple pants and really focus on the fit.  Otherwise, that's the end of my summer sewing for this year.  True summer is a short season here.  Much as I love summer clothes, I don't need that many of them.  Autumn weight clothes are useful about 8 months out of the year, and they take me a little longer to make.  It's the complete inverse of growing up in Florida!

Simplicity 1918: Cropped Pants

I wear cropped trousers all the time in the summer.  They fit my lifestyle and are very practical.  So basically, they are what I should sew rather than flirty dresses and Chanel style jackets, lol.  

I've never sewn any Simplicity trousers, so I thought I'd give their "Amazing Fit" cropped pants a go.  They are alright, but not spectacular.  I think I've had better results with Burda magazine to be honest.  Though, I must admit, I am wearing these pants as I type, so they must be ok!

I consider posting pictures like this "taking one for the team."

I sewed a curvy, size 18 which was indicated by my crotch length and largest hip-width.    I think the crotch in the front is a little too long.

And the side.

 You can see from the side that I had to take a lot of the centre back in at the waist to stop gaping.

Well, if we have the front and side view, may as well go whole-hog!

Doing this made the pants hit me a little lower in the waist than was intended.  Meanwhile, I think there is too much length below the break where my derriere meets my upper, inner thighs.  Clear as mud?

I wonder, in my case, if I should sew a 14 and adjust the back pieces by adding a vertical wedge that would greatly increase the length of the back crotch and increase the width of of the upper thighs.

Pants.  What a pain!

Here is the line drawing for those who are interested:

Simplicity 1918

Burda Jacket: 3/2012 style 109

The General Chat

Burdastyle 109-3/2012

I'm pleased to bits with this jacket. It is from BurdaStyle's march issue, style 109.  An old style Chanel type jacket isn't really my thing, but I already had a yard and a half of raw silk purchased from Fabric.com in April.  It was an odd thing for me to buy, but the price was less than $4/yard, so I think I got carried away because it was such a bargain.

Turns out, a Chanel knock off jacket is my thing!  This jacket is just so darned comfortable and flattering, I plan to wear it to death on all possible occasions.  Here are a few more pics:

The side

The back

I wore this today to a ceremony to open a new wing at my daughter's school.  We had to dress conservatively and formally.  This was just the thing to throw over some knit separates to smarten them up.  I realise knits are not formal day-wear, but it was all I had.  Formal day wear is something I hardly need, given my present lifestyle.

I think it adds a formal touch to an outfit that might otherwise be too casual.

Of course, pearls and heels help too!

That said I think this jacket could be worn casually as well.  I certainly hope so, because my life is casual.


The Sewing Details

I lined the inside with China silk which was light and translucent.

Not least to recommend this jacket pattern is that it was so easy to sew.  I finished the whole thing in two days flat!

The pattern does not call for any shoulder pads, but, when I tried on the jacket, the arms collapsed and looked awful.  I didn't want to bulk the jacket out because I wanted it to remain, soft, light, and comfortable.  So, I took some thin, about 1/8 thick, leftover quilt wadding and made some very thin shoulder pads/sleeve heads.  This seems to be just enough to help it hold its shape without bulking up.

I bagged out the lining, and it went pretty well this time.  I am still at a bit of a loss about how to handle the area where the front facings, hem and lining all come together.  I read lots of different tips from multiple sources, but I still don't have it straight.  Practice, practice, practice.

Burda Line Drawing

Final Thoughts about Chanel Jackets

So far, I haven't been tempted to try to sew a "proper" Chanel style jacket.  Too much work.  Too intimidating.

But, I will say that the Chanel jackets I looked at in Heathrow airport a few years ago, were all made more or less like this one.  They were not quilted.  They were merely lined with very thin, see-through, china silk.  It was summer time then, and I imagine this was to keep them light, cool and comfortable. You could see through the lining to seam allowances and the back side of the tweed fabric.

So, that makes me feel a little better about more own effort.

New top: Burdastyle 108-7/2012

I really like this top.  It's cool and comfortable.

108-7/108

I think the colour would look lovely contrasting with dark blue jeans.

Side view

Did I mention it was a doddle to sew?

The other side

Quick too, no hems!  I went ahead and finished it with French seams, and the whole project from tracing to wearing took a morning.

On me, in the dark hallway.

Side view on me.

And all this from a piece of raw silk fabric that I bought cheaply on line and then decided I didn't like! I love this top.  It reminds me of Toast.  And I got mine for a fiver (£5) and a morning's free time.  Woohoo!

Here is the Burda line drawing:

Still busy sewing- cheers!