Friday, April 11, 2014

Thing One

I've been slowly working on a Robson coat, but yesterday I was seized by a desire to make up a pattern I've been wanting to make for the last 2.5 years:  the Burda Striped Top.


This pattern was in the September 2011 issue of Burda magazine, which I bought in Turkey (and thus, in Turkish) during Self-Stitched September of that year!  I've wanted to make this top and the maxi dress which uses this bodice ever since.


My fabric came from Morgan in my first Stash Diet Swap back in January.  I knew when I asked her for this fabric that I'd use it to make this top for spring.  I didn't get right to it because it didn't seem like spring would ever arrive.  But all of a sudden it's here, and it's time to get busy on all those spring sewing plans in my mind!

It took me almost exactly two hours yesterday to trace, cut and sew this top - pretty darn quick!  I traced a straight size 38, and effectively took 1" off the length of the sleeve by not adding a hem allowance, and 4" off the bottom.  The given length would have hit me mid-thigh!

This top is a slimmer fit than I was expecting, but that's not a bad thing - it makes it better for tucking into skirts, but it still looks good over pants.

I tried my best to match the stripes, and mostly succeeded.


But the way the top is drafted meant that I had to choose whether to match the stripes done the sleeve at the top or the bottom.  Of course I chose the top - so the underneath doesn't match up.  I'm OK with that.


I did my hems and around the neck with the coverstitch machine; everything else was done on the serger.  Here you can see the slightly denim-y quality of this French terry fabric.


I had a coffee date with Alicia this morning, and since it is lovely spring weather today, I wore this top with a floral skirt.  Believe it or not, I felt kind of hot!  Good thing I got this made up before it turns into summer!  (Skirt is old, from Anthropologie.)


So this is the first of the eight pieces I need to make to atone for all those fabric purchases I made.  Hehehe!

30 comments:

  1. Atonement - you are too cute! Lovely top, my friend, and a fast make to boot. I like the way you have paired the stripes with a floral skirt. As you know, I'm extremely boring in my clothes combinations and mixing prints never crosses my mind. Oh, and it's sunny and warm(ish) here too - yay!

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    1. I wish I could take credit for the print-mixing, but it's something I've seen on Pinterest a lot, not my own idea! I felt a bit out of my comfort zone with it as well, but I got so many compliments that I think I'll have to try doing this more often!

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  2. Ooooh, great combo with that skirt!! I think stripes make it great print-mixing partners. And of course I loooove that chevroning down the arm...

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    1. Thank you! Pretty darn proud of my chevron!

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  3. cute top--the chevron down the arm is too fun! love stripes with florals... great outfit!

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  4. Gah! Cuteness! So cute! I love the stripes with the floral.

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  5. You are so talented and I admire you so much! I made two skirts, the each took me a day, they are filled with mistakes, don't quite fit right, but I'm wearing them anyway!

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    1. Everybody has to start somewhere! My first few projects were just the same. The more you practice, the better you'll get!

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  6. It's a great pattern, isn't it? Yours looks great and I do love it mixed with the floral skirt! I've made so many now and it's great for stripes. I've become quite opinionated in my own stripe making obsession - I love making this dolman sleeve style so the stripes go across perfectly and there's no faffing with trying to match sleeve stripes! I also found it was crazy long too. And I think long ago I converted the neckline to be more boat neck (I think I used the Maria Denmark kimono tee neckline). I've at least 2 more of these planned for autumn/winter here!

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    1. It's funny - when I saw yours, I didn't recognize it because it had been so long since I'd earmarked this pattern! Then when I followed your link I realized it was the same one. I do think I like your boatneck better - I should have done that on this one to give it more of a Breton feel. Did you find that your stripes didn't match on the bottom of the sleeves?

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  7. What a great top! I love stripes (and checks) but my heart sinks when I think of having to match those lines....but I persist in buying such fabric anyway. Maybe because stripes are just so darn cool and well worth the effort!!!

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    1. Thanks, Debbie! It was kind of a pain, I have to be honest! When I was cutting and sewing this fabric, it felt super stretchy and out of control. But once it was sewn up, the garment doesn't have much stretch at all! Grr!

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  8. Ooh! I want one! Love your mixed prints pairing. Gonna pin that for my fashion board!

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  9. Wow a 2 hour tshirt that looks this good?!!

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    1. Hehehe - yep! Only two pattern pieces, if you don't count the strip you have to cut for binding the neck! It is a fabric-eater though - 2 yards for this one top.

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  10. I LOVE that outfit! Stripes and florals are nature's perfect combo.

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    1. Thank you! Or, floral and leopard . . .

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    2. Floral and leopard?!?! That blows my mind. I don't know that I could...

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    3. I probably couldn't either, LOL! Unless it was on my nails :-)

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  11. Stripes and Florals for the WIN!!! :)

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  12. This is really cute! I love the way you've styled it!

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  13. You put this fabric to great use! The pattern is pretty intriguing - if it had been sewn up in a solid, I'm not sure I would have guessed it had dolman sleeves.

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    1. Thanks, Morgan! This pattern is a bit different from other dolman-sleeved patterns I have, in that the sleeves do angle down quite drastically from the shoulder. That really shows in a stripe, but probably not so much in a solid!

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  14. this is a really cute top! Though the stripes matching must have taken quite a long time.. I thought when looking at those sleeve that it must be eating a lot of fabric, but it looks so nice it's probably worth the waste :) I already have troubles introducing prints (other than stripes) in my wardrobe, I can't imagine ever mixing them!

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    1. Thanks, Sophie! I'm a pattern-mixing newbie. But this outfit has inspired me to try it more often!

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