Burda 12/2018 & Some Monday Miscellany

I was all prepared to share my trio of Butterick 6621 dresses and then I saw a RTW dress that was simple but had this cute sleeve detail and I had to have it. I looked through my options and B6621 was an excellent choice! So look for the four versions of that one this weekend! :)

 

RTW dress from LOFT

I did get a chance to have my daughter take pics of my forever project, this blouse from Burda 12/2018:

I fell for the sleeve and the velvet ribbon bow. And I had these two (random?) pieces of ivory poly blouseweight in stash. I have no idea where this fabric came from and why I had it in 2 pieces. After getting the seam allowances added and pattern adjustments made, I laid it out and was *just* able to fit the various pieces onto the fabric. Except I somehow did not realize the collar was cut on the fold. After everything was cut out I was confused why I didn't have "more pieces". LOL! Like, but isn't there a facing? Why did it tell me to cut 2? Wouldn't I need to cut 4??

(side note: THIS is part of the reason the cutting layouts are missed...that and what pieces need interfacing!!)

I was able to find a piece of fabric large enough to cut my collar facings. Whew!

 

It's totally fine...Do you see my terrible slip stitching?? I have been dealing with insomnia and one day I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and after fighting to get back to sleep for 90 minutes, I just got up and went downstairs. I watched an episode of Law & Order: SVU and sewed this. Obviously I was so not awake! LOL!!!

The sleeve band stitching was done fully awake and turned out better :)

The sleeve really caught my eye. It was the opposite of fun to sew in this shifty poly. The other thing, I did not notice until late in the process that the markings were for size 36 and I was supposed to end the pleats higher for my size 40. Oops.

 

I ADORE the sleeves!!!!

Btw, I sewed a size 40 with a 1" FBA (slightly too much FBA). I skipped my bicep adjustment and shortened the blouse quite a bit - more on that later.

 

It was pretty tough to get photos of this. Wah.

 

The velvet ribbon is black and I <3 it.

 There is a fabric loop in back to hold it in place.

I had purchased velvet ribbon (from JA??) when I decided to make this but it was SO stiff. After Googling, I learned silk velvet ribbon was a thing! I was going to order some on Etsy and remembered that I (luckily) still have a couple of brick & mortar fabric shops here. Called the next morning and Treadle Yard Goods had rayon velvet ribbon - so much nicer! I hopped in my car and drove 15 miles for 1 3/8 yard of ribbon. Oy! I wanted 1 1/2 and when I got there she said, "Oh after the call I thought, I should have measured it..." eesh.

This top = saga.

The shifty fabric. The stiff ribbon. At one point I was doing the rest of the cutting (bands, collar, etc) and thought, "did that rotary cutter just touch me?" and kept on doing what I was doing. A few minutes later I saw blood on my finger. I cleaned and bandaged it and was all, YAY! It didn't get on my fabric! And the next morning:

I used some diluted hydrogen peroxide to remove it (mostly) and figured the rest would come out in the wash with a little stain treatment. 

When I went to set the sleeves I found a spot of blood on the front of the blouse and a smear of blood on the shoulder. Seriously. 

Setting the sleeves I had to redo parts of one sleeve about 4 times.

The facing kept flipping out -- it's 'grown on' in front with a piece that extends and needs to be sewn onto the collar. I decided to understitch that portion:

Tried it on again and, "why is this side of the collar doing funky things??" I had caught SEVERAL inches of the blouse in the understitching. 

I am SO over this top at this point and SO ready for it to be DONE! I have a mini conniption about sewing the buttonholes because of the drama and that was the one part that went FLAWLESSLY! Go figure!

 

Buttons are off-white shank buttons from stash

Lastly, this thing was ridiculously long! I didn't add hem allowances as I rarely do with Burda. I ended up removing 3 inches and it was another step I was not looking forward to. Lightbulb moment! 

I pressed up the 3", sewed a 1/4" hem and then used my applique scissors to trim away the excess. I then folded it up again and stitched the hem. Worked perfectly.

 I thought I was going to have to put it on timeout after all that but it's soooo cute and I just LOVE it!!

I had to share this pic of Wilson the Cat...so intrigued by the fireplace...

And I ordered a bunch of swatches from Mood for my husband's sportcoat!

 

slate blue cotton twill, midnight blue cotton corduroy, taupe cotton corduroy

brushed cotton twill, charcoal cotton twill, blue-gray cotton corduroy

I *really* want it to be corduroy but the brushed twill is my favorite on-screen! We'll see which he likes best when the swatches come. The taupe cord and charcoal twill are my least favorite and based on the on-screen color, that blue-gray may be too teal-ish for him.  

My 1st choice for a pattern is Bootstrap Fashion "Modern Fit 2-button Jacket". I've not had a ton of success with Lekala but the custom pattern is the obvious first choice. It should be a better starting place than a Big4 pattern. (Burda is cut far too slim for him. My lanky son? I have used several Burda patterns for him.) My other option is Vogue 8890 though I'm not 100% sure he'll fit into the size 46. We'll see!