Burda 10/2021 #114

Finally photographed my first completed garment of 2022. Me? ONE item in a month. WHEW :)

I needed a palette cleanser while working on S1325 for A Dozen Drafts and this was one of a few patterns from the October 2021 issue that jumped out at me. I had this piece of brown silk (charmeuse? georgette? crepe de chine? IDK!) from SR Harris on hand. I'd gotten 1.5 yards forgetting that silk tends to be 44-45" in width so I couldn't make the tie-neck top I'd planned. I figured this color would be nice layering, a neutral that could stand out or blend in depending on the rest of the outfit.

I traced a 40 front and 42 back. I tissue fit the pattern to the Beatrice form and realized I didn't have enough back neck room...I never have enough back neck room. I posted to IG and got tons of suggestions and LIGHTBULB! High round upper back adjustment - yes! I'd considered whether or not I needed this before but never have made the adjustment. Now, the instructions for this adjustment have you create a dart, but I don't need the dart sewn, I need the extra width. Apparently, I have a larger than average neck at 15.5". I googled "average neckline circumference for women" and found lots of info and then head to a sewing resource that I'm familiar with.

In-House Patterns (which I love!) has a very comprehensive size chart. I pulled it up and without worrying about the height/cup size side, just highlighted my body measurements (if two are highlighted, I fell in the middle):

Now, part of my lack of alignment is due to my reduction. In some ways it results in a very different relationship and in other areas, it completely changes things. Like my FB measurement hasn't changed much, but the volume has decreased and the relationship of FB to HB and UB has changed (avoiding using the b-word to try to stave off spam).

But my neck and biceps have always been larger proportionately (even as a skinny teen), I just didn't realize it. 90s choker trend? PFFT. There was no way those things were going around my neck. I mean, my 18" necklace falls 1.5" below my collarbone. I have a large neck. My biceps are actually much closer to 14.5" than 14.25" so again, completely outsized in comparison. 

I have this short armhole depth (hello armhole dart!), short back length, I'm all over the place! I'm sure the larger measurements (neck, waist, bicep) are partially due to fat accumulation. But again, this isn't really new info, I just had no words for it in my pre-sewing days. I just knew that shirts that fit my body didn't close around my neck. And sleeveless garments needed to be "pulled up" at the shoulders. And dresses never fit quite right. I'm SO glad I'm doing this project now!

And *I* know it, but lest you forget it, NOTHING is wrong with my (or your) body. A clothing or sewing pattern company makes decisions about what measurements to use and just because I don't fit within those predetermined measurements doesn't mean my body is the issue. Another plug for In-House, Alexandra has some great free content and that is one of the things she discusses often, how sizing is created in the industry. It's basically a law of averages! Who wants to be average!?! :-p

Back to the pattern review, I used this Threads tutorial to make the adjustment of 5/8" and just as their tutorial says, the back adjustment that resulted was about half the width of the neckline adjustment.

where I notice the issue

Adjustment according to Threads 

(though now I will sometimes cut right thorough the back armhole and narrow it a TINY bit)

The finished length on the top was 25". I happened to have just purchased a similar style top that I felt was a tad too long (but I'd be tucking it in most of the time) and it also measured 25". I shortened this top 2" by folding it out on the pattern (1.5" would have been better). I made no other adjustments.

Paired with a wool B5760 skirt and teal shoes, which match everything!

It's so hard to maintain the color and light balance when taking photos solo!!

The armholes are finished with french binding (cut on the bias, folded in half, stitched to the right side, folded in and topstitched).

The neckline is more complex than it looks! The front has the collar attached. It's sewn at CB and the neckline sewn after the shoulder seams. Then, I pressed in the SA and turned to the inside, handstitching from shoulder seam to shoulder seam. 

The front edge that's sort of on the bias is left raw. I had to press that edge really well to stop it from flipping out, and hand tacked CF just a tad. I don't know a better way to finish this area if you don't like raw edges. Burda instructs you not to press the collar/front fold.

I did french seams and had a fun time sewing it all...until it got to the hem. It was SO freaking bouncy and difficult to press into place. It took forever to hem this dang thing

I'm almost done with S1325! I did all the hand sewing this week (bodice lining to skirt and lining to zipper. I just need to hem. I'm putting it off because, semi-circle skirt! Wah! But I will be topstitching this hem, I can't do that much hand sewing. 

Next up is McCall's 7834 in this rayon challis I got from Fabric Mart when I went to Sew Camp in 2018. This bodice? OOOOOOOH buddy! It's what led me to a bunch of the discoveries discussed above. 

More later!!