I’ve been working through my pile of purchases from Croft Mill and those I bought at the quilt show in August/September last year. One of the pieces I got at the quilt show was a gorgeous floral print from the ever brilliant Rosenberg and Son. When I saw it on the stand I knew it would be a jacket, I just needed to choose a pattern. After a short dalliance with the idea of making trousers with it instead, I chose 111 from the August 2021 Burda magazine.
I’ve made this pattern before, so I knew what I wanted to change. If you’ve read my Work in Progress post, you’ll know the ins and outs of my making and decision process. At the time of writing that post I was waiting for the lining to arrive so I could finish off the jacket. And to choose buttons. Or snaps. In the end I went with buttons, dark blue ones with a bit of texture that look just right.
I love the contrast of the vivid coppery lining with the blue and white of the exterior. I wore the jacket to the Sewing for Pleasure at the NEC and the fabric was immediately recognised by Geoff! I love this jacket, I purposely didn’t layer in all the structure and shoulder pads that the black one has. I’m also not regretting the decision not to have pockets! Another thing I didn’t do was to try to pattern match, and any that has happened has been completely serendipitous.
This jacket will be a fabulous addition to my spring/summer wardrobe and I can’t wait to wear it more as the weather warms up. I have a couple more pieces of fabric from those two hauls to make up, and then I need to start on the stuff I’ve just bought at the NEC this month! I have a whole new summer wardrobe planned that will be added to what I already have.
After making the blue spotty Olya Shirt, I decided to use up a piece of navy twill chino fabric I’d got from Croft Mill recently to make another pair of trousers. I’m still on the barrel-leg/ coccoon shape drive, and I fancied a pattern from a Burda magazine that I liked when I saw it ages ago. The panels on the trouser front looked interesting, as did the dart in the hem of the back piece. They are 106 from February 2020. Those panels offer an opportunity, perhaps, to play with stripes or uses variety of fabrics, or to do something a bit fun and different. But not this time.
I traced the 42 & 44, grading out in the waist area for my non-existant waist! I added 1cm to each side seam, and that’s done the job. The crotch depth was shortened by 2cm and I took a 1.5cm wedge out of the back depth too. The leg length was fine once I’d shortened the crotch depth! The legs were still rather baggy for me, I know they’re supposed to be, but too baggy pants just make me look short. So I’m staying with the overall look, just not quite as baggy! From the hip line, I took them in to the 42. This looks much better to me, still had the shape, but not big. And they don’t make me look too short! It’s got to be a win.
I didn’t use the welt pockets as designed, I was concerned that this fabric might go shiny or fade, so I opted for inseam pockets instead. They’re attached to the wasitband at the top so that they don’t flap around like the Style Arc Teddy pants. I used a scrap of African Wax for the pocket bags to cut down on bulk, so there’s a little pop of pattern. As it’s a Burda pattern, the fly zip was a breeze!
These are really comfortable to wear, althought now I’ve worn them a few times I think I’ll be taking them in a little more at the waist. I think another centimetre will do the trick. I definitely will make another pair, but first I have other trouser patterns that I’ve seen and liked the look of. I need to give them all a chance!
I love the colour and the crisp handle of the fabric, it feels perfect for the utility trouser/chino trousers look that seems to be doing the rounds at the moment. It presses well and even after a full day of wearing, isn’t as creased as I’d expect for crisp cotton. However, it has faded a bit. I’ve worn these trousers about once a week since making them at the end of January, and the fabric is not as dark as the left over bits stashed in my scraps box. I think a linen pair would do rather nicely, but for now, I hope that these will be worn loads in the spring/summer/autumn!
I had intended to post this yesterday, but couldn’t get access to my computer and realised that the new Jet Pack upgrade to the phone app doesn’t allow you to create a new post from your phone! I am excited about this project, I think I’ve made the perfect combination of fabric and pattern! The pattern is one I’ve used before, jacket 111 from the August 2021 issue of Burda. I love wearing the black jacket I made before and thought that a lighter weight version would be lovely for spring/summer.
When I made the black jacket, I altered the pattern by adding depth for a Full Bust Adjustment. I had also already altered the collar and front to allow for turn of cloth, I made this allowance slightly narrower because my fabric is less bulky than the last time. I lost the allowance on the front because I wanted to change the look of the front. While the double-breasted design is fine, this time I wanted it as a single. I measured out from the centre front, a 1.5cm buttonstand and added seam allowance and a bit more for turn of cloth, making the same adjustments on the front facing (except the turn of cloth extra!). The pockets also needed work – the original ones were a pain to sew the hem up around, and I always find them too far back, even though they’re in the side seams. I faffed around for a while with placement, etc, but ended up leaving the pockets off all together.
Collar underside detail
So, let’s show you my workings so far. I had already decided not to add too much structure. This jacket has no shoulder pads, so the interfacing, while being in all the important places, is only the lightweight stuff. Gill Arnold is no longer trading, so I bought this batch from The English Couture Company.
I loved the piping detail on the magazine version but it would have been totally obscured with the fabric I used on my first version, so this was my chance! I use a bit of left-over blue cotton twill chino fabric for the piping, but didn’t add piping cord, so it’s just a small flap. I cut 3.5cm bias strips and folded them in half. With the standard 1.5cm seam allowance, the strip sticking out is just 2-3mm, which does the job for me just perfectly. With this fabric, I love the strip of dark blue!
Let’s talk fabric – I bought it from Stitch Fabrics, aka Rosenberg and Sons in the autumn last year at the Quilting show at the NEC. I can’t find it on their website, so I assume it’s out of stock now. It’s the most beautiful jacquard, with a denim coloured ground and an overlaid print of white flowers and leaves. I loved it the minute I saw it on the stand and knew it would be a jacket.
I just love the way the sleeves have turned out with the piping! I made a sleeve facing for the hem, the curve is just too great to allow for an ordinarily turned-up hem. It is so much neater and will allow for the lining hem to sit nicely too. The extra allowed in the upper collar for turn of cloth has resulted in a very nice finish there too, I am happy with the way it’s all going so far! I’ve ordered lining from Croft Mill Fabrics, something bright and yummy!! I didn’t want blue or white on the inside of this gorgeous jacket, so went looking for an orange/paprika/rusty shade. Croft Mill had just what I wanted and I can’t wait for it to arrive! All I still need to do is decide on buttons. Will I have enough in the stash?
Stay tuned for the finished project, hopefully it won’t be too long!!
This is one of those, “Quick, sew!” projects! A friend of mine let me know this week that she’s heading to South Africa at the beginning of September, and would be able to take something non-bulky/lightweight over for me. I immediately thought of the fabric I’ve been hoarding for making tops for my mum. She has a favourite pattern that we’ve been using for years now and thankfully it really is quick! If you want to know which one I’ve used, it’s Burda 134, March 2004.
Burda 134, March 2004 in cotton from Rosenberg & Sons
Lawn from Rosenberg & Sons
The pattern in the magazine is from one of their designer collaborations, and if I remember correctly, was all in white with a skirt. The top had bias strips of fabric stitched diagonally across the front. That wasn’t going to be staying for a practical top for Mum! It also had no hems or neckline treatment, which I have definitely changed! The hems are 1.5cm and I added an allowance in order to have a bias trimmed neckline.
Cotton fabric given to me by a friendSlightly thicker cotton, great for cooler weather
I pulled four pieces of cotton of different weights from the stash, one being a piece of Liberty lawn. The two lightweight fabrics were bought from M Rosenberg & Son (Stitch Fabrics), the purple and teal fabric was given to me by a friend, and the pale blue and grey thicker cotton was bought a long time ago from one of my trips to Sewing For Pleasure. The two thicker fabrics will be worn in cooler weather. The climate where my mum lives is hot and humid in the summer. The top is a loose fit, bias cut, short sleeve with a simple bias strip neckline treatment, which works brilliantly for her. I have honestly lost track of how many of these tops I’ve made since 2004! They’re completely different in all the different fabrics and colours I’ve used. I’ll be making more of these again next summer, I’m sure!
I fancied this pattern when I saw it in the Burda magazine, August 2021. It’s pretty straightforward except for the neckline. And was what I liked – and was wary of at the same time! I had a feeling that this would be one of those patterns that made a cool looking garment, until the first time it was washed. Then it would be a royal pain in the butt to iron and get to sit properly again. I figured fabric choice was going to be key here.
So I left it for a while until I found some organic cotton jersey at Croft Mill which was nice and sturdy when it came, has stretch but not masses of drape, had body but wasn’t thick. I thought this is it, I’ll make that top with this stuff. I thought about doing a FBA for about 5 minutes after tracing the 44, looked at all the odd shaped pieces and then decided not to bother… Lazy. So there are no alterations on this.
It wasn’t overly complicated to put together, but the fabric wanted to roll to the right side all the time, which was annoying, and irritating when I needed it to sit still and stay put! The instructions have you insert the sleeve after the s ides are sewn up, but with jersey tops you usually put the sleeve in on the flat. The head on this pattern is very high which has lead to some makers getting a nasty poof s tthe top. I took one look at it and lowered the head height a bit – completely by eye. It’s better than some look, but really – it’s unneccessary to have a sleeve head like that on a jersey top!
The asymmetry of the neckline is cool, worked ok when flat. But my prediction was right – it is a pain in the butt to iron after washing!! But I love it so much that as soon as it’s back in the wardrobe, it’s out again. I’ve worn this top so many times since making it back in December!! I hadn’t realised it was that long ago – apologies for the extremely late blog post! I will make this again, and in this sort of weight fabric. A jersey with more drape than this would go straight into the bit at the first attempt at ironing the neckline and a stiffer jersey would be too thick. Perhaps a thin viscose ponte would be nice.
Way back last year in November, I was making a little black jacket – one I had hoped would be the warmer version of my little navy linen jacket that is so useful in the summer. The pattern is 111 from the August issue of BurdaStyle magazine, 2021. I’ll have to link to the Work in Progress post – it’s so long ago now!! The details of what I needed to adjust for fitting are in that post, as well as a tutorial on how I do my in-seam pockets. I took photos not long after the jacket was completed, but wasn’t entirely convinced with it. Why? Well, I wasn’t happy with the way the fabric behaved while sewing, for the most part.
Burda jacket 111 August 2021
Despite being washed, dried and ironed well before use, it shrunk again in the construction process, something I only discovered when I put facings to the shell, and tried to mark the positions of the snaps. However, despite those initial misgivings, I have to say I rather like this little jacket! It has been used on those days when I don’t need a coat, and is nice and roomy so a thick jumper can fit underneath!
Lets get into the details shall we? The body is not fitted, the boxy shape allows for the addition of snuggly jumpers and rolled up scarves. I also love the back pleated into a yoke, plenty of movement in this. The sleeves too are not fitted. They are constructed in three pieces and have a balloon shape – again with the jumpers, you don’t feel like the michelin man with your jumper bunched up in a too-tight sleeve!
Lining leftover from the rust corduroy Burda jacket made a couple of years ago
The texture on the fabric stops the black from being plain and boring, and the use of the patterned black and white viscose lining lifts the interior. I went with plain black snaps, uncovered, to give a more sporty look to the jacket. The only criticism I have about the jacket is the pockets.
They’re too high up and too far round in the side seam to be comfortably used. You really cannot put anything in there that you wouldn’t want falling out either, they don’t scoop much and I definitely don’t put my phone in these. And in the making up – the pocket bags are in the way of the sewing up of the hem! The lower opening of the pocket lines up directly with the turned up hem edge. I had to so some serious detouring around the pocket bags. Next time I’ll make a patch pocket with a welt opening, similar to that of the Pepernoot coat from Waffle Patterns. If I even bother with a pocket at all, the jacket is quite short, so hands in pockets means elbows out and bumping into things.
But – with all the pocket palava – I still like this jacket. I have reached for it often and I really like the shape. I still have that pile of old holey jeans waiting to be magically turned into something fabulous, and I’m getting quite keen ideas on using some of those to make another of these little jackets – unlined and with patch pockets!!
I’ll recap those items I’ve made and not “reviewed” during April, and try to keep up with the new stuff. I think this year will be slow sewing for myself, and quicker sewing for the girls and the other half. I seem to recall I promised him some self drafted shorts last summer…..
When you live in trousers, they’re not simply a wardrobe basic, they’re an essential item! I decided to add some pleated trousers to this year’s Autumn/Winter wardrobe, and have finally made something from one of the Burda magazines from this year. Burda have, unfortunately, not exactly been exciting this year. Only a couple of patterns have caught my attention, and until August, none caught it enough for me to actually bother to trace. But this pair is different, it’s 119 from August 2021. What caught my eye was the small pleats on the front, the neat waistband and tapered leg.
Trousers 119 Burda August 2021
I traced the 44 and 42 and made an adjustment to the height of the waistband. While I liked the neatness of it, I also knew I’d prefer a slightly deeper waistband. I toiled the 44, but started grading towards the 42 from the hip down. The toile was successful, I only had a couple of adjustments to make.
Not making my usual shorten the length adjustment – this style should be slightly cropped, but it’s heading to winter and I don’t want cold ankles!
Altered the CF line – straightened it a bit so it was 5mm further out at the top, giving me an extra 1cm overall.
Took in the inseam by 1cm front and back from crotch to knee.
Made the waistband 1cm deeper.
The adjustments have worked well, I like the fit on these, so will be making another pair soon. I will, however, make them a little longer. The length looks good, and while it’s not freezing, they’re fine, but I want a longer pair! So the next pair will be 3cm longer. Looking at the photos, I think I need to take in a bit more on the inseam, it looks a bit baggy there, but I also need to remember that these are not supposed to be skintight!
In-seam pocket details
In toiling, I realised there’d be a lot of bulk at the waistband from the pockets, so I cut a pocket facing for the back pocket piece and rifled through the stash of scraps for a lightweight bit of pretty cotton. I found I had just enough to cut the rather-large-for-Burda pockets from the pretty stuff, and only tiny bits leftover to head into the stuffing bag. These inseam pockets are a really good size, phone in one and mask and card wallet in the other, with space to spare for hands!
The trouser fabric is a cotton twill in Mocha bought from the Rag Shop in August, I don’t think they have any of that colour left now. It’s Kobe cotton twill, and it’s also one of those fabrics you need to be sure to wash inside out. I washed the trousers after the first wearing without turning them inside out and the creases formed while washing have lost a bit of colour. This means that all folded edges will lose colour too. I wouldn’t mind if it was a cheap, £7/m fabric, but it wasn’t. I haven’t bought a Robert Kaufman fabric before, and it might be joining Lady McElroy fabrics in the “avoid” pile due to colour fade. It’s beautfully soft though, and lovely to wear. Just watch the colour fading.
Detail shots
I wore these for the first time on a long weekend trip to York, they were very comfy to wear traipsing round the city all day. They’ve since been worn a few times and I really do like the pattern. I know Burda don’t have the best sizing these days, they used to go from a 34 to a 46 in the “everybody” section of the magazine, but these are just 36-44. I feel they are trying to save money by reducing the sizes available, the number of patterns in the magazine and the quality of the magazine paper itself. It’s a shame, as the old magazines were fabulous! Perhaps a revisit of those older magazines is in order.
York Minster behind, trousers worn with silk Burda top made in 2018.
In the mean time, I’ve traced a jacket pattern from the August issue to toile, I have a retro (90s) pair of Burda trousers to show you and I have Lander pants to make for both girls – not to mention a VikiSews blouse for daughter no1 and a Bellatrix blazer for each of them. Thank godness the garden and allotment have stopped shouting for my attention!
Here we are, almost two weeks into September and I still haven’t shown off the last pair of linen trousers made – last month! I have to admit to being in a bit of a sewing funk, but I hope I’ve turned that corner this week! More on that later, I thought I’d pop in and let you all know that I’m still here, and back to sewing. I suppose I also need to admit that I haven’t made those shorts for the other half. August was not shorts weather – so no need!! I will carry on with the sewing for him though, at some point!!
Burda trousers 102, 07/2009
Right, this is another pair of the trousers from Burda July 2009, number 102. I made a pair in reddish linen back in April that have been on constant rotation this year. I love the leg width and length, they’re just so darned comfy to wear! Anyway, in June I bought 2m of a beautiful silvery blue stretch linen from Rags and Rolls on the Seven Sisters Road in Holloway and knew I’d be making another pair.
This time I’ve not used a contrasting fabric for pocket linings or waistbands. Having a stretch content, I sized down from the hip up because otherwise they’d be sliding down by lunchtime! I acutally could do with nipping them in a little more, or making the belt loops and finding myself a belt to wear with them! Again, so nice to wear!
I guess there’s not much more to say about them really, but try to track down the pattern if you want a comfy pair of trousers for the summer (and winter tbh, I’ve made them in wool and lined them before).
In other news – I made a good start to my Autumn sewing this week!! Since Friday last week I’ve cut out and sewn a pair of jeans, a shirt, two sweatshirts and a top. I suddenly got all inspired and have traced a whole load of stuff too, so tomorrow I’m going to try to get some photos of the stuff made so far and get some toiles done. I’m feeling all seasonal!
Remember weeks ago I said I wanted to add green to my palette? Actually, it might even be a month ago! Back in May I bought a stripe olive and ecru tee, which prompted me to buy a few pieces of olive/khaki fabric to create a mini capsule wardrobe that would also fit in with the greys, black and blues of the existing wardrobe. I got a 2m piece of cotton linen from Truro Fabrics and decided to make a pair of Burda trousers with it.
The pattern is style 107 from Burda March 2021. I started with the size 44, but traced the 42 as well, just in case! Knowing I wanted pockets and to move the zip position, I started with the pockets. I drew up a pattern for inseam pockets that would be supported by the facing seam, I don’t like the way the Teddy Pants have flappy pockets, the one thing I have changed on the pattern. I made them deep and wide enough to fit my phone and other items and not have them fall out when I sit down.
I have to have pocketses!
Then I needed to play with the front. I decided to have a front fly zip with fly bearer the way some men’s trousers work. It’s the best way to have a fly zip when there’s no waistband and button. The front detail needed to be operational, rather than purely decorative, so it has working buttonholes for the buttons. It means there are a lot of buttons to faff with when you need to go to the loo, but it works.
Front fly zip with fly bearer
To minimise bulk I used some cotton fabric from the scrap box for the facings, reverse side of the front flap detail and one layer of the pocket bags. The toile showed the 44 at the waist was the right size, but I needed to shave off a little at the hip, so I switched to the 42 and followed that down to the hem. I shortened the crotch depth by 2cm and took 3cm off the overall length of the leg as well. Looking back, I could probably have left this last adjustment, or only taken 1-2cm off.
Toile of the trousers, crotch too low and trouser length too long
I made the toile “wearable” using a pintucked cotton duvet cover that I’d dyed black. I thought it would give the right amount of body. I actually prefer it to the linen version! And I think it’s because it has more body than the linen. So technically I have two new pairs of trousers, and I haven’t wasted the toile fabric, which is nice.
Contrast cotton fabric reduces bulk with all those layers.
As you can see, I omitted the buttoned outside leg detail, that wasn’t the look I was going for, so this isn’t a really good review of the pattern! I’ve changed too many things! But I do like the width of the legs, and I don’t think it makes me look too short, which is always an issue with wide leg, cropped trousers.
I’ve worn both pairs quite a lot since making, and I have to say just one thing. As I don’t tuck my tops in, that cross-over detail in the front doesn’t get seen… So if you tuck, you’ll be good! One other thing – with the addition of the side seam pockets, I’ve removed the taughness/stability given to the cross-over pieces and they can get a bit wavey. So maybe the answer is to just have back pockets, but not patch pockets. A welt would work better, neater.
After a successful winter making terracotta/parika/rust coloured trousers to counter the denim, black and grey, it was time to do the same with the summer wardrobe – assuming summer is actually on the way (along with getting out of lockdown)! I bought a little pile of fabrics from Rainbow Fabrics in the Autumn, one of which was a piece of viscose linen in what I thought was rust, but turns out to be more a red brick/terracotta colour. No matter, I still like the colour, and it will still work with my summer wardrobe!
Burda trousers 102 July 2009
Having already decided on using a tried and tested pattern, Burda 102 from July ’09, I thought it would be a straightforward project. But it seems I’ve done a lot of scribbling on the traced pattern in the past, jumped around with sizes and shortening locations, and generally just made a mess. So I retraced the pattern, the 42 and 44 and toiled the 44, straight – no alterations. I prefer to do that with a pattern I’m using for the first time, then I can see what I need to alter. Given the different cuts and styles, you can’t really assume too much before-hand. I knew I’d need to shorten the leg, guessing around 6 or so cm, and that there would need to be some sort of fiddling with the crotch depth/length. And possibly some faffing with the waist….
In the end, I took a total of 5.5cm out of the leg length, 2.5 in the area between hip and knee and the remainder at the hem. The waistband fitted just fine, but I felt the crotch depth was too short. On measuring the crotch length, and comparing it to the length of the Teddy pants, which are really comfortable, I realised I needed to add 4cm to the overall length. So I lengthened the crotch depth 1cm and added another centimetre to the depth of the waistband. This made all the difference and the pants are now perfectly comfortable to wear!
Finding a suitably coloured zip was impossible, so a red one has sufficed. I used some African waxed cotton for the inside waistband, which helps with stability (no stretching out of linen on my waistband!) The insides are all overlocked to keep them neat and tidy, and found the right button in my stash.
I love the richness of the colour and I just hope it doesn’t fade. This is one problem I’ve been finding with the terracotta coloured fabric. This particular piece is lovely, there’s something devine about a linen and viscose blend. So much so, that when Rainbow Fabrics released new fabrics last month and I saw they had more – I bought more!! This time the colour is more paprika/rust, and I have 3m… I need to decide whether to make another Zadie Jumpsuit or the Wildwood Wrap Dress from Sew House Seven! I bought the dress pattern when it came out – even though I’m not a dress person – because I just loved how it looked on everyone! I have yet to trace and toile the pattern though!
THE COMPULSIVE SEAMSTRESS 