My first little foray into making clothes with a Japanese inspiration went well, I’ve worn the gingham linen top a lot in the past few weeks and I really love it as much as the first one I made in January. I now have all three of the Japanese books I ordered, Clean and Natural and Kana’s Standard I & II. My first project is inspired by the Flared Top in the Clean & Natural book, and is based on a Burdastyle pattern I made 3 versions of last year.
Why use a Burda pattern instead of the pattern in the book? Because the book has patterns for Japanese sized and shaped ladies, which is not me. So I was always going to have to draft or alter something to make it work. You can put large, baggy clothing on slim people and they still look great, but those same proportions on someone a “little” larger don’t work. I certainly feel like I’m wearing a tent, which is precisely why I don’t use the plus sizes in the Burda patterns!! Too long and too wide!
So, here’s what I did to get my own version of the Flared Top. The original pattern has a yoke front and back that starts under the arm and scoops up and over the bustline, the sleeves are grown-on. The length of the top is 55cm, which is not too long. The flare though, is substantial. Lovely on a “skinny minny”. That yoke line and flare over the bust is not flatterning on someone with a larger bust. The yoke would have to sit much lower. I decided on using #124 05/2015 because (a) I’ve made three others, so it’ll be quick, (b) the fit was already good, (c) it had a yoke in a good position, and (d) I’d be able to add flare to just the lower front and back pieces quickly and easily, after straightening out the curved hem.
I added 2cm of flare to the hem on the front and back side seams of the lower pieces and divided the front and back into thirds. The first third from the centres became the line where more flare was added. I slashed and spread, adding 5cm at the hemline. This meant the front and back pieces were 12 cm wider than the original pieces. I figured this would be enough flare for me.
I did not toile…. I went straight in with the fabric, I had some lovely misty grey viscose in the stash, bought last year or the year before from Clothspot. It has that lovely drape and sheen that I love in a viscose. I used French seams throughout and double turned the hems. I omitted the keyhole opening of the original pattern and used bias for the neckline.
So, how did it work out? Pretty well, I think. I’m not putting this top into full rotation in the wardrobe until it warms up considerably! I think it’ll be lovely in the summer, the flare will help air to circulate! The colour is great and I think there’s just enough flare to give a nod to the Japanese pattern, with me still feeling comfortable in it. I will be making it a little shorter though, I recon 5cm should do it.
If you’re the right size and shape to make a version straight from the book, the diagrams are simple to follow and you don’t need to know Japanese to make anything. There is a great blog post here to help you understanding some of the terms you’d come across in these books. For another version of the top, from the original pattern, here’s Sew Busy Lizzy’s beautiful top.
I’m already planning my next projects from these books, and have tweaked my easy fitting bodice block and drafted a Kimono block to help to get me started. There are many patterns I want to try, I hope they all turn out as fabulous as they look in my head! 🙂 In the mean time, there’s still the Burda Challenge 2018 to get on with, and April is looking like it’s going to be full of sewing, although not that many patterns from this year’s issue have got me excited. There seem to be more in previous years, but we’ll get to that in another post, shall we?
THE COMPULSIVE SEAMSTRESS 