My Summer Green Blues Aquarelle Flower Tunic Dress

When I saw this fabric in a Slovenian online shop https://www.liupka.com/ I just had to buy it even though it wasn't discounted. I usually look for special offers because I have tons of fabric at home. I love these blue green flowers, it reminds me of summertime. 

I got 1.4 m for 14.78 EUR (10.56 EUR per meter)  and I got 2 garments out of it! Can you imagine? I'll show you my other top very soon. Not bad. Very cheap. And the fabric is so beautiful in my opinion.

I decided to make this Burda dress from Burda 7/ 2023; model 119, size 40 because it is a simple and fast project. It is great for a busy pattern like this. I wear it as a tunic dress over my jeans. Street elegance, that's what I like.

The changes I have made:

- obviously I have changed the neckline; it seemed too high up for me, so I kept making it deeper (I had no feeling what would look good) and I was just lucky that it ended up just right, almost too low, but not really.

- I have shortened the bottom of the dress for 8 cm (64 - 8 = 56 - another 3 cm) and it was still too long; then I cut another 3 cm at the bottom and ! HA! can you imagine: this band was just the exact length and width to use it for the neckline finish. Wow! Pure luck! You cut it away at one place and use it somewhere else where you need it. I'm not sure what's the original finish of the neckline but I did it like this. I used twin needle and then I just sewed another straight stitch near the neck band. Actually my first finish of the neckline was horrible - wonky, so this is my second finish. Yeah, if something bothers you just unpick the seams and correct it. I have worn some of my garments for 12 years or more. It's worth that extra effort to correct your mistake

- I added only 1 cm of seam allowance; and my mistake: I didn't add anything at the back neckline because I knew I will make this finish BUT the back is just to low. My bra is showing and I really hate this. I work at a primary school and I'm 45 years old I really dislike showing my undergarment, it's not esthetic.

My mistake: the bra is showing, ugh!

So my solution is instant, I just tuck a bit of fabric over my bra, it works for a short time.

Oh, yeah, I added the back ties. At the moment they are sewed on by hand and I just picked up some of my daughters' beads and put it on randomly - it works OK. I guess I do alot of improvising, I mean I think carefully about certain things but I also go with the flow. Maybe I should take them off because the neckline is beautiful without them. Now it looks stretched.

Oh, I should cut the back part as 2 pieces but I forgot, so before I finished the back neckline I just cut a couple of centimetres down the middle of the back and sewed it as a dart. It's not bad. When I make a garment for the first time (even if it's very simple) I never know the exact procedure, I always learn as I go.

 

It's a great pattern, it fits nicely, don't make the back neckline too low. Maybe I'll publish my modified neckline here as a PDF- document.

My aquarelle spring-time blouse

I actually made this blouse around Christmas time. I love this fabric. It reminds me of aquarelle = watercolour technique. I love bold colours.

I bought it online in Driessen Stoffen https://driessenstoffen.nl/de/ . It's 100% viscose. It cost me 7.90 EUR for 2 m of fabric (so 3.95 EUR for 1 m of fabric).

It is a very busy pattern so I wanted to make something between a dress - a tunic and a shirt. So I made this pattern from Burda 1/ 2008; mod. 125, size 40.

I have mixed feelings about it. The frill/ ruffle stands a bit weirdly. I'm not sure if it fits my body nicely because it is not a dress (it's too short for a dress) but it's too long for a shirt/ blouse.

I took the sleeves from this blouse Burda 10/ 2023, mod. 101, size 40.

I always prefer a stand-up collar because I just don't like standard shirt collars. And I think that there is less work for this kind of collar.

I was scared of buttonholes as usual. But my machine Elna excellence 680 is quite good. I used just four buttons (2 white, 2 yellow) because it was difficult to find any at home. 

Well, I tried something new. I love viscose fabric but I hate ironing.

The ruffle is a bit weird in my opinion: at some places it stands up, then it almost falls down. I tried ironing it up, then down, then up again. I can't decide and it looks like it can't decide how to stand either. I might just sew another row of stitches around the existing one - to keep the frill up. 

I like trying out different Burda patterns - I think I have around 500 burda magazines - I don't dare to count them. I have (almost) all from 1992 up to now. And a couple of them from earlier years. I have also some special Burda editions and some Diana Moden and Nahtrends. Oh, and some La Mia Boutique Magazines (Italian). It's fun to go back in time. The magazines were different in the past than they are now. 

Some pictures of the process:

Ecru ribbed square-neckline back-frill shirt

I have just made this shirt, to be precise it's 90 % done. I still have to finish some things but I have decided to wear it to work anyway. I teach at school, I hope nobody scrutinizes my look. I think that people who don't sew have no idea if something is not completed or done on purpose.

I wanted to make this shirt from Burda 12/ 2024 because it looks like a nice, useful and special top to  wear with my black or grey jeans. 

The pattern is fine but it's very typical for burda. The back is TOOOO wide. The neckline is nice but it's a bit WIDE in the front as well. I made size 38 and it's TOO big for me. I usually wear size 40. I have been exercising a lot with weights recently so this might be the reason. My weight on the scale hasn't changed but I think that my waist is smaller. Hmm, interesting. Or maybe it is the pattern - I'm just not sure what the problem is.

Anyway I made this pattern no. 118, size 38 from Burda 12/ 2024.

I have doubled the front (no facing, but made with 2 front pieces so that you can't see my bra), shortened the sleeves to my elbows because that's how I like them (so I've shortened them for 20 cm). I have shortened the top for 6 cm (from 64 to 58 cm). I'm a short person - 164 cm short.

The back was too wide and it stuck out horribly, the front is also gaping a little bit. But because I have fixed the back it's not so obvious. I have noticed the problems only after I have done the front and back facing SOOO *#&bloody hell%*. I took in the sides for 2 cm and I made a cut in the middle of the back (I unpicked the facing and cut through the back piece and the back facing. Then I sewed 2 cm on the top of the back (on both sides - so that's 4 cm together) and 1.5 towards the bottom of the back, and just 1 cm near the bottom of the back piece. I did the same with the  back facing (took in for 2 cm on both sides). And voila! - I got a great fitting piece (otherwise it would look horrible).

And since I was improvising I just continued. I made a frill out of two soft-tull pieces (one gentle grey and one gentle pink). I think it looks OK. Maybe it's my signature style because it's my third garment with a frill going down the back.

Like I said: it's 90 % finished - I have to hem the bottom hem and do a decorative seam around the neckline with my (great-but-difficult) coverstitch machine Brother CV 3550. I have ordered pink metallic thread and I'm waiting for that to arrive and then I'll finish it.

The material was bought here DRIESSEN STOFFEN https://driessenstoffen.nl/en/ . It cost me 6.95 EUR a meter, I got 1.5 m = 10.43 EUR (rib jersey ecru, cotton & elastane), I have noticed just now that the width is only 120 cm. Maybe I should cut smaller pattern because ribbed jersey stretches a lot !? Hmm??

Not bad. It's a pattern that needs adjusting - the back, the front, then sleeves for me. The neckline is a bit special because I have to push my bra straps towards my shoulders not to show them. It's a useful basic piece for trousers - especially black & white combination. I will show you my pink metallic thread when I get it.