Done...done...and so...done!

Yes, the dress is finished! So this:

plus this:

equals this:

Sometimes though I wonder if you read these ramblings and think I'm whining during the creation process.  It sure seems that way to me when I read an older post, but I truly use my blog as a diary and as such some times I vent here...dream and plot here...and pat myself on the back here.  I just allow you to read over my shoulder!  *LOL*

You want some stats right:

Pattern:
Burda WOF (that's what it was called then!) 09-2005-115

Fabric:
1.5 yards of off white doubleknit from Fabric.com
1.5 yards of black doubleknit from Metro Textiles

Notions:
1 ~ 18" white zipper
scraps of black/white printed doubleknit from Fabric Mart
3 yards black rayon seam tape
1 hook & eye

Construction Information:
There are several differences between this dress and the original version ~ longer sleeves, no lining and I colorblocked this one in the front and the back.  The original version only has the seamed detailing in the front...this one has a curved seam in the back also.

The other difference was that for the first dress I had already worked out the construction process in my head way before I traced the pattern or before I cut the fabric.  Since I got the idea Thanksgiving Day to make this version, all of the process had to be worked out as I went along. 

This led to much waffling and indecision ~ to topstitch or not ~ where to add the printed doubleknit to the dress ~ whether to have an all black back or a black & white back.  This caused ALOT of frustration during the construction process.  I am so use to having the roadmap that I've already worked out in my head to follow while I'm sewing...that making the decisions step by step almost wore me out!

However, as you see, I went with the white top & the black skirt.  Making sure to curve the back seam so it duplicated what was happening in the front:

I also decided to discreetly add the black/white trim.  My original plan was to have it at the waistline (sort of belt like), at the sleeve hem and at the neckline.  I settled for at the neckline and the sleeveline:

This conveys the look I was aiming for better than some of my original thoughts.  Finally one last look ~ wearing it with the black doubleknit cardigan that I made about 4 years ago:

More photos of the dress can be seen in my flickr album, Burda Style Projects.

Of course, the thing that everyone has really been waiting for...the winner of the two pieces of fabric from Fabric Mart...and they are:

2.5 yards of Gray/Cranberry Stripe Wool Double Knit:

Zusana from Bratislava, Slovak Republic

1.5 yards of Chocolate Brown Bamboo Knit:

Jodie from Alberta Canada

Congratulations to you ladies!!!  I will send these pieces out via the postal service this week.  Please let me know your mailing address by dropping me a line at my email address found in my profile.  Thanks and congrats again!

Lastly, I've started working on another dress.  It's one of the pieces from The Pinstripe Follies collection.  Something that I have a construction plan already worked out for using my TNT dress pattern plus the details from a vintage '60s pattern.

...more later!

Burda 9-2005-115 - Construction

My first thoughts upon getting the dress cut out and the front assembled was, "it's a lot of work for such a subtle effect."  Seriously, I think if I'm standing  on the corner all anyone would see is the raspberry dress. You would have to walk up to me to see the seaming detail.  So this exercise has been more about the sewing challenge than the end result...unlike the Macy's dress where you can clearly see the effect of the fabric piecing.

Exhibit 1 

The dress front constructed and hanging from the closet door:

I guess I need to ask if the time and effort was worth it?  I would say yes for a few reasons. 

1.  I survived the dreaded Burda tracing experiment.
2.  I did actually take a pattern that was sized much smaller than I am and enlarge it to fit me, thereby proving to myself that it can be done.
3.  The actual shell of the dress is very appealing on.
4.  It will be a different type of sheath dress than is presently in my wardrobe.

So do you want to see how the dress looks so far?  Here is a close-up of the front on me:

Here is a back view:

(I think it's reading truest to the color in this pic)

Some construction changes:
~ You know that I opted to only cut the front pattern pieces for the dress.  Because of the fabric requirements in the magazine, I thought that the 2 yards of raspberry doubleknit I had would make the dress...well it didn't.  I had to creatively cut the back.  So I added a seam at the hip area.  I think it works okay...and if you think it doesn't, that's okay.  I'm wearing it this way! *LOL*

~ I am going to add short sleeves to this dress.  The sleeve will be made with a seam down its center and a slight opening at the hem.  Hopefully this will go with the pieced affect of the dress.

~ A lining will be added to this dress.  This is a lighterweight doubleknit than the Macy's dress and I think the lining will help with the overall look of the dress.

Some thoughts:
Putting this dress together was a step by step process.  I couldn't miss a step or everything would have been out of whack.  And as I stated before this was definitely more about the sewing challenge than about the dress.  I'm lucky the experiment worked.  It easily couldn't have.

Finally you had some questions:
Laura asked:
"Would you mind terribly doing a tutorial on how to grade up a pattern using a TNT dress pattern?"
You know this is a really simple process if you start with a TNT pattern piece.  I traced the Burda pieces, then laid them on top of a traced copy of the TNT dress front.  Each Burda pattern piece was then elongated width wise.  Here's a pic to show my starting point more clearly:

And here is a picture of the pattern pieces after they've been elongated and seam allowances added:

You can refer to my last post for more information on the process or the pictures in my Flickr Album to see the entire progression.  But really I didn't do anything extraordinary or something that you couldn't do yourself with a TNT pattern.

Meredithp asked the same type of question that Laura asked:
"Did you get the curved pieces that you enjoyed tracing so much, and just draw them on your TNT?"
Hopefully the picture explains it.  If not, please feel free to ask a more detailed question.

Couturearts stated (btw, is this you Claudine?):
"A suggestion, if I may. You might want to consider incorporating the bust dart into one of the horizontal seams. It will look more elegant that way."

Here is a picture of my top with the dart:

The way that Burda instructs you to cut out the pattern pieces, there's no dart.  I don't know if it's included in the seam or not.  However, since mine is not a precise duplication, I did include the dart from my TNT pattern into the piece, figuring that it would help but that no one would notice it but me.  If I were to make this again, I would definitely like to include it in the seam but would have to seek out some expert advice on how to do that.

Several of you stated that I would get better at the tracing if I did it more.  Ummmm, I don't think so.  This is the second Burda pattern that I've attempted in 10 months.  Does that tell you something about how I feel about tracing patterns?!  *LOL*  Gawd, I have a boatload of Hot Patterns and still haven't made one yet because you have to trace them!  Sad, I know.  I'm still working on that part of my journey...okay!?!  ROTFLOL!

So I have to add the lining, cut the sleeves out from the scraps and hem the dress.  I probably will have fashion shots of both dresses tomorrow.  I just wanted to give an update on this dress' progress.

...as always, more later!

Burda 09-2005-115 - Pattern Alterations

First let's get it out of the way...the Macy's color blocked dress is finished. However, after spending the day out I'm just not in the mood to get dressed up and take pictures.  So I promise I will have pics of me in the finished dress soon.

Before I left this afternoon, I worked on the Burda dress #115 from the September 2005 issue.  Let me remind you of how Burda WOF (that's what it was called then!) showed it:

This is the description, "Elegant but not showy - this Sixties-styled sheath dress is quite typical for the Lady Look.  Newly interpreted with curved waist seams, this classic looks ever so modern and is extremely figure flattering.  Our illustrated sewing course for this style located in the supplement will guarantee your sewing success."

I need to start out by saying that even though I love the design on this dress because it is so ladylike and classic, I HATE tracing the pattern off those pattern sheets.  *sigh*  I need to say this again...I HATE TRACING THE PATTERN OFF THOSE SHEETS!  Okay I'm feeling a little better...

So after I traced all those dayum pieces off the pattern sheets, and there are a lot of pieces, I had to alter all of those pieces because this pattern is size 36 - 44.  Yeah, I think I wear a 50 or 52 in a BWOF pattern. *sigh* I was ready to toss this project in the garbage at that point and go look for a very easy top to make.  But I realized that I started the tracing too late last night and that a fresh perspective in the morning would help.  

This morning the tracing was a little easier but again I wonder how do you Burdaphiles do this?  Anyway, my starting point was once again my TNT dress pattern.  Please, there was just no way that I was re-inventing the fit process with all those tiny little dress pieces!

After the front dress piece from my TNT pattern was traced, it was used as a basis to enlarge the Burda pattern pieces. 

The Burda pieces were lain on top of the dress front.  I then enlarged each pattern piece to meet my fitted TNT dress pattern.  Each piece was cut out and 5/8" seam allowances were added to the edges of each one.  

Then to double check and make sure that the pattern actually reflected my TNT dress front, I laid them back onto the pattern, checked them again and made additional corrections.  After all of the pattern work on the front of the dress, I've decided that I will use my TNT back pattern pieces.  The thought of doing this process all over again for the back pieces and then matching the sides seams, started me to trembling and muttering...it wasn't good people! *LOL*  So this is where I left the dress when I went out to lunch with my Mom and my daughter. 

BTW, the BWOF magazine shows the dress two ways ~ in a tweedy fabric and in a smooth tropical wool fabric.  I wasn't sure what fabric I was going to use when I went out but when I got home and saw the Macy's Dress hanging, I realized that a doubleknit would really showcase the seaming...and even though I thought I had a gray one on hand...

I'm going to go with this raspberry one.  If I'm gonna put this much effort into the pattern alterations, well d*mnit, you're going to see each and every one of those seams in a boldly colored dress!  I can always tone it down for work by adding a black or navy cardigan.

I'm off to cut out ALL of those pattern pieces...

...and as always more later!

    

What's Up with Burda?

So I stop by the newsstand on the way to the subway hoping that the September BWOF is in stock...and joy amongst joy it is! I've been so busy the last few weeks that I haven't had a chance to catch the preview of the issue...so boy am I surprised by the plus size selection...I mean I can usually find something that peaks my interest and make me sit up and take notice...then find a Big 4 pattern to make it work, *LOL*, but this issue is full of amazing plus size garments that I want to sew NOW...from the magazine!

But what is UP with Burda and the dresses for plus size women!?! Can I give a whoo-hoo and a high five to them for this lovely number in the September issue:

I was already doing the unthinkable and contemplating making a dress from the Burda Plus Size Magazine...cause the wonderful little number below is causing me to lose sleep...and you know it's bad when you've already worked the sewing sequence out in your head! *LOL*

Isn't that just the kewlest dress...and in a plus size pattern! Be still my beating heart!!!

Yeah, I'm really feeling the Burda love...and I will have to make up one of these beauties and soon! So can you believe, this month's issues of Burda World of Fashion and Burda Plus have moved from fashion magazines to sewing magazines...I think I felt the earth shift! rotflol!