burda

Oxford bags: Burda 118-09-2015

I really ought to have pressed these trousers before we took pictures of them. But I’m calling it realism because when we took the pictures they’d been worn a few days in a row, so please just ignore the creases. They are Burda 118-09-2015 made up in a browny-greyish wool suiting from Croft Mill. Right now the fabric is still available here, but even if it’s not by the time you read this Croft Mill’s site is well worth a browse for the delightfully fanciful fabric descriptions.

This pattern was the one chosen for the Burda “sewing course” feature in the September 2015 issue: ie there are detailed instructions and diagrams for it in the sewing supplement part of the magazine, rather than the usual accurate-but-minimal directions. However if you’ve sewn fly front trousers before they’re not needed; there is nothing unusual here at all. The order of construction is classic menswear style: the back crotch and centre back waistband seams are sewn up last to allow tweaking the fit. I departed from the suggested order of construction slightly. I find it easier to sew the front crotch and fly before the side seams and inside leg seams, whereas Burda does it the other way around. But I did leave the back crotch to last and that was a good thing because I found I needed to take it in a bit.

The pattern is for Tall sizes and for once I didn’t add any length. As you can see, they are if anything a little on the long side despite that. I am standing on quite a steep uphill slope here though, which makes them look longer. I made my usual Burda size. I did have a bit of a panic half way through making them as I hadn’t noticed that the side seams are drafted a long way forward of the normal position, and so the front pieces seemed far too small once I’d folded the pleats in. It all worked out in the end though and I think the pattern is fairly true to size; my waist and hips are different sizes in Burda which is why I had to take them in a bit at the waist.

There are single welt pockets on the back. I made a couple of small pattern alterations to try to get a good finish on those: I made the back pocket welt piece wider and I extended the back pocket bag piece upwards so I could catch it in the waistband seam to try to prevent the pockets from gapping. They’ve come out nicely but spending time on the many, many steps involved seems a bit pointless as I never use back pockets on trousers. There are very roomy hip pockets on these anyway – I can fit a paperback book into them – so there’s absolutely no need to use the back ones.

Here’s a shot showing the waistband. It’s very plain. There are no belt loops and it is closed with a trouser hook. I should have taken the centre back in a little more than I did as they are supposed to sit at the natural waistline. Maybe I need to get a pair of braces! I finished the inside waistband with black satin bias binding. Burda just says to ‘neaten’ it. Simply overlocking the edge seemed a bit slapdash for such a lovely fabric so for once I made a bit of an effort with the insides of a garment.

The wide legs are wonderfully swishy: action shot below. They’re also a fabric hog. The pattern took 2.5m of wide fabric what with the deep pleats at the front and the turnups, but I don’t regret it as I have already worn them a lot. They’re warm and very comfortable, and surprisingly practical for chasing around after small children.

Although they are an exaggerated style they seem fairly versatile. I generally wear them with a slouchy jumper but they also look good with a close fitting top that is tucked in, and I think a cropped boxy top would look good too. I think I’m going to be wearing these a lot as the summer ends here and the weather cools down.

Nothing but repeats: Burda 104c-02-2017 culottes again

I should know this by now, but it's amazing the difference fabric choice makes to a pattern. Earlier this year I made Burda's 104c-02-2017 culottes pattern in a drapey viscose crepe fabric. Not at all the recommended fabric for the pattern, but the end result was great and I've worn them a lot. So I made them again, this time in a stretch cotton sateen from Fabric Godmother. This fabric is much more the sort of thing the pattern designer intended. The pattern specifies "lightweight trouser fabric with some body". The originals were a little large so I took the waist in slightly as well, and here's the end result; you wouldn't think it was the same pattern.

And here is the viscose crepe pair for comparison. I seem to have worn the same top for both sets of photos: not intentional.

In the spirit of full disclosure I should say that the sateen pair were worn and washed several times before we got around to taking pictures, and were put on straight from the drying rack without ironing, whereas the viscose pair were photographed in their 'just finished' state.

The viscose pair sit much lower on me and have a nice swish, but feel a bit big. The crepe tends to grow with wear which doesn't help, although a wash shrinks them back to the original size.

The sateen pair feel much more structured and look slightly shorter because they sit higher. The shinier fabric means they tend to show marks and creases more easily than the crepe ones.

The pattern has fake back pockets which I skipped on the new pair. They were a pain in the neck to sew on the originals and I wasn't happy with the positioning. The trousers look OK without them I think. The sizing on the new ones is better but still not quite right. They fit at the waist now but seem slightly too small on the bum. I didn't change the pattern there so that's just the effect of different fabric.

This pattern has lots of belt loops, which means there is a very long thin tube to turn inside out. Not my favourite sewing activity and not easy in a fabric with body. I tried a new-to-me technique involving a chopstick and a straw. I was cynical about it before I started but it worked! You sew up one end of the fabric tube, poke the straw into the tube, and then push the closed end through the centre of the tube using the chopstick. I can't find the instructions I used now but this article covers the technique: https://angelleadesigns.com/tutorials/how-to-turn-a-narrow-tube-of-fabric/ . I suspect it relies on the straw being an appropriate diameter for the size of tube. My straw was narrow and I think it would have failed on thicker fabric.

The belt came out the right length this time. On the previous pair it was extremely long which looks good in pictures but is a pain in the neck to wear. I must have cut it on the fold by mistake or something like that. In fact the whole waist area is better in the sateen. Again it's the effect of using crisper fabric. There is no waistband, just a facing, and it needs some body and a lot of tacking in order to make it stay put. I stitched my facing down in the ditch of the side and centre back seams on both pairs but I should have done it at the pleats and darts too.

I'm very happy with both of these. Both are in high rotation at the moment.

Burda 104C 02/2017

Culottes are something I never imagined I’d want to wear. I hesitate to say they’ve come back into fashion because I wouldn’t know, but they have certainly started to look appealing recently. It may just be the effect of swapping fashion magazines for Burda and pattern catalogues.

These ones are Burda 104C 02/2017. They are a very high waisted style with front pleats and a tie belt. They are more like cropped wide legged trousers than what I normally think of as culottes. Dr T made a great version of this pattern that moved them right to the top of my sewing list.

Mine are made in viscose crepe from Truro Fabrics. It’s more drapey than I think the pattern is designed for but it’s what I had in the stash. The fabric requirements say ‘trouser fabrics with some body’. The crepe gives them wonderful movement but some of the details like the belt loops and the high waist would have been better in a crisper fabric.

One slightly odd detail is the fake back pockets. I think trousers usually look better with some sort of detail on the backside but there’s something not quite right about these. I think they’re a bit too small and also need to be higher up. But that might not be the pattern’s fault: the whole garment is sitting lower on me than it should. This style of trouser cannot stay in place if there’s any ease in the waist at all; I should have realised that and traced the waist a size smaller than I did. As it is the whole thing slips down a few inches on me.

The really good thing about these are the huge hip pockets. They look fine even when fairly full of junk because the style is so voluminous. The tie belt is nice too although it’s come out much longer than I expected. I usually cut them a little longer than the pattern suggests but I don’t remember adding that much length. Unless I tie a bow the ends are down by my ankles. Dramatic, but not the most practical of features.

I interfaced the waist facings and fly underlap with Vilene F220 and used a mystery lightweight stretch woven interfacing on the pocket edges. I could have done with putting lightweight interfacing on the fly facings too and maybe the hem area.

I doubt I’ll make this particular pattern again soon but I love the wide legged silhouette. I’ve got my eye on a few other Burda patterns with a similar shape.

Cognitive dissonance – Burda 103-07-2010

I usually blog about projects very soon after I’ve finished them; often before I’ve worn the garment in ‘real life’. These trousers are an exception I finished them a couple of weeks ago and have lost count of the number of wears they’ve had. They’re one of my current favourites. And yet, when I come to look at the photos, they just aren’t quite right.

The pattern is my tweaked version of Burda 103-07-2010, which I’ve made many times before. They are jeans style trousers with the side seams shifted a long way forward and a section seam down the back of the leg. I have lowered the rise about 5cm from the original pattern, and added a bit around the hips. The fit is all kinds of wrong and has been in every version I’ve made. Lots of excess fabric under the bum and the legs are too long.

I am forever cursed to make trousers that are too long because of years of not being able to find RTW with sleeves and legs long enough. I’m so afraid of cutting anything too short that I always end up erring on the other side.

The fabric is unusual: a blackish stretch denim with some dark gold metallic threads. Unfortunately the metallic threads are a bit irritating to the skin so I always have to wear leggings underneath these, but it was easier to sew with than many metallic fabrics I’ve tried. It washed beautifully and didn’t mind being pressed even on a high heat. The fabric was unusually narrow for denim and I needed every scrap of two metres to make these. I bought it on Goldhawk Road last year. The sparkle is fairly subtle in real life; these pictures were taken in glaring sunlight.

The fly front on these gave me no end of trouble. I’d shortened the rise on the original pattern, but I think I must have forgotten that when I consulted Burda’s instructions to find out what length zip to buy. The zip is far too long and that led to me ripping out the fly and restitching it some ridiculous number of times. I don’t notice it when I’m wearing it but you can probably see it’s out of proportion in the picture below.

So they were massively aggravating to sew, they don’t fit right, and if I’m honest they’re not exactly the most flattering pair of trousers I own. I don’t think the unusual side seam position is doing me any favours. But I suspect I’ll carry on wearing them a lot; they’re comfortable and practical. I think it might be time to move on from this pattern at last and try one of the many other Burda options for slim trousers next time though.

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Never say never again: Burda 115-09-2012

Last year I rashly said I was done with a particular pattern – Burda 115-09-2012. I’d made two versions, one silver and one green. Neither was a perfect fit and I was fed up of fiddling with the pattern and wanted to move onto something new. But come 2017 I found myself looking for a pattern for a practical pair of trousers; something with pockets that you can wear with boots and sit on the floor in. It’s much easier to use a pattern you’ve already traced so out came 115-09-2012 for a third try.

Here’s the line art for 115 and the variant style 116. My latest version is a cross between the two styles. They have the same main pattern pieces but differ in details. I took the horizontal in-seam pockets from 115 and the top-stitching and belt loops from 116. I made the pockets larger than the ones on the pattern in order to be able to fit my phone in.

There are no side seams on this pattern below the hip; the curved panels swoop around to the back and there’s a seam down the back of the leg. I went for contrast top-stitching to make the seam details stand out. The fabric is a lightweight non-stretch grey denim from Truro Fabrics (now sold out) and the top-stitching thread is Gutermann top-stitch in shade 968, “denim gold”. The fabric could have done with being a touch heavier, or perhaps just more tightly woven. I didn’t iron the trousers for the photos, and they’d had two days of wear so they’re a little creased and baggy at the knees.

The top-stitching was quite time consuming. It really helped that I had my second machine set up for that so I didn’t have to keep switching thread colours and needles on the main machine. I made good use of the ditch-stitching foot for many of the straight lines, but those back yoke curves had to be free-handed which took a couple of attempts to get right.

Here’s a closeup of the front. There’s a little bit of puckering on the waistband seam that I couldn’t quite steam out. It’s only on one side so I guess I accidentally stretched the yoke out there.

And the back. I’m pleased with the way it came out.

I’m much happier with the fit on these than the previous two pairs. However the pockets are gapping a bit. I wish I’d interfaced the front yoke as that might have helped. I do have things in both pockets in these photos though which contributes to the gapping. People who can manage with trousers without working pockets could sew them shut but I’ll take gappy working pockets over perfect fake ones any time.

I’m very happy with these. I might even make another pair one day if the right piece of denim comes my way! A few notes:

Vilene H250 interfacing on waistband and fly facing
Size 90 denim needle for main seams
Size 100 denim needle and Gutermann 968 denim gold top-stitch thread for top-stitching
Size 90 stretch needle for overlocking
YKK 13cm lightweight metal trouser zip (size 3 teeth)

Should have known better: Burda 127-10-2014

Here’s a make that didn’t work out, Burda 127-10-2014. The annoying thing is that most of the problems were entirely predictable, had I thought about the pattern more carefully in advance. But I was carried away by the cute raglan seaming, the exposed zip, the pockets, and the roomy silhouette. Here’s the line art. Have a good look, maybe you’ll see what I missed.

It’s basically rectangular, and the bagginess only goes so far in accomodating my current shape, but that’s not the issue. The pockets are nice and big which is a point in its favour. I somehow managed to cut the sleeve bands horribly off-grain which is why they’re twisting, and they were a pain to insert because the polyester crepe I used does not tolerate even the smallest size mismatch. But none of that is the fault of the pattern.

The problem is the shoulder line. Look what happens when I move my arms. The shoulder line creases and the whole dress moves up. The shoulder line is so dropped and curved that there’s no way you can lift your arms and hence the sleeves without lifting the rest of dress. And the shape of the shoulder is quite clear on the line art so this shouldn’t have been a surprise; I just didn’t spot it in advance.

Some of the pulling is clearly being made worse by the distorting effect of my bump. Look at that drag line.

Just for completeness, here’s the back complete with exposed zip. The back is so plain it really needs that zip detail. I’m slightly surprised Burda didn’t repeat the raglan seaming on the back to add a bit of interest.

I often have trouble getting the right zip for a project but for once for once I got lucky. I found this one on eBay. The tape colour is almost an exact match for the fabric and the puller is a bit different: a short chain with a ball on the end rather than the usual zip puller. The back of the dress is so plain it needs all the help it can get. I didn’t do the greatest job inserting the zip but it looks OK from a distance. The neck binding isn’t great either because the fabric I used was a bit too heavy for the pattern and so the binding pattern piece didn’t have enough turn-of-cloth allowance.

I am going to put this dress away until after the baby and see if it’s any more comfortable when the bump isn’t taking up all the extra space in it.

Gold and silver: Burda 130-06-201

This is Burda 130-06-2010, the first real maternity pattern I’ve made. I have to say I cannot tell the difference between the fit on this and some of the blocky women’s dress styles you can find in any issue of Burda. I thought it might have extra width around the bump area, but when I traced the pattern it was essentially rectangular. The zip serves no purpose that I can see.

I picked the style because I like the notched collar, and it looked simple enough to sew up fast. I cannot say whether the instructions were any good because the pattern came from a German language copy of Burda 06/2010 I bought on eBay. When I bought it I thought I might be able to get some help with the construction from Google Translate but what came out was so confused it might as well have still been in German for all the good it did me. I found that comparing the instructions in an English language Burda with the German issue and looking up a few important nouns was much more helpful. The structure is exactly the same in English and German so you can tell what each paragraph is about from the order they come in. Based on that I was at least able to find out which pattern pieces had seam allowances included and what to add to those that didn’t.

The intended method of construction for the collar remained something of a mystery. There seemed to be two possibilities: sew the shoulder seams, attach the lower collar facing to the lower neckline first and then construct the rest of the collar as you would a notched jacket collar; or make up the whole collar unit first including all the facings and then stitch the lot to the dress. There is no back neck facing and the neckline seam is finished with binding, so either would work.

In the end I went for the second option, using the instructions for the collar on my black Burda jumpsuit to help construct the collar. Then I sewed the shoulder seams, attached the collar to the neckline, and bound the collar seam. Finally I sewed the side seams, adding side seam pockets which are not in the original pattern, and hemmed the armsyces and bottom edge. It seems to have come out OK! The neckline seam isn’t totally smooth around that deep v neck but the collar covers the puckers. I should have used a smaller seam allowance around the collar instead of Burda’s standard 1.5cm and then maybe I could have got it in flat. Next time.

The fabric is a lovely golden coloured cotton poplin from Misan Textiles; a birthday present from my parents. The original dress was also made in poplin but the collar looks softer than mine. I used Vilene F220 to interface my collar, which is a lightweight fusible, but Burda’s version used G785 which is even lighter than F220 and also has some stretch.

This dress benefits from being worn with a loose belt to contain some of the volume above the bump. Partly that’s because the cotton has quite a bit of body; I wanted something crisp. I think you could also make this up in a drapier fabric and then you wouldn’t need a belt. Years ago I had a similarly shaped ready to wear dress – no darts at all – made from a navy artificial silk that never needed a belt, although it probably wasn’t quite as wide as this one as I remember it being a bit of a wriggle to get on as it didn’t have a zip. I wore that one until the seams started to give way.

I added in-seam pockets.

I’m happy with this and I love the colour. It’s just occurred to me that if I’d bothered to put in the zip I could convert it later on by adding some darts, but a belt is fine too. And now I have enough clothes that fit to get me through a working week again.