The Late Night Sewist

I have completed the first item of 2013!

It should be a few hours’ work normally, but it took me a few days because I worked very slowly, bit by bit after work and when my friend Sirli came over for the weekend, I excused myself for a moment to finish off the sleeve hems so that she could take the photos.

It is the popular Burda September 2012, model 123A top.

I remember seeing the design and the first idea was to make it with faux leather shoulder details. I was a bit surprised seeing this sewn up in many ways, but no one made it with faux leather, until one very nice version showed up on Burdastyle.com, it should be visible here.

The fabric I used is a lighter type of ponte knit, I grabbed it just a few days before leaving Athens. It was available in three colourways, blue, grey-black and red. The blue seemed to be the most popular by far, it was selling out fast and I managed to get the last 1.7 meters off the roll. I regret not getting the red version as well.

I also regret not thinking ahead and making it into a dress, using the same pattern. I cut the top a bit longer to see, if I would go with the view B of the pattern, that has gathered side seams and only then did I see the potential for a great dress, but the fabric was not enough anymore. In general, due to the stripe match-up, I spent more fabric on the top than I would normally have. Now I am debating whether to try and make a skirt that would combine the faux leather and the remnants of the fabric, so that I could wear the two separately or as a set. I am not sure, because I don’t have much of the leather left and I might want to use it for some other projects as well, so if the skirt will not be a success, I will end up with two wasted materials. We’ll see.

So, I used ponte knit and after reading some reviews, decided not to make an opening on the back. I used bias tape instead, which made the neckhole a tad less elastic than the ponte knit would have allowed, but it is exactly large enough for my head to pass through and at the same time will probably not stretch out. In order to use this technique, I had to sew through the faux leather details as well, which only gave me one shot to get it right, because if I had to rip the stitches afterwards, the details would have been spoiled.

Another issue was that if the faux leather is facing towards the metallic plate of the sewing machine, the teeth of the machine ruin the material completely, as it gets stuck there. In order to avoid that, I placed some scraps of pattern paper under the leather parts and everything went smoothly!

The sleeves and lower hem was finished with a double needle stitch for stretch and more professional finish. I remember reading a review saying that the sleeves are too long and this was also the case with me. I had to shorten them approximately 4 cm, so basically I didn’t have to add any seam allowance. My regular Burda size 38 was fine this time as well, no other adjustments were necessary.

I am very satisfied with the result, I think it a versatile item that can be combined with many other things in my wardrobe and it is also very comfortable. Also, I have spoiled some striped projects in the past, but this one is lined up, even the sleeves are exactly the same!

Some close ups and a casual look:

For those interested in the footwear, the boots are super-comfortable Gabor Rinkata, the latest addition to my beloved collection. It seems I have a thing with suede leather…

The blue suede shoes are Nine West Tariko, another grab from Athens just before coming to Estonia.

In addition to the satisfaction of a new garment, I had a very nice weekend, chatting non-stop over a bottle of wine on Saturday evening and having a relaxing time at the local pool today, finishing it off with the best cakes on Earth from a tiny coffee-shop in Haapsalu. I thought to take a photo, but when the freshly made cakes were served, everything else was forgotten!