Clothing Engineer

I made this one over the weekend:

I didn’t expect this one to be as close-fitting as it turned out. The picture above is pretty accurate in how the fit is. I’m glad I used a stretch poplin instead of plain cotton shirting. But overall though I’m pretty happy with the fit, considering how I usually don’t do so well with princess seams. It was also extremely easy to sew, and I was able to complete it in one day. After I cut out it out I didn’t even glance at the instructions. I think the only thing I would change if I made it again would be to lengthen it an inch or so.

Burda 4/08 #113

I’ve been waiting forever for a cargo pants pattern like this, though I think I’d lengthen the legs to full length.

Correction: sagewillow has brought to my attention that this is in the April 2008 issue, not the 2007 issue.

Wow…I’ve done just about nothing during winter break. I originally planned on starting (and finishing!) my heathered black wool crepe suit,
but it just never happened. So I’ve decided to start off with a less
demanding project to ease myself into it again. Hence, Burda 9/06 #114:

I like the military look. This particular pattern is one of my
favorites because of how neat, timeless, and versatile it is. There
were a lot of good looks in this issue.

I bought a navy Italian wool/angora blend knit
from fabric.com to use for this pattern. I’m in the process of washing
and steaming it a few times to make sure it is properly preshrunk. It
is a very soft knit, but seems a bit fragile.

I’ve got just about all the materials I need for my first fully lined wool suit. I’ve chosen Burda 1/07 #113 and #111 as the pattern.

I love the inverted pleat pockets and the seaming of the skirt. Very European, and different from the average corporate suit.

I’m using a heathered black wool crepe from FFC
for the fashion fabric. I had an unusually bad experience the first
time I ordered from them, but this time had no problems. (I read this a
lot online - they seem to have a 75% success rate). For the lining I’m
using black ambiance bemberg.
I’m a bit up in the air about interfacing. I have a considerable amount
of armo weft that I would like to use but I’m not sure if that’s the
best choice for this fabric and style. Whatever I use will be
interfaced to a black cotton lawn
underlining. (From what I’ve read in quite a few places fusible
interfacing doesn’t work well with wool crepe, and should be interfaced
to an underlining instead.)

These are the buttons I picked out. (The background is the wool crepe.)

Like the buttons, the topstitching thread will also be silver.

Last night I worked on preshrinking the wool crepe. This suit
requires about 2 1/2 yards, so I cut out 3 from my stash to accommodate
for shrinkage. I know most of the sewing gurus would probably have a
heart attack if they read this, but I soaked the length of wool crepe
in a basin of lukewarm water with Eucalan wool wash. I didn’t agitate
it at all, just gently placed it in the basin and soaked it for about
15, 20 minutes. Then I very gently squeezed the water out, and rolled
it in a towel to absorb even more of the water. I let it air dry
overnight, then used a steam iron to smooth out the wrinkles and shrink
it even more.

I did end up with a bit of felting after washing it, but it was so
minor that most people would have a hard time noticing the difference.
(I really don’t know why sewers are so afraid to do this. It is so far
from being anywhere near
ruined.) It feels a bit softer too, probably from the lanolin in the
wool wash. Since I don’t plan on wearing this very often I will
probably end up not washing it, but rather just brushing and airing it
(esp. the jacket). But at least now I know its OK if I get caught in a
rainstorm while wearing it. I don’t really care for the idea of dry
cleaning, so with the exception of leather my rule is that everything I
make must be able to take a little water.

Next will be preshrinking the ambiance lining and armo weft
interfacing. (The cotton lawn is easy - just throw it in the washing
machine a couple of times.)

I think for this one I’m going to make a muslin first. Normally I’m
a rather fearless sewer and can’t even be bothered to tissue fit. I
just estimate, cut, start sewing, and and try it on a few times for
alteration purposes. Surprisingly this has worked for me so far.
However, I’ve never made a Burda jacket or skirt before, so I’d like to
get an idea of what to expect with ease before I cut into the fabric.
I’ve already spent $90 to $100 on supplies for this project so I really
can’t afford to screw up. Oh, yes, there’s also the whole fact that
I’ve never made a suit jacket before.

Finally finished my Burda blouse! I’ve been admiring the pattern for some time, and got around to tracing and sewing it.

Very little trouble with this one (other than the collar stand, which I always
have issues with). I admit the fabric is a very boring color, but it
should go well with a brown skirt or blazer. It looks a bit lumpy in
the photo because I have it tucked in…which is why next time I make
it, I will shorten it. I never liked tucking in my shirts.

For this shirt I decided to not be so picky, and just work to finish
it within a reasonable amount of time. So while there are mistakes here
and there (especially on the collar stand) I did manage to finish it
fairly quickly. The nice part is that no one will ever notice the
mistakes…only I will know they are there.

I did a sloped shoulder adjustment with this blouse. I’m now a
strong believer in the importance of the right shoulder slope.  I
think I went a bit too far in my adjustment, but it just hangs so much
nicer than before. Before I would keep taking in my shirts at the bust,
thinking that’s why I had wrinkles and why my shirts looked like they
were just hanging off of me. This was a much simpler adjustment, and
the end result is more comfortable. I guess this is why fitting is so
hard. One problem could have three different causes, all requiring
three different solutions.

Webpage for Burda 1/07 #105

The complete pattern review

Burda now has a preview of their next issue online. I think the theme of this issue is parties. Lots of semi-formal cocktail dresses and evening jackets. Everything is taking on the elegant, classic, “lady-like” look mentioned in a few fashion columns about a month ago. It looks like they’re finally starting to get away from those very strange silhouettes common in the last two issues,
though they still pop up occasionally in this one.

Here’s some of my favorites:

113C: Jacket

I really like the pocket placement in this jacket, the
untraditional seams, and the non-fussy details. I have a length of
heathered black wool crepe I haven’t done anything with yet; I wonder
how well it would make up in this style.

115: Coat

Nice classic style coat that can be worn for years and years. If
you look at the technical drawing, it looks like the pockets and
sleeves have zippers. Very cool!

121: Top & 122A: Yoga Pants

A really nice yoga outfit. I think this one is going to be very popular on Pattern Review.
I think that if I make this, I’m going to cut off an inch from the
waistband. I like stuff like that to be a little lower rise.

124: Jacket with Hood

The basic hoodie. I think if I made this one I’d eliminate the ribbing on the cuffs and sew the sleeve straight.

123: Bra Top

Scoop neckline racerback exercise top. I think the key to this
one is finding a wicking fabric with some lycra in it. (A good source
for that type of fabric is The Rainshed.) This looks very similar to the tops Nike sells for $50 a pop.

This issue seems to have improved from the last one. It definitely
isn’t as wacky, though skinny jeans seem to unfortunately still be
sticking around…

#111: Coat

I like this coat, with the exception of the back
patch pockets. I am thinking of making it out of a hunter green wool
melton I’ve had in my stash, well, forever. If you click on the image
below, you can view the technical drawing. It is hard to tell from the
photo, but this coat has some very nice classic, military-like lines:

#102: Skirt

This skirt has an interesting mock-wrap front. It looks like it would
be nice if done out of a darker denim, or maybe wool gabardine.

#108: Jacket

Nice fitted little jacket. There’s actually not that many pieces to it,
and it looks like it isn’t even lined. Burda recommends using “fulled
loden”. I had no
idea what loden was, A quick Google search revealed that “fulled loden”
is otherwise known as melton or wool melton in the USA. I think if I
made this jacket out of wool melton I would at least line the sleeves,
if not the whole jacket. Wool melton is like berber fleece in that it
is tough and easy to work with, but doesn’t slide over clothes very
well.

#112: Parka

This is a very RTW style, but looks like a lot of work! I admire it,
but won’t be doing it anytime soon, especially since it is rated a 3.5.

There’s a nice little article on Yahoo! today from Dr. Mao about keeping your clothes clean the healthy way.
Some of the suggestions involve using vinegar and baking soda, and
avoiding chlorine-based detergents. He also recommends airing out
dry-cleaned clothes for at least a day before putting them away, if
your cleaner uses perc (which most still do).

People seem surprised about how vinegar is used as a cleaning agent,
despite the strong odor. We use it in our household all the time. It is
cheap, does an excellent job, and the smell does go away. I’ve even
used it as a rinse for wool pants with no ill effects. (In my opinion,
wool is much tougher than most people give it credit for).
I just got the September 2007 issue of Burda.

Sadly, I’m a little disappointed. I really didn’t like most of the
styles in this issue. Tons of boxy styles, and skirts that made even
the models look pear-shaped. The skinny jeans and cigarette pants leg
look needs to go away. The sooner, the better. I have yet to see anyone
above a size 4 really be able to carry off this look. Aside from a
couple of styles, I don’t recommend this issue.

Here are the few styles I did like:

(more…)

You know that neat metallic crinkle fabric that has been so popular in the Burda World of Fashion magazine the past six months or so?

Candlelight Valley Fabrics
has a few colors available in 100% silk. It is $15/yard. Just do a
search for “crinkle” and it will show up. They also give very good
descriptions for how to work with it and care for it.

Another thing I like about this place?  A flat fee of $9 for shipping.

The
only thing is that the description says it is rough on skin, and should
be lined. Perhaps a very lightweight jersey knit in nude would do the
trick? Silk knit would be the ultimate in luxury, but could easily turn
this into a $75 top…

I found this pattern in my stash, along with enough lightweight charcoal gray wool to actually make it!

The
pants look like they need a lining though. Maybe china silk? I know
Dharma Trading has some very reasonable prices on black china silk,
along with realistic shipping. This would be a great suit pattern to
experiment with. I have yet to finish a tailored jacket, and to be
quite honest tailored jackets frighten me. (My Vogue Anne Klein suit jacket is a disaster waiting to be fixed in my pile of abandoned projects that I just can’t throw out.)

Maybe this pattern is my second chance to redeem myself. I’ve learned a lot since attempting my Anne Klein suit.