First Make of 2024 and Last Make of 2023

My first make for 2024 is a blouse for my mother, the pattern is from the December issue of Burda magazine. Lately I've been buying the physical issues, but this is the first pattern I actually copied and cut. Printing pdf patterns is so much easier, however, holding the magazine, leafing through the pages and trying to read the German texts and instructions is a part of the whole experience, that has its own delights.

I had bought a different fabric for this pattern, but it turned out I couldn't fit my mother's size in it, so I remembered this nice fluid viscose-polyester blend I recently bought. Actually I had bought it around Christmas for Gaby, but it transpired that she didn't like black, so I put it aside for another project. In the end Gaby's fabric went to my mother, the fabric, intended for her blouse, became mine, and Gaby got a third fabric - more about it at the end of this posting :)

 

The pattern is a tailored knit blouse with richly gathered bishop sleeves and some sort of a half turtle neck. The sleeves and the body of the pattern are designed just fine, but the neck is definitely problematic, which is even apparent  from the photos in the magazine. So, as I had sufficient fabric left, I decided to add a fairly generous cowl collar.

Pattern: BurdaStyle 12 / 2023 #108

Size: 42, shortened

Fabric: viscose-polyester blend, 1.3 m

Time to make: 3 days

 

Modifications: I shortened the body -1 cm above the armholes, -2 cm above the waist and -8 cm below the waist. Proportionally, I shortened the sleeves -2 cm above the armholes and -5 cm from the length below the armholes. I kept the wristbands as per pattern, but cut them horizontally, so that the stripes would be perpendicular to the stripes of the sleeves and I did the same with the cowl collar.

The cowl collar is from the Sinclair Lotte hoodie, but a bit shortened and modified. I debated with myself whether to make it triangular or rounded at the point of connection at the back and husband convinced me to add the angular feature for some interest. I don't mind it, but I don't think I'll repeat it.

And here's what I made for New Year's Eve for Gaby - a similar blouse out of sparkling purple fabric. The pattern is another Burda blouse - 6820, but the sleeves are modified, based on Burda #112 10/2021 and the droplet neck opening is from my Burda 117 01/2021. 

There is a curious story behind this blouse. As I mentioned I had bought the black fabric, intending it for Burda #108 12/2023 for Gaby. I expected I would be able to make her only one item while she was visiting, so she chose the lined Andean jacket. On the evening of the day before her flight back to Vienna she lamented, that she hadn't been able to find a nice blouse in Sofia for her Silvester party. And early on the morning of her departure day, while drinking my coffee, I decided that I could manage it - go downtown, buy a piece of fabric, make a blouse and finish it before she left for her flight in the late afternoon. This was the most hectic cutting and sewing I've ever done, but yes, I did it, even with a couple of hours to spare, and she was very happy with the result!

Pattern: Burda 6820 + #112 10/2021 sleeves

Size: 34

Fabric: sparkly knit fabric, 1.2 m 

Time to make: a few hours

Blouse with Drop Cut Outs

I made myself a new blouse for the coming spring and summer. I hadn't planned on buying new summer fabrics, but I couldn't resist this viscose knit with small openings in a grey-green color, that I like a lot.

The pattern is Burda 117 from the January Issue of 2021. I believe I bought it with the idea to make the version with the long bell sleeves, but grew cold to it. However, this year beside sticking to true and tried old favourites, I feel I want to try most of the unused patterns I've bought. The problem with new patterns is, that you are never sure with the fit, until you make a muslin (which I almost never do) or cut into the actual fabric. In the case of T-shirts it made no sense to make a muslin, so I just cut the smallest size 36, measured the width of the pieces and went ahead and made the blouse.

The original blouse is very, very simple, so I decided to embellish it with some drop-shaped cut outs at the neckline. I like how these turned out a lot and I am definitely going to repeat them in another blouse this summer, if I find a suitable fabric for Gaby.

Pattern: Burda 117 01/2021

Size: 36, with corrections

Fabric: polyviscose knit

Time to make: one week

Once I basted the side seams, I found out, that the simple straight line of the bottom of the T-shirt was too plain for my taste, so I curved it as much as the length of the cut pieces allowed and finished the side seams with some openings.

Next time I make this pattern, I will cut it out longer, with a more pronounced curve at the front and the back. I am not very happy with the fit, I find that Burda's size 36 often is too big on me, so next time I'll be taking at least 1 cm from the width of the front and back pattern pieces and the back neckline would also benefit from a little lowering.

I have still plenty of this fabric, so I might consider making myself a long-sleeve or a 3/4 sleeved Rhapsody. I really love the color and the texture of the fabric!