Green Burda 6202 Blouse

As I mentioned in a previous posting, Burda 6202 is one of my favourite T-shirt patterns. I like its fitted design, open neckline and feminine puffed short sleeves. The purple blouse, which I made at the end of February, has been one of my go-to blouses for hikes. I wanted one more of these, but out of cotton-viscose fabric, for everyday walks. 

Teal is one of my most favourite colors, so when I saw the teal viscose fabric with lycra at the shop, I had to have it. I bought enough for two blouses and I made an identical one for Gaby, as I know that she loves teal too.

Pattern: Burda 6202 from Burda Catalogue 1 / 2020

Size: 34, shortened

Fabric: cotton-viscose with lycra

Time to make: 2 days

For the new teal blouses I reverted to the 34 size and I also lowered the neckline back to the original line at the front, but lifted the neckline at the back by 2 cm. For my blouse I also graded the front and the back from the waist to the hem to 36 size, as I don't like my blouses hugging me too tight at the hip.

The fabric is divinely soft and comfortable to wear, the fit is as I wanted it and I believe this little blouse is going to be one of my favourites this spring and summer.

Purple Burda 6202 Blouse

There are patterns that I love so much, that I keep returning to them over and over again. Burda 6202 blouse is one of those patterns - to my utter surprise this is the eighth (for Gaby and myself combined, I went back and counted them) and my fourth with short sleeves and let me tell you - I plan at least two more this year. 

The pattern is a quick sew, flattering and feminine and very easy to wear. The fabric I used for this blouse is a remnant of the long-sleeve Lotte I made last month - it does really have modest fabric requirements and as the pattern is raglan, it would also work well with color blocking, I imagine.

I made my two first short-sleeve versions with the elastic, sewn to the sleeve, as is according to the instructions, but for my third version I came up with a modification, which allows for the elastic to be inserted in the hem and this made the blouses even better and more comfy.

Pattern: Burda 6202 from Burda Catalogue 1 / 2020

Size: 36, shortened

Fabric: cotton fabric

Time to make: 2 days

I usually make this shirt in the smallest size 34, but this time I decided to make it a bit looser and cut into the larger 36 size. However, I think I prefer the more fitted look and my next make will be back to the 34 size and shorter length. I also plan a little remodelling of the neckline - I want to return to the original line at the front, but lift the back by 2 cm. It is always fun to play with a known pattern and see what little tweaking here and there can do for better fitting.

We took these pictures yesterday during our hike on Lakatnik. I had brought the blouse just for a quick photosession, but it was surprisingly so hot, that my new short-sleeved blouse turned a real blessing. More about Lakatnik soon in my next post :)

Purple Sinclair Lotte Blouse

Sinclair Lotte is a hoodie pattern, which I've once made as a hoodie and already twice as a longsleeve blouse. I like the hoodie, but I find that the fit lacks enough easе for a sweater, designed to be worn over other blouses, although I did cut my size according to the sizing table. 

On the other hand, the fit is just perfect for a blouse and my previous color-block viscose Lotte longsleeve is one of my favourite blouses. I especially appreciate its thumb-hole cuffs - they are perfect for hiking in spring and autumn, when my hands get a bit cold when I'm holding a hiking stick. 

Last year I came to the conclusion, that I needed another hiking staple, both with cuffs and a hood. Initially I planned to add some hood and the cuffs to my basic Burda long-sleeve pattern, but then I decided that it would be an interesting experiment instead to make the Sinclair Lotte, but in solid color.

I had to create the front of the blouse out of the four separate color-block pieces, that the original pattern consists of, but apart from that, I followed the pattern without much modifications, I only shortened the sleeves by 2.5 cm

Pattern: Sinclair Lotte Hoodie

Size: Petite (152-160 cm) XS (US 2)

Fabric: stable cotton knit

Time to make: 5 days

The snow from the previous week has almost melted and I hope spring will be here soon,
probably a bit later than last year.

Apart from the hood and the cuffs, the pattern is a simple longsleeve. The hood is very unusual, its two parts completely overlap at the front, covering the neck and creating a polo-shirt effect. When up, the hood reminds me a bit of a headscarf Grace Kelly-style.

The thumb-hole cuffs are very cleverly designed and super-comfy and they can also be "unhooked" from the thumb and folded back, to turn into normal cuffs.

The hood is deep enough, but not too big and it doesn't drag down, as some hoods tend to do.

I plan to test the blouse on our next hike and if it proves to be comfortable, there might be more of these.

Pink Sweater with Half-Zipper

 I am finally ready with my third project of the Make Nine plans for the 2025 - the pink sweater.

Last year I made a pink hoodie for Gaby out of a big piece of sweatshirt fabric and I had quite a significant amount of it left - and I hate wasting fabric. My plan for it was to make another hoodie for myself, using the same iconic Burda pattern. 

Once I took out the pattern pieces, it became obvious, that if i didn't want colorblocking and insisted on having a solid color sweater out of this piece of fabric, I had to make quite a lot of changes and compromises. I could not have a hood and the cuffs and hem had to be cut out of ribbed fabric. I also had to shorten the sweater a bit and then also narrow it a bit - this was not a big problem for me, as I am petite and the pattern is quite wide. Finally, either the front or the back had to be cut in two separate pieces. I decided to make it a simple sweater with ribbed cuffs and neck, so I cut the front on fold and made the back with a seam. Luckily, I had some ribbed fabric, which was almost perfect match to the main fabric. 

Then, when I was almost ready with the sweater and was debating with myself whether to add the kangaroo pocket or not, I googled cropped sweaters and came upon plenty with half-zippers. At this point I had only cuts of fabric left, but the idea of adding a collar and half-zipper kept gnawing at me. I abandoned the project for a while and let it stew.

Meanwhile I bought three more or less suitable zippers, watched probably a dozen of videos on sweaters with half-zippers and in the end constructed my own collar and lining. I was able to cut four pieces of the collar and two triangular shaped pieces of lining for the zipper out of the fabric remnants. Thus the inside of the zipper and the collar came out very neat. I am really pleased with the result and plan to make more half-zipper sweaters in the future, as I quite like the style.

Pattern: Hoodie 102 Burdastyle 03/2022 plus elements of Burdastyle 113 09/2020

Fabric: sweatshirt knit

Size: 36, - 6 in width, -3 cm in length

Time to make: one month

The collar can be worn turned, opened or fully closed, but I think I like it best half open and up. I made the collar curved, wider at the base than at the top, using the collar from Burda 113 09/2020 as a model. However, most of the video tutorials I watched used simple rectangular collars, so next time I make this type of zipper, I might try it that way, to test the difference.

The kangaroo pocket is also from the Burda 113 09/2020 hoodie, which I've already made twice. However, because my sweater is cropped, I had serious doubts about adding it, as in its full size it went almost up to my bust. In the end I decided to cut off 5 cm from its height and add it anyway and I am pretty pleased that I did it, as it brings the ribbed cuffs and the body together and adds some interest and sports vibe, which I like.

Despite all the compromises I had to make, I am really pleased with how this sweater turned out and I expect to wear it a lot, especially with ashes of roses being one of my favourite colors ever since I read Thorn Birds at the age of 14 :)

We took these pictures today in the yard of the local monastery - yes, we have a small monastery in the area. Our residential quarter was once a village right at the outskirts of the capital, with its own church, school, market place, community center, a monastery and even its own graveyard. Most of the houses are long gone, replaced by apartment buildings, but the focal points of communal life are still preserved, snuggled between the tall buildings. In some respects, despite the wide boulevards and subway station, it still has the vibe of living in a village and we love that.

Purple Blouse with Flounce Sleeves for Gaby

Last year in the section for precut small pieces of fabric and remnants in my favourite fabric shop I came upon a piece of very soft and beautiful cotton jacquard fabric and made myself one of my most favourte blouses, using a fairly fresh for that time Burda 12/ 2023  pattern. Not long afterward I found another piece of the same fabric and I snatched it for Gaby, planning to make her the same blouse.

However, when Gaby came for Christmas, she decided that she would prefer a more fitted blouse with interesting 7/8 flounce sleeves.

For the body of the blouse I used my tried-and-true Burda 6820, which I've sewn so far in plenty of variations - boat neck, henley neck, short, 7/8 and long sleeves, deep scoop and crew neck, almost every variation on the fitted T-shirt I could think of :) If I've counted them correctly, this is the eleventh blouse I've made out of this pattern!

As far as modifications go, this one was fairly close to the pattern. I changed the neckline, which I raised significantly and closed with a band and I took in the width of the shoulders by 1.5 cm, as Gaby has fairly narrow shoulders compared to the standard Burda model.

Pattern: BurdaStyle 6820

Size: 36, modified

Fabric: soft cotton jacquard, 1 m

Time to make: 3 days

The only interesting moment in this iteration of the pattern were of course, the flounce sleeves. I watched a couple of videos on the construction of such sleeves and in the end decided on the slash and spread method. I took a piece of paper, cut it in the form of a rectangle with length - the length of the flounce and width -  the width of the sleeve at the point of joining. Then I decided on the desired circumference of the hem of the sleeve, cut the rectangle in six pieces, spread them fan-like and the pattern of the flounce was ready - it's so easy. And because I'm a nerd, I even made a mock-sleeve out of a remnant fabric piece, to be sure, that I had nailed what Gaby had in mind.

I think the blouse came out fairly interesting and I actually plan to make myself a similar one for the spring/summer season out of light cotton-viscose fabric.

Moonlight LDT Dress

There is a tendency each summer for me, to sew identical clothes, which I feel lacking in my wardrobe in a particular point of time. Some years it was Rhapsodies, last year it was yoke tunics, this year its wide short viscose dresses. The latter is no wonder, given the unusual high temperatures we've been having for a second month already.

So, after I finished my last LDT short dress, which I absolutely love to wear, I remembered a piece of fabric I was left with after finishing my mother's nightgown. It is super soft, super tender to the skin viscose knit fabric, which felt perfect for a casual lounge dress.

I used again the LDT, short dress length, the smallest size, which, given how huge American sizing is, is enormous on me. However that was exactly what I was looking for in these hot days. I fidgeted a bit with the shoulders and the arm openings, as the original tank top upper part of the dress is too cut out for my taste. The alternative design, however, intended for sleeves, is too wide - in the end I cut something in between with 6.5 wide shoulders. Next time I might even go to 6 cm wide, or alternatively, use again the tank top version, but with armhole bands.

Pattern: Laundry Day Tee

Size: XS

Fabric: viscose knit

Time to make: 3 days

Do I have now enough short viscose dresses for this summer? IDK, I might need just one more :)

Bright Red Tunic

Last year I made three LDT tunics to be worn with leggings and I still love them and wear them a lot. However, summer this year is so hot, that I found that I prefer a longer tunic to be worn like a short dress without any shorts or leggings. I took out my old LDT dress, now much faded and worn out and came to the conclusion, that I would like something similar out of cotton/viscose knit, but without the sleeves.

I was planning a trip to the fabric shop, but I remembered, that I had a fairly large remnant of cotton-viscose fabric from the T-shirt I made for my husband last summer. As l liked the idea of color combos, with which I experimented in these tunics, I found some matching colorful remnant from this blouse  and I am totally in love with the way these two work together.

I chose the tank top version of the Laundry Day Tee, with the added 3 cm wide armhole bands. It seemed to me, that the wider bands kind of brought the two fabrics better together, but I might be wrong. I'm planning a second short dress out of fabric remnants and I'm going to experiment with narrow finishing bands, so we'll see.

Pattern: Laundry Day Tee

Size: XS

Fabric: bright red cotton-viscose knit and cotton knit

Time to make: 5 days

As my piece of fabric was wide but short, I had to cut the back at the same length as the front. I didn't have enough flowery fabric for the back yoke, so I cut it out of the main fabric. I think it works perfectly like that, with the flower accent at the front and the solid back.

I spent the whole day today working from home in this short dress and I can tell you - it's a winner for the hot days :)