Quick Christmas Sewing

The time around Christmas, when Gaby visits us, is usually, apart from all the family cooking and feasting and all the other activities we do together, also time for some last minute frenzied sewing. I'm just that kind of person, I love it when I can make something with my own hands for my close and extended family.

This summer I sewed some curtains for Gaby's kitchen and as an addition to my Christmas presents I decided to sew a matching tablecloth for the kitchen table. I bought a big piece of fabric and made two tablecloths - one for Gaby and Vali's kitchen and a smaller tablecloth for our kitchen table too, out of the remaining fabric. Yes, I love using up all the fabric, when possible!

Earlier this year I made a t-shirt for Vali, which he loved, so I bough another piece of cotton viscose fabric and made him another t-shirt for Christmas.

The fabric is divinely soft and pleasant on touch, I really hope he likes his present.

Pattern: Burda #132 from 12 / 2020

Size: 46

Fabric: cotton viscose knit

Time to make: 2 days

This year Gaby joined a folk dance club in Vienna and she asked for a simple black t-shirt and short black skirt for her folk dance practice. For the t-shirt I chose a true-and-tried-many-times Burda basic t-shirt pattern - 6820. My light modifications - I shortened the sleeves to make them 7/8 and raised the neckline, which I finished with a simple covering band.

Pattern: Burda 6820

Size: 36, shortened sleeves, raised neckline

Fabric: black cotton knit

Time to make: 1 day

The skirt is a shortened version of the skirt of the Willow Wrap Dress by Love Notions, which I made this summer for myself, so I knew the pattern. It is super simple, with two seams at the sides and a waistband with an elastic.

Pattern: Willow Wrap dress by Love Notions

Size: xs, shortened

Fabric: french terry

Time to make: 1 day

Tropical Stripes

Last month I bought a few pieces of nice summer fabric in order to make some new T-shirts and blouses for Gaby. We expect her next week for the Orthodox Easter and I was hoping to welcome her with a whole new spring wardrobe. 

As it happened, I wasn't productive at all last month and I only managed to sew one of the fabrics - cotton viscose knit in bright tropical stripes. 

The pattern is a Burda T-shirt pattern with interesting sleeves I bought last year, but never actually made. The pattern is a version of my favourite Burda 6820 (I compared the pattern pieces), the only mods they've made to their original pattern are a bit wider neckline and the cherry of the cake - the sleeves.

As I like the form of the neckline of 6820 better, I actually used my true and tried pattern pieces for the front and the back of Burda 6820 and only the sleeves from Burda 119 07/2019.

 

Pattern: Burda 6820 + Burda 119 07/2019

Size: 36, with corrections

Fabric: striped cotton-viscose knit

Time to make: 2 days

The blouse came out nice and cheery, I hope Gaby will wear it this summer; I can already see it with a few bottoms I know she has in her summer wardrobe that would match the colors of the blouse perfectly.

Striped Longsleeve

My latest make - another hybrid blouse.

Last year in their September issue Burda released a boatneck pattern and I watched it eagerly for almost two months, until I caught a sale and bought it. Unfortunately the pattern didn't live up to the hype - in reality it was somewhat shapeless and the arm opening was much wider than the sleeve circumference - a definite no-no in pattern making. I made the blouse, making corrections in the process, but was dissatisfied with the design.

So, when I bought this soft drape cotton-viscose striped knit fabric, I knew I wanted a boatneck fitted tee, something similar to my favourite Schkatulka tees or the tried-and-true Burda 6820 basic fitted tee, but with a twist - the boatneck design element from the 09/2021 issue.

And thus this hybrid blouse was born - the body up to the armholes and the sleeves are from Burda 6820, and the parts above the armholes of the front and the back are from the #102 09/2021, with the necessary corrections in width, so that the armholes would fit the 6820 sleeves. 

How about stripe matching! :)))

When I cut the body of the 6820, I added 1.5 cm seam allowances, but took off only 0.8 cm on the overlocker, so the body is a bit more relaxed than the usual fit of the 6820 for size 36. I also added 3 cm to the width of the sleeves at the cuffs, so that the sleeves are not so fitted and I can pull them up easily on a warm spring/autumn day.

 

Pattern: Burda 6820 + Burda 102 09/2021

Size: 36, with corrections

Fabric: striped cotton-viscose knit

Time to make: 3 days

As, with my first make of this pattern, I sewed fixed the overlap at the shoulders - the open shoulder didn't sit well at all, but the fixed closure is comfortable and makes the T-shirt just a little bit more unusual than a simple store-bought sailor t-shirt.

Now that I have this boatneck pattern out of my system, I can move on to other T-shirt designs.