Leather top: Burda 10-2010-119

Burda 10-2010-119

Once I got going, Burda 10-2010-119 took no time at all.  It wasn't particularly challenging either.  It's a pretty simple pattern.

A comment that The Slapdash Sewist made about a blouse I recently made, got me thinking.  She noted that Burda sizing seemed to be getting a little "flattering." Looking in an old book from the library about sewing leather made me realise that leather needs to at least be fitted, if not actually tight.  All those old 80s pictures of baggy, pleated leather pants, etc. really drove the point home to me. With these thoughts in mind, I ran up yet another muslin in a 38, and low and behold it looked the best!

I did a few things differently because it was leather.  I bought special leather needles, but in the end just used a regular needle because the lamb's leather (napa) was so soft.  I used Copydex to glue down the seam allowances.  I applied it thinly with a children's water colour brush.  It dried quickly and was pliable when dry; very important for a garment!  I used a roller foot and only had trouble when sewing the junction of two seams together and of course on the neckline, where I had to sew over all the gathers.  My stitching became very uneven then.  It wasn't the end of the world, though.  You can see a close up here.

Neckline detail

I like this top.  It's comfortable.  The leather is soft, supple and breathes.  I am not sure what to wear with it other than jeans.  I am more of a sewer than a stylist, lol.

I did try to get a picture of me wearing it.  It's just too dark to early these days!  My photographers are all in school or work!

Nobody puts Baby in the corner!

From Burda's January 2010 issue, costume 151

This is why all progress stopped on the leather top.  I'd already cut out the Burda pattern for the leather top when a note came home from school letting me know that I had 5 days to come up with an angel costume for the school nativity play. (It is killing me that you guys keep commenting on how much you like the Butterick pattern now that I am committed to the Burda one.   Ugg!)

Here in the UK, nativity plays are the norm at all state schools.  So basically 95% of all primary school children will be in a nativity pay this December, and there is a whole cultural thing about pushing your child forward and trying to get them to stand out.

Some parent's decided that with such short notice white leggings and a white t-shirt would have to do.  I decided no way to that!  How could I let my little one down, when I have a sewing machine?  Isn't dropping everything to make an angel costume what good moms do?  I felt like she really deserved it too because she feels ugly.  Ugly because she doesn't have yellow hair!  We live in area where most of the children are ethnically English, so the majority of young children have blond hair.  My DD2, has brown hair, brown eyes and olive skin.  She does not feel pretty and has asked for a yellow wig for Xmas!?!  In the long run she is lucky, most white teenagers here are devoted to finding ways to turn their skin caramel, and most of her blond friends will go mousey brown by the time they grow up anyway.  But, for now, I think she needs a pretty dress.

Sewing costumes is so much fun!  Mistakes don't matter, the finish can be ghastly, and all but the most heinous errors are irrelevant.  If only all sewing were so carefree!  Now back to my leather top.

Butterick 3030 Muslin

More pictures taken in the mirror, sorry guys, I know they are poor.

This one might be a little better despite the smudgy rainbow.

So here we have my Butterick 3030 muslin.  It's between this and the Burda 10-2010-119. Unfortunately, I did not have any more poly/cotton twill left for this muslin, so I used some cheap denim.  The denim is about the same weight as the leather, but not the same drape.  It has a much stiffer hand.

Shaving a bit off the sleeve head of the burda version solves the easing problem. So now it is down to which is better style wise.  I think either one will be relatively easy to sew. I usually stay away from raglan sleeves because my shoulders are narrow relative to my hips, and I find that raglan sleeves de-emphasise them.  But I think this pattern is OK.  Maybe due to the dart on top of the ragland sleeve which emphasises the shoulder curve.

Just to remind you for the two styles, I'll repost the pattern drawings.

Butterick 3030

Burda 10-2010-119

I'm about to order some thread and some leather glue so I can finally get going on this one.  I'd certainly welcome and thoughts, opinions, advice, etc before I start cutting!

Burda Blouse: 10-2011-128

BurdaStyle 10-2011-128

My version looks a lot like Burda's.  Total coincidence though, I bought my fabric a few months ago.  I think their fabric is a little nicer.  It's got warmer tones and a smaller print that doesn't have an "geometry" from a distance.

This blouse was not difficult at all.  Of course, I was unable to follow Burda's instructions.  I got hopelessly confused on the second bullet point!  But, it was such a simple blouse that I was able to figure it out for myself.

My version is fine, but I feel a little meh about it.  I think it might be my fabric choice.  I sewed up my usual 40, and I wonder if I should have gone for a 38!  That seems impossible because frankly I've gained back a lot of weight; but it seems baggy/too big in the wrong places.

The cotton lawn I used was from Goldhawk Road and not expensive.  It's a FreeSpirit knock off of a Liberty print.  This fabric was a dream to sew up.  The best behaved fabric ever!  I actually have about a yard and a third left; and I am not sure what to do with it.  I don't really like this print near my face, and I can't imagine making a skirt out of it.  The colours are a little muddy for a quilt.  It's too brown for my little girls to like it.

I'd like to try making another blouse.  One with more details and illustrated instructions!  I am sure I have something in my pattern stash.  Meanwhile, my Butterick t-shirt pattern arrived, so my next job is to muslin up another leather shirt possibility.  I have lots of family in town this weekend, from both sides, so maybe by the end of next week.

Another Muslin

Irene, and Shannon suggested that I might want to try a size 40 (one size down from the 42 I had made last time.)  It was good advice, so I took it:-)

Mirror pictures aren't easy!

Trying to do it without the camera in front of your face is even worse!

I'm not sure that it looks much different, but the 40 certainly doesn't look too small.  So, if I choose this pattern, I'll definitely sew the 40 rather than the 42.  I flared out to a 44 at the hips on this version.  It was too much.  Flaring out to a 42 is plenty.

There were several suggestions to take some of the ease out of the sleeves. This seems like a good plan. I'm not sure how to go about this.  Should I just cut a little off the "top of the mountain"  or shave the "slopes of the mountain"?

Meanwhile, so as to slow myself down and actually wait for the Butterick pattern to arrive and muslin, I am going to make a blouse.  Blouses are everywhere, and I want one!  Well, I want one that is less than 8 years old:-)  I still have a few blouses left from my working days, but they are a little dated!  (Ouch, I am just another statistic of a well educated woman falling out of the jobs market when she has kids.  There are loads of "exit ramps" but are there any "on ramps" for later?)

10-2011-128

I am going to go for Burda 10-2011-128.  It looks like a relatively straight-forward pattern for someone who has NEVER sewn a shirt or blouse!  I plan to make it up in cotton lawn, which I have already pre-washed.  Since I plan to machine wash and dry this blouse, I want to make sure that the seams don't unravel.  French seams on the sides and shoulders seam like a straight forward option, but I am unsure about what to do with the arm-hole seams.  What would you do?

Leather shirt muslin

Trying to take my own picture.

Ok, I have a trio of poor qualities photos for you here.  But I think you get the idea.  This is a muslin for Burdastyle's 10-2010-119, made up in thin, cotton/poly twill.  I cut a 42, rather than my usual 40.  I want to be able to wear a long sleeved t-shirt underneath it.  As usual, I flared out to the next size up from the waist to the hem at the side seams.  I think it looks pretty good.  I wonder if it is a little too big under the arms and through the rib cage, but I am worried about over-fitting and ruining a very posh-top! Please feel free to offer feedback on the muslin.  If  you see something a bit off here, please tell me!  Don't let me waste my precious leather.

And trying again.  Look at the earnest concentration on my face!

And, again!

The Butterick pattern hasn't arrived yet in the post for me to try.  I have to admit that I am pretty happy with this one.  I am just slightly worried about easing in the sleeves.  I tried to sew the muslin as I would the leather.  So no tugging on the shoulders to work in the sleeves, and clothes pins rather than sewing pins.  I ended up with a small pucker on each sleeve.  I don't think I can iron tiny puckers out of leather like I can with fabric.  Also, while leather stretches, I am worried, if I stretch it a bit in the easing process, it may not un-stretch.  So, a lot to consider here.

So, what was I thinking when I bought all that leather?

Well, I was sort of thinking this:

Yves Saint Laurent from Net-a-Porter

Or maybe this:

Raquel Allegra, Net-a-Porter

Or, even this:

Phillip Lim, Net-a-Porter

I like the leather t-shirts better than the leather button down shirts that are out right now.  It's a good thing too because the t-shirts are bound to be much easier to sew.  They look sort of Modern and Minimalist as opposed to Western.

In order to make my shirt there are a few patterns I am considering.  First there is Burda's take on the leather shirt trend from October 2010:

Burda 10-2010-119

The line drawing:

Burda 10-2010-119

I am also thinking of using Butterick's 3030, labelled "fast and easy."

B3030

This one gives lots of options for getting the most efficient cuts out of my leather and would also assist in mixing materials like Lindsay T did to such good effect.  It also looks like I could avoid easing in sleeves altogether.  Very appealing when sewing with something expensive, where you only get one chance at it.

Obviously, even a lazy girl like myself is going to have to make a few muslins and decide.

Back from NYC

I just got back from NYC.  I went to see my little sister.  She just had her first baby.  My nephew is an adorable, smily, charming, gorgeous, absolutely lush little thing.  But, we all know how much work new babies are, especially precious first borns.  Even the good ones don't sleep for long stretches and seem to need nursing all the time.

He just turned 3 months old while I was there!

Besides being a doting aunt, I did do a few sewing related things.  First I sewed sheer curtains for my nephew's room.  His room is dual aspect which is great, but the room wasn't sunny because it is at street level and the heavy drapes were down all the time for privacy.  I didn't do the best job on the sheers, but I got it done, something my sister would simply never have had the time to do.  The room is now both light and private.  Had it been me, I would have simply ordered some sheers on line from JCPenny or WalMart or something and taken them in from the top if need be.  My sister had already gone out and bought the fabric though, so we went with what she had.  I think WalMart and JCPenny just don't spring to mind for people who lead sophisticated lives in Manhattan.

She had an entry level brother sewing machine.  Other than being very lightweight, it was a nice little machine with a good straight stitch.  A newbie sewer could do some proper dress making on a machine like that without having to make much of an initial investment.

Brother CS-6000i, I think she found it on sale for a little over $100.

The second sewing related activity was the garment district.  Oooooooo
When my sister and nephew went to a Mom and Baby group one afternoon, I headed on down to the garment district, armed with Meg's information about all the shops.  Without her, I would never have known that shops would be anywhere but the ground level.  It was a wonderland.  I wish that I had more than an afternoon to explore it, I could have easily spent a week.  But the time I had in NYC was short and very precious, and I preferred to spend it with family.

The fashion Centre also produces maps and guides, but I found Meg's well edited blog more user-friendly for an outsider.

I dropped into Global Leathers just out of curiosity, with no intention to buy anything.  The men running the place were a little gruff, but I was very respectful and spoke Spanish with them which seemed to be the main language of their shop, and they softened up in the end.  Well, I spent all my money there and that was the end of that!

I bought two very soft and drape-y lambskins.

I also bought 4 sheep-skins.  When the fleece is straight like that they call it "Toscana" which is more popular in London at the moment than the short, white, curly kind.  I didn't see any "Persian Lamb" which is when it is black with medium soft curls.

Next, I went to meet Meg for a quick coffee.  She was able to take a break from work and say hello.  She was as kind and as pretty in real-life as on her blog.  She was the first person to put me on her blogroll which was very generous and gave me a big boost.  Even though I had already gone a little nuts and was running out of time, she advised that I have a quick look at Mood and then Pacific trimmings.

It was great advice.  I'm glad that I didn't miss these stores.  Mood had an amazing selection of fabric with lots of hard to get colours.  I was very tempted by some mustard coloured knits and some wool/cashmere pumpkin coloured coating.  But I really had spent all my money, so I left empty handed!  At Pacific Trimmings I bought some buttons and snaps and closures.  I even saw Gretchen of Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing fame looking at buttons.  I said nothing and ignored her, this you see is the polite, British way of dealing with celebrities.

There is always enough pocket change left for a few buttons!

Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to go to NYC for a week with your whole year's fabric budget and just spend it all in this Disneyworld of fabric?  Whizzing around on elevators in early 20th century buildings with elevator operators and old mail shoots?