Reviews: BWOF 3/09 #106, and the latest issue

FINALLY finished this one on Sunday. I swear, this blouse had it out for me– it just did not want to get sewn! First I had trouble figuring out how to put the yoke on, which still didn’t end up lying quite as flat as I’d like. Then I had trouble figuring out what the heck to do with the sleeve cuffs, but I got some help there (more on that later in the review.) Then my experiments on scraps revealed that my machine and this fabric was not going to come together in a nice-looking buttonhole. Then, I finally thought I was done….and discovered that the hem on one side of the front had somehow ended up an inch longer than the other side of the front! Fortunately, I still like the results…

Pattern: Burda World of Fashion 3/09, #106
Pattern Description: Fitted tunic-length blouse with 3/4 cuffed sleeves and drawstring neckline.

Pattern Sizing: 36-44. I made the size 38.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, pretty much.

Were the instructions easy to follow? It was a little harder for me, since this was my first BWOF pattern, and I’m used to instructions that are fully spelled out (or just winging it on clothing reconstructions.) So I had a little trouble sorting out the collar and the cuffs– but I got some hints from Christina on how to do the collar, and she was kind enough to also give me her suggestions on how to do the cuffs!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the drawstring neckline! It’s such a unique feature, and I like that I can adjust it to whatever I want– higher for wearing by itself, lower for layering. I did have a bit of trouble with getting the yoke to work right, but that was more me not yet knowing my way around a BWOF pattern than anything else, I think.

(And here you go, Rose, a glimpse of my henna’d up hair… not a very drastic change at all, and better seen in the sunlight.)

Fabric Used: some kind of light grey cotton or cotton blend that was sitting around in my stash–I think someone gave it to my mom and then she passed it on to me, because this was NOT a color I would have bought on my own! (Incidentally, this one puts me at 4/6 out of stash used vs. fabric bought this year. I’m catching up!)

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: None.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I’d definitely sew this again–if only to work out the couple of issues that I had sewing it, so I can make it even better! And yes, I’d recommend it.

Conclusion: This one’s a keeper. Flattering fit, and it would be easy to customize the sleeves for a different look.

And that’s the end of the review. Just one more note about those buttonholes I mentioned– I did machine- sew the ones for the drawstrings, though I kind of wish now that I hadn’t because they’re kind of badly placed and skewed. For the ones on the front of the blouse, which doesn’t have an interfaced front facing, I ended up following the instructions from CraftStylish for how to hand-sew the buttonholes. The results were much nicer than my machine would have made them (the test ones had a huge gap between where they started and ended, and were puckering the lightweight fabric badly)…and I was surprised that they were actually kind of fun to do. Not saying I’d want to do that all the time, but it was a nice, relaxing TV-watching project.

Also, over the weekend, I got the April issue of BWOF. Sadly, this one didn’t have nearly as many things that jumped out at me as the March issue did. For one thing, one of the main features was on wedding dresses. Since I’m as single as it gets/burned out on wedding sewing at the moment for obvious reasons, this set of patterns was overall pretty useless to me. Unless for some reason I have an urge to dress up like Giselle from Enchanted. It’s pretty safe to say that nothing in this collection was screaming “dream wedding dress” at me. And, I have to say, jumpsuits? Seriously? I mean, face it, just because two things can be merged together into one article of clothing doesn’t mean they should. And jumpsuits are for babies who are constantly having to be changed anyway. And the Dharma Initiative. (Mmmm, Sawyer.) Any article of clothing that requires completely stripping down to use the toilet should be forbidden. The section on basics was ok, and I know sometimes they have to be made, but those type of garments generally don’t jump up and down and scream “ooh, sew me! sew me!” At least not to me. (I will admit, though, that these pants are promising.) The kids’ clothing section actually had some really cute stuff, but I don’t have any kids to sew for, so skipping that. (Other than to say, in the words of the Simpsons, “D’oh! A deer?” Lol….) Normally I’d be all about the bright colors, and this skirt is rather fun, but the elastic on the bottom of this jacket makes it scream 80s at me. And in my closet, 80’s = run away at least a decade or two back. There were a couple other of tops/dresses I like, but they’re so low-cut, and styled in such a way that I don’t know if they’d look right with a raised neckline, that I don’t know if I could ever sew them.

So, most promising to me was the India-inspired collection. I like the hippie-looking tunic, and this dress is just so pretty, and I think I already have the perfect crinkled fabric to make this blouse (which I’ve been trying to figure out what to make out of it for something like a year and a half! And this would be to wear over something else, of course.) So not a total loss on this month!

On a completely random note, I think it’s past time for me to change the picture on my blog header. I hope I can remember how to change the colors!!