Playing with the Seam of Hearts

Finally, it's sewn!






My rating: Great pattern, but needs further modifications to better suit me.

The cut fabric from this pattern have been sitting around for exactly two weeks now! I thought I sew this before it becomes a UFO!




Pattern Description
"Graphic retro-prints on feminine garments are great fashion! This batiste blouse sports a peplum and short, puffed sleeves as well as true-to-style self-fabric button loops and pretty little buttons."

Sizes
Burda sizes 34-42. I sewed a "40". I could have gone down a size or reduce the seam allowances for a more fitted style. But it's better to be safe than sorry!

Fabric used
A stretch woven cotton from Gorgeous Things.

Favorite Features
*The hooped buttonholes
*The wide peplum that does not overwhelm or flare out so much
*The puffed sleeves with the banded bottom
*The front yoke
*No interfacing needed, but optional depending on the fabric


Other Features
*Bias finished neckline
*Underlap at left front for button
*Top gathered above peplum, giving a blouson or billowy look, which I have mixed feelings about.
*Not obvious in the technical drawing, is a peek-a-boo opening (a design feature which I prefer to skip)on the bottom front edge.


Pattern Pieces to Cut
Traced pieces
front, front facing, front yoke, front peplum, back (on a fold), back peplum (on a fold) and sleeve


Rectangular pieces with given lengths and widths that you measure and cut directly from fabric
left fastening underlap, bias strip, 2 bias binding strips for lower edges of sleeves and a bias strip for the neckline.


Directions
Surprisingly somewhat more detailed and understandable than the usual cryptic Burda WOF. However, throughout the entire construction process I used my "stop, think, re-read, and visualize" method before hitting the pedal! Things like finishing the edges of facings are not mentioned.

Hang on Loop-Y
The first step started with creating the button loops. If I have never created these before, I would have been lost from the start. I used 14" length of fabric instead of 12", still keeping the 1 1/4" or 3 cm width, to ensure that my loops accommodate my 5/8" diameter buttons. Instead of using a darning needle to turn the string of fabric right side out, I used a safety pin. Then I divided the length by 6, cutting 6 little tubes each having a length of 2 1/3". Wow, sewing and math certainly go hand in hand! Then I folded each piece into a "U" and attached the 6 "U"s to the wearer's right front edge, so that the raw edges of the "U"s lie along the edge and the "U" curve faces away from the center.





Here's the wearer's right front with button loops and the front facing attached over the front edge, right sides together.


The Underlap of Luxury
Then the next set of instructions pertained to attaching the wearer's left underlap and the front facings. After stopping and visualizing for some time about what I read in the bulleted section, it became clear to me.


Here's the left underlap with the front facing attached over it . The left underlap was made by rectangular piece sewn at the edges, right sides together and turned outward.




Here's the wearer's right side and left side of the blouse before I attached the yokes. As seen in the this photo and mentioned by Burda, the underlap will be shorter than the length of the front piece due to the seam allowance for the yoke and one for the front peplum.



Come Together
The next mentioned steps seemed straightforward (very much quoting what I read):
*attaching the front yokes to the fronts
*gathering the lower edges of the fronts between the asterisks and stitching the peplums to the front
*gathering the lower edge of the back between the asterisks, and *stitching the back peplum to the back of the blouse.
*stitch side seams and shoulder seams

Never Can Say Good Bias

Here's the finishing for the neckline created from fabric cut on a bias strip, folded lengthwise attached to the neckline and the front facing, turned outwards. After stitching the raw edges of the bias strip to the neckline, I turned the facing back in, turned the strip to the inside and stitched 3/8" from the edge


Hem the One Your Width
I hemmed the entire bottom edge of the blouse after folding out the facings, stitching to the desired length, trimming up to the stitching, and turning the facing back in.


Daydream Be-Sleever
Sleeve construction should be fine, especially if you have experience (ah, from any of the big 4 patterns) in setting-in sleeves gathered at the cap and binding the gathered lower edges with bias strips, with raw edges turned to the inside and topstitched.

Yes, this is typical Burda, "Gather sleeves and set in."


Modifications
* I added 1 1/2" to the length of the front and back pattern pieces. Ladies with longer torsos need to adjust accordingly.
* As mentioned earlier, I increased the length of the bias strip used to make button loops
* I slightly gathered lower edges of the yokes to ease onto the top edge of the front pieces of the blouse.


Conclusion
With the exception of the billowy characteristic above the peplum (which looks better on people who have longer torsos), I like the overall style and distinctive details of this top (button loops, front yoke, and puffed sleeves). If you have a copy of the August 2008 of Burda WOF, I would highly recommend sewing it! This style would hopefully work better for you than for me! If I make this top again, I would definitely omit the peplum, narrow the waistline, and lengthen the top to better suit my frame and figure.

This pattern has a nice overall design and is nicely drafted.