The Pleat is On!
One of the things on my to-do list is to sew a white, ruffled front blouse.

Last spring, I found this picture of a famous suburban housewife that became an inspiration to make a ruffled front top, except I cannot make something in her size. Before she became a household name, I remember watching her in Young and the Restless (as Isabella, Paul William's ex-wife, if you are a fan).





As I was browsing the December 2008 issue, I found something that caught my attention, pattern #126







I thought this would be a nice opportunity to make something from the December 2008 issue, which paid tribute to the Bambi awards. I completed this shirt in time before the Golden Globes Awards aired. Heather insisted that I pose with her friend Bolt. Due to starring in a motion picture nominated for best animated film, Bolt then dashed to the Golden Globe Awards that late afternoon, leaving Heather and I at home. Oh well....


Pattern Description
"A bib with pleated ruffles, covered buttons, and turnback cuffs - all in white silk taffeta. This is the perfect blouse for a dinner suit/tuxedo! It's irresistibly sexy when worn casually - unbuttoned, with turned-back sleeves and loose bow tie that should be anchored to the collar stand with a few stitches."

Sizes
Burda sizes 36 - 44. I sewed a "40" at the shoulders, tapering to a "42" at the hips. I usually wear a RTW 12 and sew a "14" from the big 4.


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Probably yes, if I use turnback cuffs, turn up my collar, not fully button my shirt, and make that seductive pose.


Fabric Used
For my muslin, I used cheap, polyester pongee in my local Yardage Town. I found this in the linings section. It is slightly slippery and has a tendency to run with some tugging.


Favorite Features
* Overall fit
* Tuxedo look from the pleated front
* Collar with stand
* Versatility
* Not a difficult shirt to construct. It's just somewhat time consuming.



Not-so-favorite Features
*Making the pleats (seemed to take some time for me!)
*A little excess of ease at the sleeve caps
*Somewhat tricky fabric that was prone to runs and puckers. Even the upper sleeves of the model's shirt has some little puckers!


Directions
For my Burda WOF patterns, I find it convenient to scan/copy the technical drawing and directions from the magazine and tape them to a folded piece of construction paper (stapled at the edges) that also acts like a envelope for pattern storage.

The directions were organized and sufficient for those who have experience with making a button-down shirt with a collar and cuffs. Still I was somewhat baffled due to the wording in some steps.

Pleat It, Just Pleat It!
I made a 1/4" narrow hem at the outer edge of each pleat instead of zig-zagging as directed. The pleats go downward, where one line segment meets one just below it. With all these line segments, it is easy to lose track of which goes where. I have almost given up on what seemed like a very simple task: fold down, match symbols and pin, then fold down, match symbols and pin. Then I would start all over due to some confusion!


In transferring the markings from the pattern piece to the fabric, I lightly penciled a pair of X's and a pair of 0's along the edges to distinguish among the pairs of line segments, like this:
X




X





0




0





X




X
etc...

For instance, the top X folds down to meet the subsequent X. The O folds down to meet the subsequent O, continuing to the last pair of letters.

Most likely due to operator error, each of my pleated bands had an excess of 5" length beyond the length of the front edge of the shirt. In comparing with the photo in the magazine, each of my pleats seemed a tad longer than what was on th model. Maybe I skipped some pleats which contributed to the excess. I did not worry about the discrepancy and just snipped off the extra fabric.




Band on the Run
After sewing the front vertical darts, back center seam, shoulder seams, side seams, and the pleated band to the edge of the front, my confusion grew after reading the steps to make the front band and cuffs! So I abandoned Burda WOF's steps to create the front band and immediately referred to BusyMom's technique for a RTW look that she used for her gorgeous Butterick aubergine blouse. I also want to do away with sewing the front band to the front edge of the blouse, right sides together, folding the band in half, turning to the inside and slipstitching/handstitching the folded raw edge or seam allowance to the inside seam. Instead, I sewed the band's right side to the wrong side of the front edge and turned it to the outside, folded it in half so that the raw edge to be tucked under could be topstitched.


Modifications
*Used the method as described earlier to attach the front band
*Decreased the width of the vertical darts
*Omitted the sleeve vents and replaced the upturned cuffs with slightly flounced cuffs.


Would you sew this again?
Yes! Next time I plan to omit the pleated front, but include the sleeve vents and the upturned cuffs. I noticed that I need to tweak the sleeves to reduce the lines that bother me.


Conclusion
If you like the style, go for it! The white tuxedo-styled shirt goes great with a long, flowing black skirt for a nice evening out. Without the pleated front, it is really a nice basic shirt with a lot of possibilities.