2017 Challenges: February

Time to reveal my February challenge garments! (See also: what my 2017 challenges are about and January's items)

Magazine Challenge: Striped top (Burda 03-2017-126A)

I feel like if you are going to pay for an annual subscription to Burda, you kind of owe it to yourself to make up some of the magazine's weirder and more baffling patterns every so often. Plus, the whole point of my Magazine Challenge was always to make garments that are at the more unique and interesting end of the pattern spectrum. Those are my excuses, anyway, for the fact that this month my Magazine Challenge garment is this wacky top pattern from the Plus section of Burda 03-2017:

Burda 03-2017-126A (Plus) top, images from Burdastyle.ru

The description in Burda is kind of hilarious. "A chic combination of the stripes results in a relaxed shirt with a waistcoat effect" it says. Um. What? I mean, first of all, does it really look like a waistcoat? I can't say that even vaguely came to my mind when I saw it. And then second, is a "waistcoat effect" even something anyone wants to achieve? I feel like if I wanted to look like I was wearing one I'd, you know, wear a waistcoat. Baffling. As usual, it's probably best to ignore Burda's commentary altogether.

Burda 03-2017-126A: My version, on Flossie, front view

As for the rest of the world's commentary, well, every opinion I've seen on the internet has recoiled in horror from this pattern/fabric combination, but I don't even remotely care that everyone else seems to hate it. As soon as I saw this pattern in the previews I knew I wanted to make it at some point this year. I hadn't really thought to make it during February as it's not really useful in the current season, nor even really in the spring. However, when it came down to it I was way more enthusiastic about making this than anything else this month so I plunged ahead despite the fact I won't get to wear it for a while. It won't come to harm hanging in my wardrobe until the weather warms up.

Despite my allegedly cast-iron resolve (actually more the consistency of jello) not to buy fabric for these challenges but to use things I already have, I had to buy something to make up this pattern. I desperately wanted to make the striped version (126A -- 126B is a plain single colour version) and didn't have anything suitable at all. In the end I picked up a one-off remnant piece of viscose morocain crepe on eBay. I knew the variable width stripe would make the pattern more complicated to cut, but I thought it would also be more interesting overall as well, which proved correct, in my opinion. The fabric itself is pleasantly floaty and should be cool to wear in the summer.

Burda 03-2017-126A: My version, on Flossie, back view

I made a size 44, as per usual in Burda tops -- this is a Plus pattern, so the 44 is the smallest size -- and made absolutely no modifications whatsoever. I usually do at least a small square shoulder adjustment with Burda but the shoulder line on this is super straight to start with, so there was no need.

Sewing wise, this pattern is rated easy and has only 4 large pattern pieces and a piece of bias binding. It definitely lived up to the easy billing, even though I did a little extra work because I decided to French seam throughout. In fact, by far the most time consuming part of making this top was laying out the pattern to put the stripes in the right places, especially since the pattern calls for the pieces positioned both on the grain and the cross-grain. And then just to complicate matters when I was pressing my fabric I discovered a small but awkwardly placed flaw that I had to work around!

Burda 03-2017-126A: My version, on Flossie, side view, showing my extremely non-matching shoulder seams

My main stripe matching failure is at the shoulder seam -- the front and back don't match at all. Honestly, though, I didn't even try. I was much more concerned to get the right and left sides to match and to fit everything on my, just barely adequately sized, piece of fabric. I had nothing bigger than a handkerchief -- in fact, nothing as big as a handkerchief! - left of my fabric at the end and even had to piece my bias binding, so I'm not even going to spare a thought for those non-matching shoulder seams.

Burda 03-2017-126A: My version, as modelled by me

The problem with the bizarre end of Burda's patterns is that I can't always tell how they're going to look on me because it's not like I own something similar. I am always a bit nervous when I hit the first moment when I can try it on. However, I actually really like how this looks on! :D I think it's quite striking and unusual even though when I stood still for the photos it doesn't seem to do much for my wide-shouldered body type. In motion/not standing stiffly the hem flares and floats a lot more and it looks more balanced.This summer I'll most likely wear it with navy or white linen trousers or shorts.

In conclusion: A+ Magazine Challenge item, patting myself on the back hourly for having decided to make it.

Wishlist Challenge: Stretch Lace Tank Top

Whereas some of my wishlist items are individual garments, I have a few things on my list that are like "figure out the perfect TNT [garment]". This is one of them -- I want to be able to produce pretty knit and woven tank/camisole tops with embellishment/lace/layering as needed. This particular version of that wishlist item is a stretch lace two layer top. The challenging aspect of what is otherwise a very basic garment was that I wanted to have a go at doing a lined (rather than bound) finish at the neckline and armholes.

February Wishlist 2017: Two-layer tank top in navy stretch lace and navy lycra

The pattern I used for this version is a very basic one that I first used around this time last year to make some simple lingerie type tank tops. It's from my one and only copy of the German magazine Diane Moden, the Spring 2008 issue. Of course, with my massive collection of magazines etc I had any number of similar basic patterns available. However, I quite liked the shape of the neckline on this one and I already had it traced, so I figured why re-invent the wheel.

Re-making the pattern with a piece of blue figured knit

I actually started by re-making the pattern, albeit with a modified scoop neckline, in a small piece of pale blue polyester knit that was lurking in my scrap basket. This served several purposes -- I wanted to check out whether a problem with the fit at the back neck I'd noticed with my previous versions was due to the pattern or my previous execution of the binding (it was the latter), I needed to replace a blue tank top in my wardrobe anyway, I was keen to use up this piece of scrap fabric that had been hanging about a while now, and I really wanted to sew something easy and very likely to be successful that particular day. This little top successfully ticked all boxes!

The original pattern, as you can see from this pale blue version, is bound in the usual way at the neckline and armholes. For a little help on the finishing of the navy version, I used a combination of the instructions for a similar Ottobre pattern, 02-2014-09, a V-neck sleeveless top with a partial lining, and this Sew, Mama, Sew blog post where the lining extends to the hem but the armholes are just turned and stitched rather than attached to the lining.

Lace layer clipped up to show the navy lycra layer below

Using this advice I got all the way through attaching the lace and lining together at the neckline and one armhole and then... I don't know what happened, my brain shorted out and I sewed the second armhole wrong not once but TWICE. If there is anything more exasperating that unpicking overlocker stitches in dark coloured thread from stretch lace, I haven't found it yet, unless it's doing it twice! Eventually I got my brain in order though and managed to finish off the second armhole. The lining hangs loose below the armhole and I hemmed the two layers separately, the lace layer slightly longer than the lycra layer.

Overall, I am quite pleased with this particular top as an individual garment, and also more or less pleased with it as an experiment in doing a two layer top of this type. Perhaps inevitably, since this is the first time I've done this kind of neckline/armhole finish, it didn't come out 100% perfect (or even 90%, if I'm being realistic) and I didn't do the fabric any favours unpicking that armhole twice, but it's OK and definitely wearable, especially as a lower layer. However, I'm not sure this pattern/finishing technique is going to be the TNT combination I was looking for. I want to try out some more ideas on the camisole front -- in particular I want to try out some woven patterns that include lace and are cut on the bias -- so I might return to this wishlist item later in the year.