HotPattern Giveaway!

So far, it been a hot summer in my part of the world.  I want to celebrate the hot weather with a Hot Pattern Giveaway.


Here are the patterns:

HP: 1052:  Classix Nouveau Great White Shirt

HP 1033:  Plain & Simple Fitted T Redux

HP 1120:  Classix Nouveau Primavera Dress

Here are the facts:

HP1052 Classix Nouveau Great White Shirt:  I picked this up from the pattern exchange table at PR Weekend 2011.  It's one of the first HotPatterns – back when there were three size ranges:  Slinky Girl, Glamour Girls and Curvy Girl.  This pattern is Glamour Girl (sizes 12 - 20). I've never used it, and I don't know if the former owner used it.
HP 1033 Plain & Simple Fitted T-Shirt Redux: This is only pattern of the three I actually used.  I cut away the instructions from the rest of the pattern sheet.  The instruction sheet, of course, is included. Otherwise the sheets are intact.  All sizes (6 - 26) are included.
HP1120 Classix Nouveau Primavera Dress:  This pattern has had only one owner - me.  I've never used it.  All sizes (6 - 26) are included.


Here are the rules:

1. Indicate your interest in owning these patterns by leaving a comment on this post before August 1, 2012. Being a follower isn't required, but I invite you to become one if you haven't already done so.
2. The winner gets all three patterns.
3. The winner will be chosen by random number generator.  I'll announce the winner here on the blog and ask the winner to email their mailing address to me.
4. No shipping outside the USA

The winner will be announced on Thursday, August 2, 2012.  Good luck!

My First Hot Pattern

I'm probably the last person on earth to try Hot Patterns.  What's not to like?  There is a great variety of designs from current and trendy to timeless and classic.  All designs come in plus sizes. There is even a whole line called "Plain and Simple" which describes my tastes exactly!  I decided it was finally time to try Hot Patterns.

For my first attempt, I chose HP1133:  Plain and Simple Fitted T.  I had over three yards of a knit I didn't like anyway - just in case the pattern didn't work out.  I chose the size based on my measurements and the fit was too awful to photograph.  With the leftover fabric I tried a second shirt two sizes larger and the fit wasn't any better.  The top really needed darts. The fault was not Hot Patterns' though. My body is just not suited for a fitted t-shirt. The fabric was perfect for experimentation so I really didn't mind throwing it away on two poorly fitting t-shirts. And the shirts sewed up very quickly so I didn't waste a lot of time.  There is a Plain and Simple Relaxed T-shirt that I may or may not try.  So far, I haven't warmed up to Hot Patterns.  (warmed up to Hot Patterns - get it?)

I ordered two patterns:  the t-shirt and HP 1120:  Classix Nouveau Primavera dress.  I still want to make the dress before I completely give up on Hot Patterns.  I'm sure I can find some $2.00/yd fabric at JoMar that I would like well enough if the dress works out and that I won't mind getting rid of if it doesn't.  When I read Hot Pattern reviews on PatternReview, they seemed to need lots of tweaking.   Trudy, the designer, always recommends making muslins, but I have been able to get away with not making muslins when I use Burda patterns.  I liked the online support available for HotPatterns on YouTube, but the YouTube support won't matter if I have to spend extra time fitting and making muslins.

I really want to like Hot Patterns.  I'm trying explore other independent patterns and to loosen the ties that bind me to Burda.  But if the dress pattern is as disappointing as the t-shirt pattern, I'll probably end up doing a giveaway.

Finished: BSM 10-2011-137 & BSM 02-10-137

See sidebar for PR Review or
 click here: Pants   Blouse 

Bringing this outfit to fruition was like a birthing a 12 pound baby after a 36 hour labor.  The biggest obstacle was my OCD about matching fabrics.  Then I took a little quilting detour in the middle of the project.  But, it's finished.

Pants:  BSM 10-11-137

I don't remember where I bought the fabric for the pants, but if I'd known it would be so hard to match, I would have left it in the store.  The fabric is woven with dark olive green and brown threads (and even a little black) so it doesn't know if it wants to be green or brown.  If I chose brown as a coordinating fabric, the fabric looked green and vice versa.  I took the swatch to three different fabric stores hoping to find a coordinating fabric for a blouse.  I'm not entirely happy with my final choice but I just refused to worry about it anymore.  Lesson learned:  Get over this unhealthy "fabrics have to match" obsession!

I added a partial lining to the front of the pants.  This technique was used on another Burda pants pattern I made recently and I like the results.  I traced the pants front, including the hip yoke section, to just below the knee.  After the pockets were finished, I basted the lining to the pants front and treated the two layers as one.  Technically, the technique I used is underlining, not lining.

From Threads website:

Underlining vs. lining
Let's clear up one point first: lining and underlining a garment are two different procedures, and depending on their purpose, one or both can be used in a single piece of clothing. Usually cut from a slippery fabric, lining is attached only at the garment's waistband or neck, and sometimes its hem -- otherwise, it hangs free in the garment. It's generally used to give a finished look to the inside of the garment, prevent seams from raveling, reduce wrinkling, help conceal some figure faults, and make a garment easier to slip on and off.

Underlining, on the other hand, is cut from the same pattern pieces as the fashion fabric and is attached before construction begins. Then, as the garment is constructed, the underlining and fashion fabric are handled as a single unit. Most often, underlining is cut from fine cotton batiste, light- to medium-weight cotton broadcloth, or silk organza. But a variety of other materials can also be used to underline a fashion fabric.

Blouse:  BSM 02-10-137 

I bought three different pieces of fabric to make a top for the pants.  The more I worked with the first piece, a green silk, the less I liked it with the pants fabric.  It wasn't the right green.  So I set it aside, hoping it wouldn't morph into a UFO, and I ordered a tan knit. I didn't like that either.  I finally found a dark olive peachskin at JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts.

The same main pattern pieces are used for the blouse and a dress.  The blouse instructions say to add 5/8" seam allowances and the dress instructions specify a 3/8" seam allowance.  Because the blouse front is placed on the fold, it is impossible to add 5/8" seam allowance to the front placket area – that would eliminate the placket opening. There has to be a 3/8" seam allowance on the placket opening and on the front band.  There is no mention of that in the seam allowance instructions.  Fortunately, I remembered this problem from the first time I sewed this pattern.  It's not enough to thoroughly read Burda's instructions for the garment I'm sewing.  Now, I have to read the instructions for all of the garments that use the same pieces.  Sheesh.

For some unknown reason, I wanted to make and use piping.  This blouse called for pleated trim around the placket and cuffs.  I substituted the piping.  I've never been overly successful making bias strips by the sew-a-twisted-tube method.  I found an easier method that requires folding a square or rectangle of fabric.  Another little tip:  The Bernina bulky overlock foot #12 is recommended for making piping.  However, my piping was much thinner than the channel in the foot so the foot wasn't securely holding the filler cord in position.  I used the three-groove pintuck foot #30 instead and it worked beautifully.

I used polyester peachskin to make this blouse. I know I vowed never to sew polyester again, but promises are made to be broken, right?  I was more concerned about the color than anything else.

Let There Be Light!

One month ago, if anyone asked me if I had enough light in my sewing room, I would have said "Yes, of course".  And I would have been wrong.

I used to have one lamp clamped to a bookcase that was used to light either the cutting table or the ironing board.  I also had a floor lamp that stood between the sewing machine and serger and I shifted that lamp between machines as needed.  I recently bought two separate lamps for the cutting area and ironing board. The arrangement worked so well I applied the same logic to the sewing area.   I bought two more lamps, one for the serger and one for the sewing machine, and mounted them on the wall so they directly lit the feed dogs.  Previously, when the floor lamp was positioned for the serger, the light source was on the right and a shadow was cast directly on the sewing area.  This new arrangement eliminated that problem shadow.

The difference was not as striking on the sewing machine. Apparently, Bernina's CFL sewing light is more efficient that Baby Lock's incandescent bulb.
 

I encourage every sewer to critically examine the lighting in their sewing space.  Then run, don't walk and buy more light.  Your eyes will thank you!

Finished: BWOF 11-2007-132A and BSM 08-200-11-138

The Outfit

See sidebar or click for review:  Skirt  Blouse

It seems like a long time since I've sewn a coordinating top and bottom.  I haven't been able to find coordinating pieces of fabrics when shopping.  The colors are quite a bit brighter than I'm used to wearing.  I hope I have the guts to wear it.

The Skirt:  BWOF 11-2007-132A

I like this skirt a lot, but it highlights a problem I'm having with Burda Magazine.  This skirt came from a 2007 issue – when it was called Burda World of Fashion.   I really don't have the space to store old Burdas. But I'm still finding things I want to make in older issues so I don't want to get rid of them either.  I've already given away 2005 and 2006 and I'm afraid to get rid of any more.  This issue was in the next batch to be disposed of.  How am I supposed declutter when my clutter is still useful?  I guess I'd better find some way to store them.

I'm trying to incorporate techniques into my sewing that increase the value of my garments.  Mismatched yoke seams at the zipper scream "home made" not "custom made".   This technique has its basis in Claire Shaeffer's "keying a zipper" technique.

I sewed one side of the zipper.  Then I closed the zipper and, on the unsewn side of the zipper, marked with basting the point where the zipper crossed the seam.

I matched the basting to the seam on the other side before sewing that side of the zipper.

When the other side was sewn, the seams matched nearly perfectly.

It was really just that easy!  I don't know why I never used this technique before.


The Blouse:  BSM 08-2011-138

Leave it to Burda to make things difficult.  Rather than faced or turned-under slits, Burda has bound slits!  Didn't I just say, not three or four paragraphs ago, I wanted to increase the value of my sewn garments?  Any old pattern company can have faced or turned-under slits.  Even though I seriously considered simplifying the slits, I went ahead and bound them the way Burda said I should.

This blouse has lots of gathering.  I used my new favorite method – pulling up the bobbin thread, pulling out enough bobbin and needle thread to cover the length of the gathered area and zigzagging over the threads.  This makes gathering easier because the threads are stable and secure.  I would have preferred more match points for attaching the neckband to the neckline.

If I'd made a muslin, I would have seen the sleeve bands could have been a little shorter so they fit tighter around my arm.  Oh, well.  Maybe next time.

Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair?

I wanted the music to play on forever.
Have I stayed too long at the Fair?
I wanted the clown to be constantly clever.
Have I stayed too long at the Fair?

Billy Barnes

The lyrics to this song reflect how I've been feeling about Burda Magazine.  Burda has gone through a lot of changes lately and I'm wondering if I should stay with my favorite pattern company.

First, there was the name change.  Burda World of Fashion to Burda Style was a minor change and easy to accept.  If only they'd stopped there.  But then, the Burda Fashion website was mercilessly killed.  I have tried, but I just don't get the English BurdaStyle website.  Apparently, English-speaking women who sew from the magazine is not the demographic this website is after.   And if changing the website wasn't enough, the magazine itself has also changed.  The magazine now has only one pattern sheet for all of the styles included, which makes tracing a real challenge.   I used to find relaxation in the mindlessness of tracing, but that's gone now and  I have to concentrate more while tracing.  Finally, to add insult to injury, the last issue of Burda Plus Fashion repeated three of the five collections.  I paid a second time for something I already owned.

Burdaphiles are frustrated with the changes.  Some are talking of not renewing their subscriptions.  But, I'm part of a very small niche:  plus size women (and I don't mean size 14) who want to sew their own clothes.    Burda still offers the best variety of fashion forward styles for the larger woman, as shown by these examples.

I don't know of any other pattern company that offers such a variety of plus size designs – certainly not the Big Four.

Giving up on Burda is hard for me.   I am not ready stop my subscription.  Even with the unwelcoming website, vexing pattern sheets and pattern reruns,  Burda still offers the most fashionable plus size patterns. As long as Burda continues to offer this variety of plus size garments,  I will stay at the fair a little longer.

Where Are All the Shorts?

Did I miss the memo about shorts being passé? Summer's coming and I need shorts. Not capris, but shorts. Apparently, my Beloved BWOF/BS doesn't think a plus size woman should wear shorts. I've looked through five years of back issues and I did not see one pair of shorts in the plus size range. Burda envelope patterns are a little more liberal in their opinions on what a plus size woman should should wear when it gets hot. I did find one possibility there. McCall's and Butterick must think it's perfectly okay for me to wear shorts. They each offered four patterns. Vogue … just one quirky Today's Fit pattern. I didn't look at Simplicity's options. (I can't bring myself to sew a Simplicity pattern. Don't ask.)

From this dizzying array, I narrowed it down to two choices.

The styles are essentially the same. In studying the envelope photographs, Burda 8087 appears to have more ease in the thigh than McCall's 5857. In addition, Burda 8087 is shown as mid-knee length; longer than I like, but easy enough to fix.

I'm very disappointed in the scarcity of choices. Yes, I'm larger than most women, but I can still tastefully wear shorts. At least I think I can. Maybe my Beloved BWOF/BS doesn't show plus size shorts for a reason. Maybe I should listen.


§ ∞ § ∞ § ∞ § ∞ § ∞ § ∞ § ∞ § ∞ § ∞ §

And speaking of five years of BWOF/BS back issues, I found a temporary solution to the storage problem I wrote about a year ago. I was quickly running out of space to store the back issues and I couldn't bear to get rid of them … or anything else for that matter. A few people suggested tossing the magazines and keeping only the pattern sheets and instruction pages. That's what I did. I saw a hanging file box the last time I was in Jo-Ann. This box will hold about 18 months of instructions and pattern sheets. I know eventually, I will have to get rid of something to make space. But, not right now.

Feeling Better About Burda

For a while, I was a little worried about my beloved Burda. I didn't find much to inspire me in many recent issues. The English web site was in the middle of an overhaul and I found it incomplete when compared to the other languages. In order to see the previews, I had to navigate the German web site. It's a good thing "magazine" in German meant magazine in English. Luckily, things changed with the February offerings and I felt all warm and fuzzy about Burda Style again. (I'm even getting used to calling it "Burda Style".) After looking at the website, I found several pieces I liked from the February Burda Style and the Spring/Summer Burda Plus. There were many other pieces I liked, but these had the best chance of getting sewn.

I liked Blouse 137 because it had "classic bones" and suited my plain-vanilla taste. The pleated trim along the placket and cuff kept it from being too bland. Self fabric piping could be substituted for the pleated trim.


Dress 138 spoke to me. I always preferred tailored or sporty dresses over frilly and frou-frou. Now that I've done single welts, I'm not put-off by the pockets on this dress. I could be very lucky and find the pockets are faux welt pockets.


I saw more things to like in the Burda Plus Spring/SummerPreview.

Blouse 414A would work well in a SWAP with Dress 138 above. The flaps are an attractive design feature in both. If I were the kind of woman who could finish a coordinated wardrobe, this blouse and dress would definitely be included.



I like Blouse 418 as shown, a lightweight, gauzy linen over-blouse. I might even be tempted to wear a cami and expose some skin if I had this blouse. There is enough substance to the blouse to draw attention away from my bare shoulders and arms.


I always shied away from loose-fitting , high-waist tops and dresses for fear of looking pregnant. But 410B has a little shaping in the waist area and I might just get away with it.


I won't love every issue the way I loved February Burda Style and Spring/Summer Burda Plus. The web site changes coincided with two or three months of patterns that didn't move me and for a fleeting nanosecond I wondered if I should look elsewhere for patterns. Fortunately, Burda redeemed itself. I have always believed Burda offered the most interesting plus size patterns and I wouldn't find the same variety anywhere else. I was happy to find so many pieces I liked in one month.

I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan

Plans are important to me. I believe one should not go through life without a plan. Most of my sewing projects are planned several weeks in advance. Sometimes though, I've had to step away from the plan.

I'd originally planned to use an aqua colored tone-on-tone stripe for BWOF 06-09-136. As it turned out, the fabric wasn't wide enough to accommodate the extra width of the gathered sleeves. I would have had to cut the sleeves on a single layer and that type of layout required more fabric than I had.

So instead, I used Burda 7882 (OOP), a blouse pattern I redesigned back in December 2007 for the aqua and I was able to finish the blouse quickly and without incident.

I could not abandon my plan for BWOF 06-09-136. I've learned when BWOF shows a V-neck, it will be cut too low for my taste. After making the pattern changes to raise the neckline, I was eager to see those changes manifested in fabric. So, I reassigned the BWOF to the next fabric in my queue - a gray and black print I bought from Vogue Fabrics by Mail.

Plans are certainly necessary and helpful, but they are seldom chiseled in stone. When I was young, I thought, "Why bother to make a plan if you're not going to stick to it?" Now, I know better.

Next: Vogue 7903 & 2913

I admit it. When it comes to sewing, I exhibit quite a few OCD tendencies. I haven't been formally diagnosed, but I know it's there. My next project is a perfect case study.

Several weeks ago, I decided to try Sandra Betzina's Today's Fit patterns because of the promise of "new pattern sizing" ¹ and patterns that "run true to the numbers".¹ For the past 2 years, I've made BWOFs almost exclusively (OCD tendency #1). So, when Vogues were on sale, I bought a few Today's Fit patterns. I did not consider regular Vogues, only Today's Fit. (OCD tendency #2) I assigned some fabric to the blouse pattern and found a BWOF pattern for the pants. I prefer to make coordinating outfits rather than individual pieces. (OCD #3) Since I was experimenting with a Today's Fit blouse and since Vogue patterns went on sale again, I decided to extend the experiment to Today's Fit pants. I mean, I couldn't wear a Vogue blouse with BWOF pants. (OCD #4) so I set aside the BWOF pattern in favor of a Vogue pattern. I actually felt some relief when I had matching Vogues – as if I'd averted some catastrophe! (Definitive OCD!) Of course, I can tell myself that I'm simply experimenting with a different pattern company and I need to experiment with both blouses and pants. But deep down inside, I know that really isn't the case. It's just a touch of OCD.

_____________

1 Power Sewing Step-by-Step, Betzina, Sandra, Taunton Press 2000


*~*~*~*~*~ Breaking News *~*~*~*~*~

The winner of the Sew Easy Embellishments give-away is Summerset!
Congrats, Summerset.

Guess What I Did!

I bought patterns! I broke my "All Burda - All The Time" rule and bought three Big 4 patterns; Vogue - to be specific! I don't even remember the last time I bought a Big 4 Pattern for myself. If Hell hasn't frozen over yet, as I feared in a previous post, it will freeze over when I actually sew these patterns.

I gave in to an impulse. But when I analyze the impulse, it makes sense. I gave up on the Big 4 because I preferred the way BWOF fits me. I was interested when I first heard about Today's Fit when they were first released and I wanted to try the patterns to see if they were really different. These patterns received favorable reviews at Pattern Review. Vogue Patterns were on sale at JoAnn's. So I bought a few. I'm not in love with most of the Today's Fit designs so the patterns I bought were very basic. I'm hopeful about the fit. According to information from Sandra Betzina's web site:

"Using realistic body measurements in 10 sizes, Vogue created garments that run true to the numbers—including increased dimensions for the waist and tummy."

The line about "increased dimensions for the waist and tummy" spoke to me! This part spoke to me too :

"Vogue created an entirely new sizing block to fit the shape of today’s woman, increasing the girth across the tummy, lowering the bust shaping, and varying the cup size from B to D."

Ouch. Maybe it spoke to me a little too truthfully.

In order to give Hell a fighting chance before it freezes over, I'm not going to start any of these patterns until I finish the BWOF projects already in my queue. Believe it or not, I'm a little excited about sewing them and I'm eager to see the results.