Sunday, April 17, 2016

Cropped T-Shirt 03/2016 #103A - Burda Style Patterns.

Today I have a quick Burda Style project on the blog. A project that has caused me a lot of head scratching and wondering but it had nothing to do with the sewing.... I promise I will be back explaining that cliffhanger, ha.


It's a Burda Style pattern 03/2016 #103A Cropped T-Shirt.
I immediately fell for the simple cut but with some interesting details such as the significant hi-low hem and the big back pleat.


I also loved that it is a variation style and works both for knit and woven. Here is a link to the woven style 03/2016 #103B

I don't think they just work interchangeably though. Although it might be a bit unfair for me to say that since I haven't actually made a woven version but I have made two knit ones.


 The first one was a pure size 38 and it was okay (as in wearable) but quite wide.

The next one (this one!) I cut less wide in the most simple way possible. I simply pushed the center front and back fold line of the paper pattern 2 cm  (3/4") over the fabric's fold line and then cut the pattern as normal. That way you don't mess with armscyes or anything - just the width of the top plus the neckline (which I thought was way wide in the previous version) so that was a perfect solution for me. And I love this version WAY better but it would be too small over the shoulders if I cut it like this in woven fabric.

So some very logic advice would be to size down for knit.


I also made the back pleat a tiny bit less deep (2 cm / 3/4" total) but I'm not sure that made any difference good or bad. The pattern has a feature I do not agree with. It's hard to explain but they don't have the big fold that creates the pleat go all the way up to the neckline. So above the top the SA is just 1 cm/ 3/8". That is probably because they are worried about bulk but 1) I kept it on this one and I think there are no bulk plus 2) this way the pleat is fixed in the neckline and do not swing from side to side like it did in my first version where it is not fixed to anything.

 

The pattern has neckline facings but I added a knit rib instead. I did this to both my versions so I didn't know that it might have saved me from a problem that another blogger I know (she haven't blogged it so I'm not going to mention any names, hehe) had. She made it in a thin, flimsy fabric and her pleat pulls down her back neckline in an annoying way.

So in case you run into a problem like that a knit rib might be your answer.

I also added some length to my sleeves and I totally love that I did that.


So let's talk about my head scratching mystery.
I'm pretty sure it was probably because I was/am so new to Burda Style Patterns. The thing was that when I opened my pattern file after downloading I saw that there was way more patterns on my sheet but NO explanation about it on my instruction sheet. After more careful inspection I saw some numbers like 104, 105, 106, 107. I thought hmmmm maybe these are pattern numbers so I searched for 03/2016 #104 on their site but nothing came up. The same happened with the other numbers.
Luckily the sewing community is a lovely and helpful place so I asked some friends and some of them had the actual magazine so they had a much better overview.
What I have now learned about searching on the Burda Style site is to only search for the month and year so in this case 03/2016, then all the styles came up and I found photos of all the styles on my sheet (see them above) and everything made sense. 

SO I think it is super super nice of Burda Style to give me more than I pay for. I'm just not so happy with the absolute NO mention of it before you have bought the pattern. So really every time you buy one of their patterns you should download it right away and take a very close look at the pattern sheet and write down any other numbers on there or you might risk buying the same pattern twice. We all know it is certainly not the instructions we pay for with these patterns (and that is okay with me) so that is not a reason for buying the same pattern sheet twice. I might or might not have already done that with another pattern, ahem ha.


I made this in a stretchy French Terry and it give a lovely structure but at the same time crazy comfortable. I'm going to wear this top (and the many others I want to make) a lot now that I have it all figured out. Neither sewing or cutting obviously take a lot of time for this one. I would looove to make a dress version too which ta-da is also included in my pattern sheet as you already know, ha.

My cover stitch made hemming the high-low hem (and sleeves) a piece of cake. Gah, I love it so much!

Thank you!


11 comments:

  1. Beautiful as usual! And those pants are awesome! Did you make those too?!

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    1. Thank you and nope, didn't make the pants :-) (J.Crew on crazy sale ;-)

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  2. Love it! Really like the style with the high low and the pleat, can't wait to see the dress. I think I need this pattern, though I may not enjoy sewing The high low as much as you lol Oh and Sunday posts are pretty cool! <3

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  3. I'm a sucker for a hi-lo. I've had my eye on this pattern since I first bought the magazine, but still haven't made it. Love the print. And thanks for the rib tip.

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  4. I love this pattern! After seeing your version it's definitely on my to do list, I love the fabric that you used too!

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  5. I really like this top (and what gorgeous print!). I decided plain boxy tops are too plain, but add a couple of small details like a hi-low hem and perhaps a cool pleat at the back - ta-da! Awesomeness :)

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  6. Love this top with the pleat! And it will look so amazing as a dress -- can't wait for that version!! And I'm glad to see the hi-low is rather modest. It seemed a bit iffy in the Burda picture I saw, but yours is tasteful and fun!

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  7. Your version is better than Burda ;-) ah ah ah I just love yours!!! <3

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  8. ummm i almost got that woven one you linked to and would have never guessed it was the same as this! sigh. You top is so fun and looks amazing! And why would they remove the pleat at the top? Thanks for the tips and heads up.

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  9. This looks so good on you! I love it!

    I personally always thought that Burda did that because they just didn't want to re-draft new patterns for the same basic style? That this way was easier and more streamlined for them? Not sure...

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  10. Hiya, you've done a lovely job and inspired me to get the pattern. I'm having trouble with the pleat pulling the top down (as your friend did). I've done it in a light stretch fabric and have now unpicked some to try and reduce width to see if that helps!!

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Thank you!