Shirt Sewing Burda 6849

Those that read me, may remember my last effort

But I am tickled pink this time.

Burda 6849.

Sewn in stretch cotton poplin with MoP buttons.
Speaking of buttons, I will never need to buy any ever again thanks to Katy Bella Bugs  , she sent me a life times supply.

I muslined this shirt and put a lot of effort into the muslin.
I warn you, it is a bit of a novel. 

My measurements put me in the size 16 but I knew, just looking at the back yoke, that was way too big.
I have very narrow shoulders and I am quite high waisted. This shirt seems very wide and very low waisted.
However, I need every bit of the 16 for my hips and belly.

I decided to try something. I cut the shoulders to a size 6 (the size that looked to fit me best placing it on my body).

I cut the rest of the shirt to the size 16.

 After placing the body pieces against me I raised the waist by 17cm and then re-positioned the darts and retraced the hem.
Swedish tracing paper is ideal for this sort of adjustment.

I also added a bust dart.

Please excuse the terrible photo.
I was really pleased with the result.

I used the size 16 sleeve, as I have quite bulky forearms but  trimmed a good inch from the sleeve cap and shaped out the sides. In hindsight, I should have checked the sleeve length and cuff.
They are a bit long and a bit full but I can easily adjust the next one by trimming the sleeve and adding a few pleats.
The pattern has a simple one pieced placket but I swopped that out for a two piece one. 
I used the pattern pieces from my Aime Comme Marie Madame shirt.
Personally, I prefer a more 70's style collar then the squarish modern day look. I  made my collar a bit pointier at the front and narrower at the back.

Apart from the sleeves, I am very pleased with this shirt.

And I will probably roll the sleeves up most of the time, anyway.

Button up shirts are a big part of my wardrobe. I am beyond thrilled to have sorted this pattern and have white linen and blue and white gingham ready to go for two more.

Making a muslin, a proper muslin with your seams on the outside so you can adjust to fit can be time consuming but it is so worth it.
I have no idea if I fiddled with this pattern 'correctly' but it worked and it is so comfortable.
It fits perfectly into my capsule wardrobe.

I am currently muslin-ing Burda 6769 to make a black coated denim skirt.
So far so good!

Thanks for reading.
xx N
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Aime Comme Marie Mister

Another day...
Another Birthday...
Another Liberty shirt.

Another Aime Comme Marie Mister shirt.
(Sadly, I could not find a link so I think it may have been discontinued).

Silky Liberty Capel with smoked MoP buttons stitched with black thread.

The high shaped yoke gives such a nice shape.

And allows the very flattering modern fit.

The sleeve placket looks so nice, always a Rock Star moment.

I can sew one of these bad-boys in around six hours.

This piece of cloth was actually Matilda's but when Hugo mentioned he wanted #aweekofliberty (five Liberty shirts), Tildy insisted he used hers.

There is enough left for something else for her.

~Hugo's Verdict~
I must admit I do have a very soft spot for Liberty shirts but even so I really do love this shirt. The fabric is so soft and the cut of the shirt follows the contours of my body perfectly as I quite like, but is not tight. This makes the shirt something that I can wear to any event and look stylish but still very comfortable.

Isn't he gorgeous? 
Happy Birthday Beamish, 19 years has passed very quickly.

xx N

More Puppet Show

I seem to be doing quite a bit of 'more' sewing.
Repeat patterns are getting the work out.

My sewing time is pretty sparse these days so not too much experimenting with new patterns.

Puppet Show shorts are always a winner with my girls. The bloomy style means they get a lot of wear from them.

These are the size 5.

(In the larger size of the pattern, the smaller size is way too small, people OS must have super small nappies for their babies)

I sewed them up in a 1/2 m remnant I picked up ins Spotters ($2)?

It is a linen/cotton mix and was a bit scratchy but after washing it in Softly it has settled and Tilly has skin like a rhino so it doesn't bother her.

I only buy remnants now if I have a use for them and I give myself a deadline to use it.

Too much of anything is not a good thing and I have way too much fabric.

I like a flat front on elastic shorts so I used this  method.

I also added a lace trim to the pocket, my lace is pre-gathered with elastic so I just poked it under the binding.

If the lace is flat, add it when you gather the top of the pocket.

~Matilda's Verdict~

I very much like the pockets.

They (the shorts) are very comfy.

I wore them to the Coonalpyn show.

They are good for the jumpy castle.

Tilly is wearing them with her size 2T Puppet Show tunic, it was a bit snug but she desperately wanted to wear it one last time.

It has since transferred to Trixie's wardrobe. 

Tilly has requested another Puppet Show tunic, if I make the 5 she should still be wearing it when she leaves school...

I have a step by step tutorial for a sturdy Puppet Show tunic/dress here

Thanks for reading, as always.

xx N

(Another) Forest Path Cape

I made another...

Another O+S Forest Path cape.

I sewed it up in another piece of fabric from our Melbourne shopping trip.
It is a lovely, soft, fluffy wool/poly mix. Quite loosely woven so I edged stitched all the edges,(before construction) not just the shoulders (as directed in the pattern instructions).

I lined it with a pearl pink silk satin.
A happy mistake, I cut this out during our recent SA power outage and in that dark I mixed up the lining I had set aside for this and some silk for a top for Zara.

The silk was slippery to sew but will breathe all the better and there is plenty left for Zara.

I made Tilly the size 8 as I want it for next Winter, it is definitely not overly big on her (her chest put her in the 4) so I think it is a pattern you can safely size up in.

The extra room will mean she can wear layers under it. This cape will be very handy and to fill the void until I make her new coat.

The buttons are enamelled shell from Ebay.
I just love them.

~Matilda's Verdict~
I really love the buttons they are very cute.
the in side is made out of silk and it is very soft.
The out side is very warm because it is made of wool.

Thanks, as always, for reading.
xx N

A quick (Elise) tee.

Don't you love Pinterest?
I do, some really great stuff.
Some great free stuff.
Like this tee

The Elise tee is a sleeveless, slightly caped sleeve, shaped tee.

It makes for a very wearable, casual tee.
I really take my time with finishing when I sew knits.
They last longer, look more professional and it makes for a more rewarding sew.
I also was obliged to take quite a bit of time with this tee as my cover stitch was being a pain. When it works, it is awesome, when it works...
I like to top stitch the front neck seam and then cover the back neck seam with my label tape (thin cotton webbing will do too and you can get some very pretty printed ones)
I also top stitched the sleeve cuffs.

The pattern needs to be sewn in a very stretchy knit, think lycra, or something very sheer, like a linen/cotton super fine knit.
The fabric was another bargain from Eliza's of Sunshine $1/m and I wish we had bought more.

~Zara's Verdict~
The fabric of this t-shirt is absolutely gorgeous. I have always loved the blue tie dyed look and I now have a lovely soft comfortable t-shirt in it. I'm not gonna lie, I will probably have to be forced out of it and it will most likely jump up my list to my favourite yoga top. 


I made Zara the small, I have cut myself a large... I will let you know how it goes.
xx N

Don't toss those Scraps!

Do you want an excellent scrap buster?

The O+S After-School trousers.
I have a step by step tute here.
I had some long strips of this lovely light washed stretch denim left over from Hugo's jeans.

And Zara's skirt.

The nice thing about this pattern is that it is made up of a series of long strips and that is often what you have left over after cutting out.

image from witchery.com.au

Denim track pants are all the rage, very comfortable and neater (and more hard wearing) then knit.
Tildy has desperately wanted a pair.

Tilly is tiny!
Size 4 with the length of a 7 (but I chopped off a bit before I added the cuff)

Denim fades so I deliberately chose a lighter ribbing and used white, heavy topstitching thread.

I wanted to add a waist tie and make it functional so I used D-rings and two strips which I sewed in place after I had finished the trousers.

I left off the ruffles and went with a clean, jeans look.

How cute are these?

How cute is she?

Very stretchy.

Very sturdy.

These will be handing down to Trixie.

~Tildy's Verdict~
They are very comfy. I like the pockets at the back a lot.
I like the tightner too. I road my bike in them a lot.
They are very good for a pair of around the house pants.
I like them a lot because I can wear them two days in a row.


Got to love pants you can wear two days in a row!

xx N