Pattern for Burda top?

Hi all - thanks for your nice comments on my Burda chartreuse top; they definitely boosted my motivation to sew my next project.

A few of you asked for pattern or tutorial.  I don't think my unorganized self is capable of putting up a tutorial.  Alternatively, I wouldn't mind tracing & posting the multi-size pattern pieces on this blog.  My concern is Burda copyright cop come a-knocking at my door with design / copyright infringement issue, if I do so.

Does anybody know, if posting the patterns on the blog would constitute an infringement?

Purple knit dress

Good thing I used the cheap polyester knit for this one. 

As predicted, I did some wrong math on the pattern drafting effort.  The armholes ended up very tight.  The book says to up the armsyce by .75 inches, so I did my usual .5, which in retrospect wasn't necessary (might actually need to lower it instead).  Also, the pattern calls for a straight silhouette, but I cut mine on the curvy side.  So the resulting drape looks a bit funny.

Construction-wise, it's a mixed result.  I didn't have any idea how to attach the roll collar, so it was pure improvisation, full of turning inside out and stretching here and there.  At one point I actually heard "rrrip!"  Thankfully I saw no sign of broken stitches, just a very stretched collar.

I used French seams for the sides.  It's my first time using French seam and I love the finished look, so I think I'll be using it a lot from now on.

Some pictures:

Full length (the stripe effect is from the window blinds):

I lightened up the picture a bit so the draping would show better:

I think I will make this dress again in the future, with a straighter silhouette, corrected armsyce, better construction know-how for the roll collar, and of course, nicer fabric, because apparently polyester melts when pressed.

And he's back!

If you miss the Weekend Designer, Don Morin just published Bag'n-telle, another pattern-drafting blog.  This is what he says about it:

It will basically be a fashion pattern-drafting blog much like that of Weekend Designer yet will offer some insight into the design process of fashion accessories. The blog will be more simplified in content and  show the pattern-making process. It will feature my own creations from some of my design workshops and all the projects are geared to the novice designer and the equipment available to them — meaning a domestic sewing machine and a few easy-to-use tools.

I think I like pattern drafting more than sewing, although not as much as books :)

First project of 2010...

... will be something from the book Pattern Drafting by Dressmaking, volume 1. It's a Japanese pattern drafting book that is written in English and filled late 1960's fashion. If you like late 60's design and/or pattern drafting and/or Japanese craft books, definitely look for this one on ebay or etsy, but be prepared to spend quite a bit.

This particular dress caught my attention because of the halter-ish neckline and the roll collar. The style is a bit on the girly side, which is not my style at all. Or maybe it's just the illustration? Doesn't matter, I like it.

The book gives instructions on how to draft the pattern pieces from the existing sloper.

It took me a good hour to figure out the measurements on the neckline and collar area. Quite stimulating, actually, the process of adding the numbers and mentally visualizing what goes where and is connected to what. My results are probably all wrong, but the fabric is already cut, so there's no turning back.

Speaking of fabric, I'm using a purple knit fabric. It's *gasp* polyester! Feels like it too - yuck. But the price ($1.50/yd) and the purpose (practice on knit-fabric) justify it!

And now, we shall wait and see how it will turn out. Well... you get to sit and wait. I have to sew it.

Drafting a new pattern from a sloper...

... is a LOT faster than taking a commercial pattern and then doing all the adjustments in the world to make it fit your own non-standard measurements. For me, those adjustments are usually: full bust, square shoulder, forward shoulder, erect back, sway back, let out waist, take in hip, omgmybrainisabouttoexplode! Such is the reason for my investing time in making a basic dress sloper a while back. Once you have a sloper that fits, redrawing the pattern lines to make a new design is a breeze!

On this post, I'll show how I drafted the colorblock dress pattern from the sloper (by way of illustration, because I forgot to take pictures). This is a very basic, amateur pattern-drafting tutorial though, so take it for what it's worth. :D


BODICE

• Trace a new sloper, so the original sloper remains intact.

• Decide the width of the band. I think a 2-inch band is good - substantial yet not obnoxiously so.
  

• The bodice sloper usually have a jewel neckline, and I want to open it up a bit lot. To lower it, I measure 3-inches down from the top of center-front (point a). You can go lower if cleavage is your thing. Width-wise, I go as far out as possible at the shoulder (point b). Then, I mark the 2-inch width band at points c and d.
  

• Now, connect point a to d, and point c to b, while at the same time creating the shape of your neckline. In this case, I choose a scoop.
  

• I open up the armhole so I can show off more armpit fat. So, I make a point e and connect the armhole to it.

• Cut along the new lines (the dashed line), then use the same principle for the back bodice, and we shall have the pattern pieces like these:

Okay... so I don't know how to fix the picture layout, but you get the idea what I'm trying to show here.

An important note on the bodice back: be sure to be consistent in the measurement of the shoulder width. I picked the farthest point on front-bodice-shoulder, and do the same for back-bodice-shoulder. If you choose, say, 1-inch inside the shoulder point, make sure you do both for the front AND the back, so band doesn't get all wonky when attached.


SKIRT

• Again, the first step is to make a duplicate sloper, so the original doesn't get ruined.

• The design calls for an A-line skirt, but you have a straight-skirt sloper. Out of the many ways to make an A-line skirt, I choose what I think is the easiest. Basically, I want to "move" the dart from the waist to the hem.

• So, draw a straight line down the dart, all the way to the hem.
  

• Cut the line, and shift the paper so the original dart is closed. So now the dart is transferred to the hem, and fill it in with paper. If necessary, re-draw the hemline to smooth out the joined lines. We have an A-line skirt! Well, the front, that is.

• To make the waist band, mark the center-front and side from the waist (I also use 2 inches for the waist band).

• Cut out the waistband pattern (the dashed line), repeat the same principle for the back skirt, and we'll have something like this:

And now, my esteemed reader(s), we have just drafted your own pattern!

P.S. Don't forget to add seam allowances!

For the next project...

... I'm thinking another little cotton dress. How creative!

I've been eyeing this Burda dress (02-2008-124). The basic, simple design is right up my alley:

During a trip to LA weeks ago, I bought this fabric from Michael Levine that I think is destined for this dress. It's a heavier-weight cotton which makes it suitable for all season with the appropriate accessories.

A few adjustments to make:

• eliminate the under-the-bust seam, as it is not a flattering look on me.
• make it a v-neck both front and back (Burda has a scoop front and a v back)
• maybe make it sleeveless... or keep the capsleeves?
• might go with a slight a-line if there's enough fabric (only have 2+ yards)
  

And here's the sketch:

The time I spent making the basic sloper was definitely a worthy investment! Drafting and cutting the pattern pieces for this dress took only half an hour and I can be sure that it will fit. Burda's way of patterning would take at least twice as long for me, what with the multiple rounds of fitting and altering and all that fun stuff. I bowed to my sloper a few times after realizing how much time I'm saving. (Don't worry, JoanneM; I heed your advice and will still make a muslin.)

I recommend everybody to make their own sloper!

Oh, a side note... This fall is my last semester in graduate school (yay!) so I will be prioritizing school and finishing up the master's thesis (boo!). So, sewing will be intermittent in the next four months (boo again!). Come December, I will have my MsBA in Finance and get back to sewing (double yay - epic win! - even though this degree probably won't mean much nowadays).

Here's the technical drawing...

... of the purple dress:
It was supposed to be without a waist seam (like this), but I figured this would be a chance to test the sloper fit. (Translation: I really didn't want to draft another pattern). So I just adjusted the sloper bodice.

At the front: take in shoulder strap 1" at each end, lower neckline by 3".

At the back: take in shoulder strap 1" at each end, lower neckline by 1", and shift shoulder dart to roughly the middle of the strap.

The pleats at the sleeves will be 10" long each with 10 one-square-inch pleats . Based on this "diagram", I will need 20" long strips including the folds and seam allowances:
The fabric will be good ol' Kona in eggplant (not ready to use more expensive fabrics), and lined with white lightweight cotton batiste. An all-in-one facing so the contrast lining won't show up at the neckline and armhole:

Next, press and cut the fabric, and sew! Wish me luck!

To tackle the fitting issues...

... I decided to get this book that is so often mentioned on PatternReview.com: Fit for Real People by Pati Palmer and Maria Alto (aka FFRP). I wonder why I didn't get it sooner! Like all other fitting books, it goes over common issues and how to fix them. This book goes a step further by taking you through a tissue-fitting process. I'd never gone through a fitting, so this was enlightening. It has lots of photographs and figures - very useful for visual-learners like me.

So I bought Butterick 5726 fitting shell from Joann's for $2 to make a sloper, traced and cut the pieces, went through the FFRP fitting exercise, fixed the obvious problems, got lazy about the muslin, made one anyway, discovered different problems, lost patience, found it while taking a break, fixed some of those problems, refined the lines, and four weekends later - et voila - I have my sloper!

Here's the bodice:

And the skirt:

I skipped the sleeves because I'm not planning to use them any time soon. Well, maybe some capsleeves... but, how hard can those be, right?

Hopefully all this exercise wasn't a waste of time.