Burda Style For people who sew

I’m working on pattern #135 for the blouse with a bow. The pattern includes a notch at the shoulder of the sleeve for a dart, but when I sew it like I would a bust dart, it looks crazy and extends well beyond my shoulder point. Should I be sewing it differently? Is it more of a pleat/tuck than a dart?

Also, can someone explain to me how I’m supposed to sew the contrast bands onto the blouse in plain english? The pattern says to pin the bias strip to the neck/arm hole with “wrong side facing right side” and then “edge stitch in place”. Does that just mean edge stitch the finished contrast band on top of the right side of the shirt? So two parallel seams across the top and bottom edges of the contrast band?

Thanks!

Feb 25, 2013, 05.46 PM by daglanz

• ShareThis
• Tweet

4 Posts Sign in to add a post

• 

  Feb 25, 2013, 07.10 PMby daglanz

  Also, one more thing—they only call for making the decorative bias strips 3/4" wide which includes allowances. Surely that’s not wide enough to fold it over? In the picture it looks like the finished edge shows about 3/4" of contrasting trim.
• 

  Feb 26, 2013, 10.46 AMby katensew

  I have looked at finished projects on the site using this pattern and YES it looks like the sleeves have shoulder darts" burda-bow-ccasion-135" however if they don’t suit you then I cannot see why you cant make it into a sort of inverted pleat at the top – or even just ease in the fullness. The bias tape is stitched as you surmise – yes wrong side tape to right side fabric and stitch top and bottom edge. If you go to the pictures at “burda-bow-ccasion-135” you will also get useful information.Hope this helps
• 

  Mar 8, 2013, 09.24 PMby daglanz

  Just in case others are looking for this info—I ended up cutting the bias strips 2.5" across, folding them lengthwise, sewing a 5/8" hem and then turning them inside out and pressing to create a finished strip about 7/8" wide. I then top-stitched the strips on top of the finished neck and arm holes. Turned out great, but I didn’t think the instructions were very clear!

  The shoulder darts turned out ok, I just sewed them on a stronger curve than was drawn in the pattern to make sure they didn’t stick out any.
• 

  Mar 12, 2013, 04.58 AMby CarolynD

  Thank you for the dart info-I will curve my dart more. Mine stuck out a little too. there is very little ease to deal with with that dart in there which is nice and makes for a fast sleeve insertion.

  I had been looking for a nice woven T top pattern for a while. Woven Ts like this are a little bit dressier than a knit and and are great for layering. I made several woven plain blouses before I found this-I made the Bergman Blouse by Lois Hinse, which had fitting issues for me, the Scout woven T pattern which was cute on others, but not flattering to me, a pattern from Marie Claire called the “French Blouse” which was not good at all on me,and even the popular Sorbetto top just did not look so great on me. I kept wondering why all these tops look so cute on everyone else but not me! I have spent a good amount of time on this but now that I have this pattern I will use it again and again.

  This is a superior fitting pattern in my opinion- and the body has enough ease but is still flattering. There is no gapping or sloppiness anywhere. I only had some minor tweaks.

  Other things I like- There are no back buttons to deal with. The sleeve is roomy enough and offers good movement and looks pretty The patternon this sleeve has the front part “scooped out” and gives more room in the back. It is not the same on both sides as many sleeve patterns are designed nowadays. The shoulders are cut well and they don’t extend over the shoulder which is flattering.

  Thanks for the tip on the neckline. I might just make a facing and sew it on the outside. I will need to put a couple darts in the back where the neckline gaped a little. I probably won’t use a contrasting trim. This would be lovely with a variety of necklines-tunic style, mock peter pan, more of a scoop. A front section of pintucks would be real cute too. I’ll make it with short sleeves, or without sleeves. I am SO happy I found this pattern! It is a winner for me. I am thinking about all the possibilities.

  You are right though-the instructions are a bit sketchy. Burda sells this pattern as the top part of a twenties dress, It would look very cute with a drop waisted skirt, and sleeveless, or 3/4 sleeves.