Burda Style For people who sew

Description

This is blouse 303 from Manequim 625 and I finished it about 3 weeks ago but haven’t had much luck with photos – the contrast is terrible, I know, plus I managed to get the sliding door in all of them, which I subsequently had to crop out so the composition is pretty awful too…the wind didn’t help either, I’d get myself all settled, push the remote button, wait for the beeps and then, wooosh! Gah, who’d of thought, wind? In Wellington?!

I got this 149cm x 1.1m length for $10, a bargain yes, but I was scared to ruin it so I let it mature nicely in my stash and then I put my brave on and cut into it last month. If you are in Perth and have not been to Potter’s yet, then what are you doing? Go, go now, you will not be disappointed.

This is only the second silk item I have made, and my first in a crepe. I discovered quite quickly that working with this fabric was a lot of fun. It frayed right in front of my eyes, even while it was just sitting on the table it was merrily fraying itself away to nothing. But I loved the print so I was determined to make it work.

Despite the fraying the construction went pretty smoothly, apart from the fact that I had to unpick the standing collar three times. It was completely my silly fault and in the end it turned out for the best because it meant it got a tad shorter and after my first try-on I was starting to feel a bit like HBO cat.

After cutting out my pieces I realised just how sheer my fabric was, this would mean I needed french seams, which was not really big deal. I’ve only ever done them once before (on my BurdaStyle Book blouse no less) and they worked out ok, plus Carolyn had just posted up a timely reminder tutorial which I had a skim over to refresh the memory. I’ve included a close-up of the sleeve inside out, you can see the French seams. I’m quite proud of how they turned out and my construction skills are definitely improving. I think the French seam also helps strengthen the seams and protects the interior of the silk during wear and washing.

the curious kiwi

Material Notes

Silk crepe remnant

Difficulty

Advanced

Categories

Season

Spring, Summer

For

Women

Garment Type

Blouse

Style

Classic

Material

Silk

Credits

Fabric

Potter’s Textiles, Perth, WA