Burda Style For people who sew

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  Feb 21, 2013, 08.19 PMby freakusbzzz

  Hiya,

  The bottom section looks great and you are right about the sleeves. I think the major problem is it doesn’t flatter yur shape.

  You are similar to me, more of a straight up and down. You need to accentuate your shoulder area to make you look more V shaped at the top. If you made the sleeves full sleeves and slightly puffier it would look fantastic.

  Don’t worry, cap sleeves don’t suit many people.

  Also around the shoulder/arm area the fabric extends too far out past your arms. Cut this in a bit. Look for a tutorial on adjusting a pattern for narrower back.

  You could always re make it in a smaller size on the top and keep the size you have for your lower half.

  If you look through the resources section I have a tutorial on finishing a zip at the top. That will help with just tidying it up a bit.

  I do heaps of projects that don’t turn out but I never abandon them, i just turn them into really good practice efforts.

  Good luck!

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    Feb 22, 2013, 12.54 AMby poldapop

    Wow – thanks for taking the time to respond! It’s interesting that you say to emphasize the shoulders – I’m always trying to de-emphasize them (I’m an inverted triangle naturally). Hmm . . .something for me to try!

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  Feb 21, 2013, 04.04 PMby Linda74Sews

  Its a lovely dress that looks very pretty on you. I would leave the sleeves as is or as suggested, make the dress sleeveless. With regard to fit, yes, the back needs quite a bit of adjusting and I don’t believe there is an easy solution. 1- remove the zipper and sort of start over. 2- the back bodice is too long and needs to be shortened, so pull it down till no more folds exist. 3 -the skirt rides a bit high as well, so pull it up and adjust to the waistband treatment. 4-the dress is too large around the shoulders, so undo the shoulder seams and slide the back to till it lies smooth across the arch of your back. This will then require you to adjust the back armhole and possibly the side seam. 5-as for the back neckline, did you understitch the facing? This should help keep it from riding up. Also, whenever I want to make a facing pattern for a neckline I simply take the bodice pattern, copy the cutting line of the neckline and draw another cutting line that is 2 to 2 1/2 inches from the neckline. The facing should then fit perfectly and I always understitch.

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    Feb 22, 2013, 12.56 AMby poldapop

    Thanks for all the help, Linda! I did understitch the facing (I always do this, too) AND I also hand-picked it all the way around and it still rides up. I think this is due to the stretch that I mentioned in my blog post. I’ve got some great ideas from folks and I’ll see what works. Thanks for taking the time to respond!

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  Feb 21, 2013, 03.34 AMby jennyrecorder

  I think you are being hard on yourself, the cut of the dress really looks lovely on you and any perceived flaws are only what you see, no-one else will notice them… as seamstressess we are our own harshest critics!

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    Feb 22, 2013, 12.56 AMby poldapop

    Thanks, Jenny!

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  Feb 21, 2013, 01.42 AMby perilsp

  The lines of the dress are great and the sleeves really accentuate the neck, I think anyway. I’d leave them as you chose the perfect color to show those lines at their best with your own coloring.

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    Feb 22, 2013, 12.57 AMby poldapop

    Thanks for your response! I’m going try it without sleeves just to see what it looks like but then I might sew sleeves back on – I get what you mean about the sleeves accentuating the neck. Thanks for your response!

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  Feb 20, 2013, 11.47 PMby Couture Academic

  I think it’s lovely too. I actually had to look at your pictures as soon as I saw the thumbnail!! The lines on the dress are nice and clean and elegant and the neckline adds a beautiful style to the whole ensemble. It looks like your facings (or perhaps the lining?) are peeping out a bit at the back, but hard to tell. You can make some small hand stitches at the shoulder seams (tack the facing to the seam allowances only so you can’t see them on the outside) to keep the facings in the dress. If the back neck is still gaping, you can unpick the facing and make small neck darts to help with the fit (you’ll also have to adjust the facing/lining). If you don’t like the sleeves you can take them off! I think this dress would look fabulous as a sleeveless creation! You can finish the armholes with a strip of fabric on the bias. All the best!

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    Feb 21, 2013, 12.35 AMby poldapop

    Thanks so much for the help! I think I am just going to take off the sleeves and make it a sleeveless dress. I’ve had some great suggestions as to what to try with the back neck. And the facings are peeking out – that happened after I tried to solve the gaping neck by pull the bias strip I used a facing a bit tighter. Failed experiment! Thanks for taking a look!

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  Feb 20, 2013, 11.37 PMby Mary Athey

  I think its lovely, if this was mine and theres stretch in the fabric? I’d omit the zip and take the seam in. failing that i’d dart either side of the zip and remove the sleeves. I have a folder with just sleeves in it. Any sleeves i like in burda I trace out and that way I can change an item if it needs it. I like the sleeves on this though x

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    Feb 21, 2013, 12.36 AMby poldapop

    I love your idea of a sleeves folder, Mary! I’m definitely stealing this!

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    Feb 21, 2013, 06.24 AMby Mary Athey

    Its so.handy.to.have x