Burda tunic

Strangely, the July issue of Burda doesn't have a photo of this online, but it had several tunic designs in it's "options" section where it takes a pattern and makes it up several different ways. I wish I could show you the magazine photo because I don't think that the sleeves were supposed to turn out quite so large. I have skinny arms and I think that the sleeves are ridiculous on me. So, I have an eensy bit of regret in using this fabric to make something that I'm not entirely in love with...


This counts as two firsts for me: silk and shirring. It took a few tries to get the shirring right, playing with the tension and stitch length on my machine, but it worked! The design was also simple enough that I made all french seams on the inside of the garment.

The sleeves were so big that shirring alone couldn't make the sleeves small enough for my wrists, so I improvised with 1/4" elastic on the inside. You can also see my narrow hem in this photo.
Finally, the last thing I did was tack part of the front slit closed. Even by my standards, it was a little too much (as the French would say) decollete for my liking!

Hello world!

I'm a little late to this blogging game, but like the idea of cataloging my sewing projects and meeting others who sew. I like to sew clothing, and fast approaching the point where I've sewn almost everything I wear!

I'll leave you with this, a photo of a vintage pattern that I saw on ebay last week... I like looking at vintage patterns for several reasons - I like sewing vintage, but mostly I like looking at the stylized drawings. In most cases, it's wishful thinking on my part because all those gorgeous vintageous dresses don't really fit my lifestyle. Or the fact that in some cases, as below, the pattern is intended to be worn by alien-looking women. Seriously, the eyeliner and eyebrows on the center and bottom right models make them look like some kind of exotic insect.