Finally completed: Burdastyle 1/2007 #109A

I wanted to sew this top as soon as I read the magazine back in 2007. It only took me 9 years, but maybe it wasn’t too bad that it took so long as my sewing skills have certainly improved over the last years and I am really happy how this turned out. It soon became my favorite top.

Fabric:

The fabric is an organic cotton knit from Meterwerk and it is really cozy and comfortable to wear. It is quite stable and was easy to sew. Meterwerk is specialized in organic fabrics. I had this fabric already for two years in my stash, but they still sell it. I am really happy with the quality. Recently I try to be more thoughtful with my fabric purchases and to include more organic and sustainable ones and this one was a good choice.

Alterations:

I cut a size 36 and except for the sleeve cap I made no alteration. Burda always has these awful high sleeve caps and in knit fabrics I like more flat sleeve caps. It was a bit of try and error how much to take away. I basted the sleeve into the armhole, tried it on, ripped the sleeve out and basted again until I was happy. On the picture below you see how much I took away.

Construction:

Due to the shirring and the button placket the top is not a quick sew as a usual t-shirt. For the shirring it is really important to secure the elastic and not cut away the knots while trimming the seam allowances (ask me how I know…I had to redo half of the shirring).

Most seams were sewn with my serger. The hem is folded to the inside. At the seams I cut into the seam allowance and turned one seam allowance to the other side to reduce bulk.  

For the hem I used the cover stitch of my serger. I get the best results when all the stitches are on the double layer  and I cut away the excess afterwards.

I had a bit of a trouble with the bottom of the placket. There was a little hole. I am not sure if I did something wrong or was just not careful enough during the construction. In the end I used some handstitches to close the hole.

One of my pet peeves is inserting snaps. I am always petrified that something goes wrong. And it did. I used snaps from Prym specific for knits. One of the little teeth did not go into the second half but bent to the center and now the snap can not be closed properly. Luckily this was the lowest snap and it is not noticeable as I will always wear the top with all buttons closed.

Conclusion:

As I said this one is now my favorite top and it is the perfect match between fabric and pattern. The design is a bit special, so I will probably make a new one only when this one falls apart. 

Do you also have garments that you put on as soon as they come off from the sewing machine and you do not want to take off again?