Burda Vintage Jumper

Hi dears,

since the release of the Burda Vintage issue I wanted to make some of the gorgeous designs presented there.
The big ball gowns are a bit too much for me to tackle at the moment, but I made a start with the Jumper "Mary".

The fabric I chose is a cotton flanell. A little too stiff, but I only found out after I tried it on... it doesn´t have much of a drape, but still, I like the outcome.

I cut and sew a straight size 36, which is a size 8 in the States, and made no alterations... 

The result is a little big in the shoulders, but otherwise, I have no complaints.
Worn with the belt, I really felt like a Lady, even though I chose skinny jeans and boots to go with it instead of a pencil skirt and heels. Seeing the pics now, I think there is a little country vibe about it, what do you think?

Worn without the belt it resembles pj´s a little too much (what with the flanell and the checks... ;-)), but I wouldn´t wear it without belt anyways.

Since I´m back in Berlin I try to spend my time as useful as possible, meaning in front of the cutting table, sewing machine or English-Test-book for the  TOEFL... I really want to live in Australia, at least for a year, so I have to convince the immigration bureau that I can support myself and also make myself understood of course.

The second thing is the thought of taking courses in pattern making, CAD, HTML and other stuff to educate myself with things around the business of creating a brand... but that´s stuff for another time.

One thing´s for sure:
Change is in the air.

Until then, 
happy sewing

Milan

Bombshell by accident

Hi sewing nerds,

summer´s finally decided to stay for a while, so I spent time mostly outdoors, enjoying the sun and lazy breezes here in Berlin and around at the lakes that surround our capital city.

But still, sewing is with me all the time.
I got inspired by a dress made by my favorite designer, Lena Hoschek, which she released this summer, namely: the cabrio leaves dress. A jersey dress with a pencil skirt shape with ruffles at the sideseam and knotted at the shoulders with a little waterfall neckline.

As I didn´t find any unlicensed pics online, I give you this, my own interpretation of the pattern and overall look of the dress:

This is the fabric I found for my experiment, a lightweight cotton jersey with some elastic and a similar color as the original.

The fabric and the idea then lay in my stash and waited to come to life, but I got distracted and did many ohter garments before yesterday I came across a website that sparked my interest, trashtocouture.com, by the talented Laura.

She presented a tutorial for a ruffled skirt that looked smashing and so I dove into my stash to look for a siutable fabric, coming up with the one above.

I didn´t opt for a maxi skirt though, a mid length was more to my liking.

I did the skirt and it fit me well. During my first fitting in front of the mirror suddenly I felt reminded of the cabrio leaves dress and the idea to make this skirt into a dress struck me.

I rummaged through my old Burda issues to find a pattern with a waterfall neckline, as I had never made one before and wasn´t sure about how the pieces should look. I found one in Burda 9/2012, shirt 130.

I cut the front and back pieces and added a little capsleeve as I found long sleeves wouldn´t work on this dress. But when trying it on together with the skirt it just looked old-fashioned. I didn´t like it at all.

It makes a nice shirt though :-)

I found a shirt pattern in an old magazine (from 1997) and, although it didn´t feature a waterfall neckline, it sported a knotted shoulder. 

The pattern asked for double layers, which I managed to sqeeze out of my remaining fabric. Sewn together and in front of the mirror for a fitting.

It looked promising. So I basted it together and connected skirt and top.

And to my surprise, I looked so much like one of these 1940ies Bombshelldresses! Starting this I had no idea how it would turn out, but I love the result.

The slit may be a little naughty e.g. too high, but still, I like it like that. Also the asymmetrical hem. I was shortly thinking about adding more ruffles also to the second side, then decided against it. It is much more interesting this way. What do you think?

You must excuse my pics, unfortunately there was no one near to make them, so I had to use the self-portrait button and hope for the best...

Like it a lot :-)

A little on the butt side... still like it

If I dare, I will wear it tonight at the outdoor dancing at the Bode Museum.

All in all, I think I´m going to experiment a lot more often, now that this one came out so nicely.

Watch out for new makes.

Happy sewing peeps, and keep the good spirits up!

A glamorous party in a vintage style dress

Hi lovely folks,

I hope, you´re doing well. Today I want to present a dress to you, which was quite easy to sew, BUT, I was crazy enough to add numerous pearls by hand to it, in order to posh it up and twinkle a little more!

As I happen to be a big admirer of previous decades, I was thrilled to learn that there are some 20ies style theme parties in my city and I immediately jumped to the occasion and bought me a ticket. The party series is called "Bohème Sauvage" and takes place in different locations all over Germany. They have a strict dresscode and I marvelled at all the photos of previous parties that I had the chance to see. 

So, what shall I wear???
My wardrobe actually is more based on modern basics than extravagant evening gowns especially not for the 1920´s. So, I thought, didn´t you say, you´re a seamstress? Make one, that´s the ticket! 
I rifled through my Burda Style magazines and finally found a dress that could rise to the occasion, Burda 126 out of the December issue 2011. 

After the decision was made, I went to my second favorite fabric shop in Berlin, Hüco Stoffe (my first choice is always the Maybachufer market), and bought some 2m of babypink satin in a Polyester qualitiy, for a dress solely made for one special occasion I didn´t want to spend too much money on a silksatin. I immediately loved the colour although it does make me look even more pale than I already am, I had to get it. Off I went, home, traced the pattern in a size 38, that´s a size 12 in the US, and cut out my pieces. I used interfacing in the same colour made from Acetat, a very light quality.
Ok, man, I was nervous before the first fitting, had I lightheartedly skipped making a muslin, but, thank heavens, it fitted just the way it should - Bingo! I also eliminated the panel of felt that was in the original design, which I didn´t like...

For a swankier look I wanted to add some beadstrings at the shoulder and at the bottom seam of the dress. Good idea, unfortunately beadstrings don´t grow on trees, so I went to a shop with DYI supplies and got hold of some beautiful Japanese beads in two designs, some
shaped like little balls, some jet beads, both in babypink and so delicate!

It took me like five evenings to complete the strings at the bottom seam, as you might imagine, but I love every single one of them! I like the feeling of them jingling when I´m moving in this dress. It was worth the while.

No need to mention that I had a blast that night at the party and though it was not the most exiting dress I saw that night, I still felt beautifully dressed and well satisfied for making it all by myself. 

Here come a few pictures with me posing like a silent movie film star... enjoy

(I do look fat in this pictures, but since it´s not a fitted dress I can assure you, it only looks like that:-P)

What about you, my lovely readers, do you sometimes make themed garments just for a special occasion? I would love to hear your stories..

´til soon,
XX Milan


This is my best blogpost so far...or at least the most viewed...
Thanks pulsinchen :-)