NOT a new peplum top pattern

I was really fond of peplum trend that is so high up there in the fashion world right now. After my first two skirt pdf patterns ( and before my big break-up with PMB), I was very keen to make a simple peplum top pattern to offer my lovely readers. I thought through the style- a "belted" waistline, two neckline darts on a scoop neck, full cap short sleeves, and gathered, rather than a flounced peplum bottom.

front view

I was using Pattern Master Boutique to help me draft the basic pattern to basic Burda size 34 measurement.

I feel bad being so mean to the program creators, to be honest. I have been more than mouthy recently and might have put some readers off buying the product- I am sorry for that. But I believe in constructive criticism as the best incentive for perfection. I also believe that the kind of possibilities that the software like that offers has to be much more straightforward.

So I didn't measure myself. I used a set of measuring standards instead for my top. The program kindly helps you draft more or less the style you have in mind. So I didn't draft it from scratch myself. There are a lot of settings to adjust the style, but I didn't mess around with most of them. I only asked to raise the waist by 2 inch and opted for a 2.5 inch  belted midsection on my bodice. Nothing else.

I printed my top, and here where the first signs of a disaster emerged: I just decided to make sure the sleeve cap's ease is not too large (I hate  the struggle of setting in large sleeve caps). To my absolute confusion, the sleeve cap was way too SMALL- it kinda fitted neatly into the back of the armhole, but at the front, the armhole was 2 inches longer that the sleeve cap. I went to the Pattern Editor (the  CAD software that comes with the main PMB program), adjusted the armhole, printed the new pattern. I have to point out that I only adjusted the front bodice part- only the armhole length.

back view

My next mistake was that I just assumed everything will be ok from then onwards.

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Trials and Tribulations

A lot has been said about the pop culture that we are all influenced by, and we do fall victims to this influence no matter if we admit we do or not. Me blogging and you reading this is just a small example. What I am upset about today is how the images blur our vision of reality. You show me a cute model in a rag and I am drooling over making this rag, go through all the troubles to find a pattern, waste my fabric and interfacing, and, more importantly, my time- only to come to the same old feeling of  disappointment.

I was really obsessed with this pattern from Simplicity, very sixties. I particularly loved the little red number. I went through a hassle of finding a download of this pattern, a nightmare of dealing with scaling issue while printing it out, and then an idea came to me...... Why don't I try it out on a cheaper fabric before embarking on something more costly.

Words can't describe how grateful I am to the moment this thought came to my head!!!!! I never really do it- I do not make muslins and always go straight for the chosen fabric- often it is a wrong thing to do, especially with more challenging patterns. However, this one was very very easy- so trying it out seemed unnecessary. But I did!

Well..... I realised, I am not really into single cut collars anymore..... Unless your neck is quite long, it will just make you look like you haven't got  a neck at all. I used to go for a high neck garments before as i had a hickey-looking birthmark on the base of my neck, but since i got a cute little tattoo over it- the issue is gone and these kind of compromises are needed no more. ( my fab tat showing a little here)

You could argue that my fabric is too soft for such style, but the bottom line is that I want to look good and not disproportionate in my clothes.  The version with a short sleeve corrects it, but only ever so slightly- it is still a no-no in my opinion. After I tried it on- I just knew this is as far as our romance goes and no more time will be spend on the other details  the pattern offered.

So this is one for the house. This fabric is quite nasty- it looks very good for the first couple of days , but then it starts developing this little furry balls all over and looks a 100 years old and very shabby.  Too bad. I have made a pajama trousers from it before and this might just be a top to match on a cold winter night.

One good point though. I got to try out the blind hem foot on my overlock- what an invention! You have to spend half an hour playing with settings and tensions,but at the end the result is quite good. I actually intentionally set it up that it catches a bit of fabric, so the threads are visible on the outside, but it adds a nice effect to the hem- I am definitely going to use it again on all my items.

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Dress 108 Burda 5/2011 (aka take§1: Dragon skin dress)

Today I started on this dress..... I had a cut of suede like fabric, that I bought a couple of month ago for the dress in a February Burda issue, but had too many distractions, so I never got to do anything with it. Now I think there was a special reason for it.

The pattern is great, the seams are beautiful an the dress parts fall together like an easy puzzle. It only needs just over  a meter of a 160cm wide fabric, which is great, you could invest in  really luxury one if you want. The dress pictured here is absolutely stunning largely due to its colourful marble-like jaquard fabric. To me it combines the impressions from the far east - I would love to find and use something like that.

Instead I used this brownish suede feel fabric. I was about to attach the zipper at the back, when my husband saw the dress in the making and was absolutely appauled by how hideous it looked.  I was quite puzzled at I didn't think the fabric was that bad, and even trying the dress on in front of the mirror, I felt it was looking fine. The scandal was about to erupt...

I did take a tea break and when I was back in my workshop, I decided to put the dress onto my dressform, to make some adjustments (as I wasn't going to give up)... when I saw clearly what my husband was on about.

The dress WAS hideous, it looked like some medieval princess dress, only if there were some chiffon sleeves attached. The fabric looked like a skin of a dragon or some other mythical animal, and the whole thing looked like the carnival costume at its best.

So here I am, still admiring the original dress, but disappointed about the morning wasted... But I will be making something using this pattern soon (I hope). A good idea is to use a softer fabric- as the skirt flares out quite strongly. I might also consider adding a standing collar to it- it might make it easier to attach the lining. Well time will show what's going to come out of it, but it won't be in brown suede for sure. LOL

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