Category Archives: Burda Patterns

While thinking thoughts on a pattern for a wide rounded back

I was reading a post on Threads Magazine dot com by Kenneth King today. It’s a good one about how to correct the armscye for a very wide and high rounded back, a body shape similar to the figure style for which the Burda Faux Peplum jacket would be perfect.

It’s good to know why some things are done in pattern making. I’m not satisfied with, “Oh they drafted that pattern wrong!”, which was my conclusion yesterday. There’s too many shapes under the sun to call my body shape the one all “correct” patterns must fit. Anyway, as I mused I ran into new thoughts.

How to trace magazine patterns without a light box

I realized that I had done something new-to-me when I made my paper pattern for that jacket shown yesterday. You will probably find ways to improve this technique to fit your preferences.

I used to use translucent paper to trace off the patterns, back when I had The Stitchery in its own house and had a glass table. I’d put a light bulb under the table and turn it into a huge light box. Those days are gone, and so is the table.

Now I have to trace on a wooden table with a cutting mat on top. These days many things just “happen” and I can’t say exactly why or where the ideas come from.

I used to use carbon paper under the magazine pattern but keeping everything straight and on grain seemed too difficult this time. So here’s what happened:

I use the front side pattern piece for this example

I like to find the approximate placement of the grain line so it’s easier to line up everything with the straight edge of the cutting mat and measure to make sure the fabric is equidistant and therefore on grain. I try to fold back the pattern sheet to get the grain lined up with the numbers on my tracing paper. This is NOT a necessary step, we’ll prick it in anyway.

Using what I call a Pin Prick tracing wheel (Claire Shaeffer calls it a stiletto wheel, others call it a “needle point” and “spur” wheel) I mark the pattern lines onto the drafting paper underneath

No need for carbon paper.

Then retrace, adding cutting lines. My double wheel requires quite a bit of uneven pressure on it to get a good second line sometimes

The dashed lines are the cutting lines

I use a ruler to draw in the grain line, marked by an arrow. And a magic marker to highlight the seam and cutting lines and pattern markings.

Burda Plus Fall/Winter 2008, #404, to properly cite the pattern’s source.

I like perfecting a pattern so I can use it over and over without having to reinvent the wheel. I want faster results, maybe because I make all my clothes. I mean, I love finding clothes ready made that fit and delight but I prefer to create them myself, as taxing as that can be at times, I still find it much more satisfying in the long run and I’ve already paid for the cloth, right? But I have to be rested and feel up to production to get into high gear every day. Know what I mean?

You’ve seen this pattern before if you’ve been reading along. Prior version posts: Brown wool with lycra, glen plaid woolen (non-stretch).

And here’s the last post about this pattern 3 pair bundled for quick production

I have been dragging my feet on finishing my bundled versions. Doing these 3 pants has taken about 7 hours of sewing time. But OCD has set in on this last pair. For instance: this slight blip in the center back seam. I need to redo that.

This kind of thing has been going on for the past 3 days. I decided to just get the photo shoot over with and do this post. I may be revising these pin striped pants forever.

I planned for these pants to have the ankle length cuffed version of the glen plaid pants but now I don’t like it in this fabric. I quickly pressed up the hemming tests and yes, I need to redo that.

I think the fabric says “Keep me uncluttered and let me shine!” don’t you?

I’m sorry I’m not showing you a beautifully modeled and finished pant but heck, that might be weeks away at my “redo” rate….

I don’t like the look of the close taper down the side seam in this fabric either. I want the pinstripes to gently merge going on the sides. Next time I do pants in pin stripes I’ll use a wider leg and more of a trouser fit like the HP Razor Sharp Pant shape.

(I am sure that’s the OCD talking….) I need to let go of this project and move on!

I finished up the wool tweed version first since we had major cold weather hit and this tweed is nice, thick and comfy with it’s lycra stretch. I’ve worn them 3 days already

These tencel twills are much more close fitted without the lycra and will be saved for the 70 degree (Fahrenheit) weather coming in a few days. The contrast of the photo has been reduced or they’d look like a big blob of black on the screen:

See the vest I’ve thrown back? That’s the “hunting tartan” for the Roberson clan. I bought the fabric in Scotland 27 years ago. It is called an ancient tartan because the colors are those that would have made by natural dye materials like berries and roots.

My Mom made the vest. I didn’t have a sewing machine at the time so it only took a few years of prodding for her to get it done 🙂 She was busy doing stained glass at that period of time. The buttonhole stitching, done on her own mother’s Singer Featherweight with the buttonhole attachment, needs to be restitched today but that is all the repairs necessary. Mom and I had worn out her own Featherweight, years before. We used to spend evenings cutting and stitching, sharing the machine and watching TV.

Lucile Hardy Dearborn, my Mom and original sewing mentor.

Mom was a fabulous “dressmaker”, as she called herself. She had earned her degree in fashion design from Traphagen School in New York City (now closed) in 1935 or 1936. I don’t remember seeing her certificate of graduation in her records so I’m guessing. She and two other girlfriends shared an apartment and opened a dress shop in the garment district where they made garments for clients. I don’t know what the name of their shop, it was only open for a few years before the team split up to marry boys and move on with their lives. The most I know about this school I had to find out online.

I read here that this was the first school of design in NYC.

And the following is a blurb from the Ohio State University’s The Historic Costume & Textiles Collection website
——————
Traphagen Collection

In 1995, the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection purchased five 19th century garments from the estate of Ethel Traphagen, and received 69 others as a donation from her heirs. Ethel Traphagen, a fashion designer who is credited with introducing shorts and slacks into American women’s fashion, founded the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York City in the 1920s. The school was known for its technical orientation of fashion design, with courses in pattern making and draping. The school closed its doors in the early 1990s. (The only records from the school that remain are held by the New York State Department of Education. These are the academic records (transcripts) of the students who attended Traphagen. If students need that information they would need to write directly to the NY State Department of Education providing the pertinent details including the years that they attended Traphagen.)

Some of the better known names in the fashion industry attended the Traphagen School of Fashion. Alumni members include: Geoffrey Beene, James Galanos, Mary McFadden, John Kloss, Christos Yiannakou, and African-American designer Franklin Rowe.

The Traphagen collection at the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection consists of 74 garments and 33 assorted hats. The costumes range in date from the 1830s to the 1910s, with particular strength in the 1890s. The hats date from the 1820s up to the early 1950s. The Traphagen collection includes garments exemplifying the silhouettes of the 19th century, others are remarkable for their fabrics and opulence, and a few have French labels.
——————-

Upon inspecting the interior of Mom’s last project, a jacket and pants, white polyester with edges bound in gold trim (see the gold trim at the faux wrap front here?

That’s from her sewing basket) I found perfection in every stitch and seam. She must have been over 75 when she made it. She was so pleased to hear me say, “You do such a fabulous job!” as I flipped over the jump line of her jacket hem. She just sparkled and demurely said,

“Thank you.”

Gee, no,

“Thank you, Mom”

Burda Plus Fall/Winter 2008 #404, to go with Burda World Of Fashion Vest Jan 2009 #124

I finished the second version of the slim pants that were first shown here. If you want to see a larger pix of any of these photos click on the little enlargement icon in the lower right hand corner of the photo and Flikr will take you to a story page.

in the glen plaid woolen yardage from Fashionista Fabrics I love working with wool!!!

This is the same wool used to make up the Burda Vest earlier this month

Photo Plans Thwarted

I had planned to make multiple shots of different shirts, scarfs, shoes, etc with which the pants and vest may be combined but today it is raining off and on so my photo opportunities are limited and I can’t model all the possibilities! Oh darned (not)…so here’s some ideas I thought nice.

And of course there’s always the ubiquitous white shirt…

Here’s what I did get – our early spring buttercups have been blooming for the last two weeks. It’s going to snow tonight. These little flower friends have already survived a snow earlier this week. Spring/Winter/Spring/Winter. Confusing.

I cut these pants with a 3/4″ seam allowance on each leg but used the .5″ seam allowance on the body curve used in the brown stretch pair. Upon basting them together the legs were too wide so I ended up taking a 5/8″ seam depth , essentially adding only 1″ to each leg width.

I think for a really punked out look the legs should be pegged more but I hesitate to make them too skinny in this non-stretch fabric. In keeping with the punked out look I shortened the hemline by 1.5″. Adding a newsboy cap would have just created a “costume”. I’m not in favor of costumes for everyday wear.

The pants are interlined in both the front and the back with Hang Loose to lessen the static that silk and wool, rubbing together, can engender. To interline you cut the lining fabric the same size as the fashion fabric and sew them together as one piece of fabric, easy and absolutely necessary to keep this soft woolen from being “sat out” or ending up with baggy knees. I serged the two raw edges of the wool and Hang Loose together and used a thinner wool herringbone blend for the fly facing, the inner waistbands, the pockets and the pocket bags. I could rant on about the drying up of true tailoring fabrics and tools in the home sewing market but I won’t bore you. It only applies if you like to produce traditionally tailored garments and not too many people are doing that right now. I even called Vogue Fabrics Designer department and was told they used to carry pocketing but now they use Kona Cotton. Sigh….

I also cut the pocket bags deeper like a men’s tailored pocket than the pattern called for. I love a deeper pocket. It just feels better to me and in case you put something in the pockets it’s more likely the object will stay with you than if you use the more shallow pockets of most women’s patterns. I do favor menswear styles – wearing them makes me feel “spiffy”, like I’m dressed properly. I have no idea why I like it so much.

The fly and waist band instructions are easy to follow. The waistband sections are sewn together at the sides, applied to the fronts and backs and the last seam to be stitched is the back crotch seam so adjustments for a narrow back waist are easy to make. It is an application method that also makes it easy to alter for (ahem) weight loss.

This is a good pattern, the instructions I understood (hardly ever the case for me), and once tweaked, it sews up quickly, suitable for both stretch fabrics and woven when there’s a tad more width allowed in the seams. I think it’s a TNT for me. I may do it again with the more narrow legs just to see if I can.

But I have no idea what I’ll be sewing next. It’s Winter/Spring/Winter/Spring….

Oh, and Gaely GoLightly took me shopping

for a new door mat

What can I say? We’re a pair….

Smoochies!

Greatly enhanced photos of a dark brown slim pant.

I left the straight of grain basting in to make sure that I didn’t twist a leg in the makeup. I have not been pleased with the pants where I’ve, through sloppy cutting or neglect, have let the leg twist. These came out nice and straight this time. I recommend this treatment if you like a pressed leg.

The fabric is very stretchy (2 ways) wool/lycra blend that would be considered a tropical or all seasons weight.

I wish I had a photographer to correct all my modeling mistakes!!! I’m slightly bent over in the front view, sorry!

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The pattern is very easy to make up. The fabric I used this time is almost too lightweight for pants. This pattern, as neat and well drafted as it is, needs a challenge and I will next do it in the grey glenplaid you saw in the last post’s vest. It’s a non-stretch to so I’ll cut with wider seam allowances and try out the cuffed version. We”ll see…