I loved this style the minute my April 2007 Burda magazine arrived but am just now getting around to making it. Surplice tops look really good on me so I can’t resist one that has some unusual detail to make it a little different from all of the others in my closet. Well, when I was in JoAnn’s last week, I noticed that Burda had released this style as a paper pattern, #7828
So, I bought it figuring that the cost of the pattern would more than make up for not having to spend the time tracing. 🙂 I cut a straight 34 which fit me perfectly right out of the envelope. The only alteration I made was for a forward shoulder, I also narrowed the forearm of the sleeve by 5/8″ on each side during my final try-on. I don’t think my forearms are particularly thin so that might be an area to watch if you make this. The fabric is a beautiful rayon/lycra that I am pretty sure I bought from Textile Studios. I also have this in a red colorway but I thought the purple would look great with jeans.
I used an organza-edged lingerie elastic to finish the neckline – what could be faster and easier than that? The pattern allows for a 5/8″ turn-in at the neckline so I cut it down about 1/2″ because the edge of my elastic is narrow and I wanted to compensate somewhat for the width of the organza edge. That worked out really well.
I really like this style a lot and intend to cut the cap-sleeved dress out tomorrow and probably one more top with the cap sleeve. I highly recommend this as an instant-gratification project!
Oh! I almost forgot to mention that my Japanese Vionnet book arrived today too! You can read about it on Fashion Incubator.
I have been AWOL quite a lot lately and missed Kathleen’s post but I did manage to buy a copy from a Japanese Bookseller on Ebay. Here’s a link to the Buy-It-Now auction: Vionnet book. My copy arrived quickly – in about a week. Mostly, I just enjoy looking at her various designs and how they were cut – pure genius. However, if I ever find myself with a lot of time it would be really fun to copy some of these garments.
Gigi Sews 