BurdaStyle Magazine: 10-2012-114 (Gathered Front T-shirt) - Type:Tops  | | Viewed 219 times
| 3 more reviews | Review rated Very Helpful by 12 people | | Reviewed by: | grays08 | 
 | About grays08 | | IL USA | | Member since: 9/13/11 | | Reviews written: 63 | | Sewing skills:Intermediate | | Favored by: 15 people | | patterns reviewed: 62 | | Bio: more... |
| | Posted on: | 2/13/13 4:44 PM | | Last Updated: | 2/13/13 4:53 PM | | Project Photo: |  | | Pattern Photo: | BurdaStyle Magazine Pattern Info More Info provided by grays08 | | Pattern Rating: | Easy & Great for Beginners | | NEW! See reviews of patterns from this issue | | | | Fabric: | Rayon-Lycra Knit [See other projects in this fabric] | | Related Links | Click on  to add a link |
| Pattern Description:
Women's knit top sewing pattern available for download. Ruched front long sleeve T-shirt with gathers along the front and sleeve seams
I made view 114A. Another picture of front
Pattern Sizing:
34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44. I made a size 40 for a 36" bust, and this was spot-on. I am normally torn between making a 38 in some knit patterns for Burda and 40 for more fitted styles. This pattern runs true to bust size but is a close fitting garment.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Easy to follow for Burda. It's also an illustrated sewing course for the month in the magazine if needed.
I personally found it easier to hem my sleeves prior to sewing up the sleeve seam just because this top has a "flared seam hem allowance" meaning it is very deep. It's much easier for me to hem this on my coverstitch machine before the sleeve seam is sewn since this is a deep hem and a narrow cuff.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
LIKES -
- Great basic T-shirt but with style
- I like the use of binding strips for this where the ruching is. It did a great job of stabilizing the gathers. I've used clear elastic and various other things before for this, but I must say I like using the binding strips.
- The gathering down the center front has varying degrees of ruching which I thought was smart because who wants that to be heavy across their bustline?
DISLIKES -
- When I tried this on I was a little puzzled about the shoulder seams after I noticed some slight bunching of fabric behind both my shoulders. The shoulder seam sits back on this top at the very back edge of the shoulder rather than in the center. I believe this is to accomodate the design as it feeds into the back neck facing. This isn't disastrous by itself however Burda is still asking you to align the sleeve cap to the shoulder seam which rotates the sleeve of the garment essentially (while your arm does not rotate this way accordingly, ha!). This resulted in an odd/off fit and hang off the back shoulder and probably all over the arm (I'll have to wear and see). I'd been better off to align the center sleeve cap with the "true" center shoulder and will do this if I make this up again. I may end up ripping the sleeves off and trying it with this one if I continue to notice the fabric hanging weird as I wear it. It is kind of odd to rotate the sleeve by that much....it's an inch or so backward which pushes that large sleeve head back where I didn't have much shoulder. Just kind of yucky...why oh why did I not question this at the time...on the plus side Burda's pics on the model show the same issue only from the front side (pulling up from under) so they did theirs as instructed too...oh why oh why.
- The neck facing takes precise sewing to align perfectly with stitching on front and isn't serger friendly since you join two different seams on the shoulder - not a huge deal just something to note.
- Sleeve length runs long which is a little annoying provided you gather the majority of the sleeve. It hangs below the wrist, and I found it annoying just in the brief time I was trying it on, but we'll see. I just hate to have to push up a sleeve when it's already gathered you know what I mean?
- Pattern requires you trace off a third seam allowance which I caught after my initial trace but before I cut so I was able to correct this. You have to add 3/4" (2 cm) to just the front neck edge. Again, not a big deal but just something that makes this error prone if you are eager to trace this off.
Fabric Used:
A very sad piece of "designer" rayon/lycra jersey from Fabric.com that had severely distorted selvedges, several holes and distorted grainline throughout but had a beautiful color. I took each piece of this individually to ensure that the grainline ran true on each piece. It was a mess and wish I had seen this earlier as I would have sent this material back since I bought 3 yards of it. This is the only piece of material that I have ever thought about just throwing away completely, and it wasn't even their cheapy stuff.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
- I didn't alter any of the pattern just shuffled some of the instruction order around to make it easier for me. I did end up using Steam-a-Seam Lite on the neckline, turning under and a chainstitch to handle stabilizing the hem on the neck which handled nicely.
- I also serged the sleeve seam with the binding strip, because I didn't want the bulk of that seam (and the gathers) up against my arm.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I'm really happy with the end result provided I correct the sleeves (and it will bug me EVERY time I wear it now that I realize this until then!). I was very nervous on sizing but found no issues once I basted the side seams. I think if you correct for the sleeve cap, this is a winner.
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7 Comments
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Great looking top thanks for the very thorough review
2/13/13 5:28 PM
Very informative review. Your top looks great.
2/13/13 10:11 PM
Lovely top and helpful review!
2/14/13 0:31 AM
Very nice looking! Thank you for an extremely thorough review. Very helpful indeed. I might actually pull this out and trace it up. You have so thoroughly vetted this pattern for the rest of us. Thanks.
2/14/13 9:27 AM
Thank you so much for the detailed review. I plan to make this (soon? eventually?) and I will refer back to your notes. Looks great on you!
2/14/13 10:28 AM
Thank you for this detailed review, including the problem with the shoulder seam. You have made a great-looking top! You did a nice job working with that fabric. It turned out so well. I'm considering this pattern...easy download, but I've never sewn Burda, and it doesn't look like they have my size (I'm a 16 in RTW.) Might still do it and make the adjustment.
2/14/13 10:35 AM
Your new top looks great. Nice to see that the pattern can work. For me it was unfortunately a fail.
2/14/13 2:53 PM