Sunday, March 6, 2011

Two white tops and a giveaway


What a weekend. I managed to do 99% of the childcare and still whip up two white tops.

For some reason, I lost my sanity and signed up for Pattern Review's mini-wardrobe contest in March. March is set to be the worst month of the year for me, schedule-wise, so why not add to it a self-imposed goal of sewing up five wearable garments at the same time??!!

You are starting to get a glimpse into the insanity, no? This also happens to be why we have two sons, not one, and why we have a giant brown one-year-old lab bounding around the house. But I digress.

The first white top I made is from Burda 7518. I'm taking my boys to Florida in April and my little mini-wardrobe is going to be a combination of workwear and warm-weather casual. This top is a little different, which is nice.


You can read the full pattern review here. I'm happy with the finished product and it went together quickly, always a plus. It's a little large across the shoulders and the cleavage factor is a little extreme. Burda sure likes their boobs. Other than that, it's a keeper.


Then I had the bright idea of making Burda 7379 out of white jersey. It's not a pattern drafted for knits, but that doesn't usually stop me. This time the results were eh. My full pattern review is here if you want to read it. I feel slightly shameful that I even posted a review without hemming the shirt, but I still have some fixing to do on it. Me and fixing don't go together so well, so I figured if I don't post the review now there's a very strong chance I never will.


One armhole is normal, and the armhole with the gigantic ruffle over it gets gathered. Apparently I either miscalculated my gathers (highly possible) or the jersey stretched out, or a cosmic shift occurred (probably one of my kids sitting under my sewing cabinet had something to do with it). Either way, that armhole gapes open quite dramatically. I plan on removing the bias binding and inserting some clear elastic into both armholes and neckline, finishing with a double-needle hem.

While I'm mulling over those fixes, I've already started on Burda 7498.


To celebrate something, I'm not sure what (maybe your patience in getting to the end of this post), I'm giving away eight backcopies of Sew Hip magazine from the UK. Numbers 9 through 16, chock-a-block with fun projects from quilting to garment sewing to crafty things like making stuffed animals and shoe decorations. If you want these lovelies, just enter a comment by Wednesday, March 9 at 5:00 p.m. CST and I'll announce the winner. I imagine if I have more than one entry I'll use random.org to choose the lucky winner.

15 comments:

  1. Sewing magazines....who would turn these down? Count me in!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really love the first top you made, it has a kind of sailor-y feel to it. Would be perfect at the beach with colourful capris!

    And you can count me in for the giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fun giveaway! I'm impressed you did so much in one weekend while watching your kids!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh man Heather. I'm so envious of your sewing ability. Seriously. I do love that first shirt, it looks so perfect for the beach!

    ReplyDelete
  5. oh wow. i'd love to be entered in the giveaway. will it work international? dont think so.

    you can try placing the pattern pieces on top of the finished knit top and re-drawing the side seams.. usually works to make the armhole gape less.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I adore both tops, 7379 is my favorite of the two which surprises me since I'm not usually into ruffle accents. Too cute though!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like these, They are really pretty, nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fun giveaway, and I love those tops. I love a nice white top!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What fun that would be! And what a generous thing to do!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great giveaway - I like your tops, the ruffled-sleeve one is really interesting. I didn't think I would like something like that but seeing it made up is really cute.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh yes please! I really like your tops. The second one would be nice in a sweatshirt knit too.

    cowilcox(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I want to make that first top...I will have to look into it...it would be wonderful made from linen! Thanks for the giveaway...I never turn down sewing anything!

    bufordkyle at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey fellow Missourian,
    Stumbled on Burda 7379 via your review of the pattern on PR. I was hoping you'd post a new effort, but alas I did one myself. I think the t-shirt knit was a good idea and the top looks great (aside from the armhole of course).

    ReplyDelete

 
BLOGGER TEMPLATE BY DESIGNER BLOGS