I love you, Burda 7031

I am so happy. I have been admiring this lace bonded sweater knit fabric at Joann's all fall but it was $39.99 a yard and you all know with my track record for ruining projects I really can't be trusted with pricey fabric. I finally got a coupon texted to me for 25% off my total purchase, and the fabric went on 50% off sale.

Burda 7031 View C

Woot! I bought it, not even knowing what I would make with it.

Francis jacket pattern by C'est Dimanche, also in my pattern stash

At first, I had planned to sew up this jacket by C'est Dimanche. But then I spent way too much time going through my pattern boxes the other night (holy cow, I need to thin that herd) looking for the perfect coat pattern for an embroidered wool I've owned for four years, when I came across this pattern.

I made view C

I bought Burda 7031 late last winter, after seeing a soloist at church wearing an adorable lined lace top. The shape was similar to this one, so I optimistically added it to my pattern stash.

I pulled the pattern out and studied the navy blue fabric in View C. It reminded me of the weight of this bonded sweater lace.


Closeup of the fabric, you can see the white fluffy parts are where the lace is bonded to the sweater knit.

I started cutting this out at 3:00 yesterday afternoon, took a break from 4:00-4:30, sewed til 5:15, and then finished it at 9:15. Honestly, cutting and sewing took all of 2 hours, maybe even less.

And even though it's a touch big I love it! Seriously, I love it. I have no idea why.

I went upstairs to take pictures with my taupe trousers and they're missing. So for these photos I've paired it with my wash and wear pleather skirt from QVC, another favorite purchase of mine this fall.

I never style my photos! The GOMI people scare me. But I think this time it will be ok.

I even put on high heels! Another QVC purchase. I share the links because I'm always frustrated when I see footwear that isn't documented.

Back to the pattern. Let's talk about the wonky "collar." Yes, they do call this a collar. Do you know those crazy kids at Burda actually suggest that you can add batting to the collar piece if you want it to have more body?? BATTING. I chose not to do that, it stands up plenty on its own.

I sewed most of the seams on my machine and pressed them open. At first I was treating this fabric delicately, but by the end I was pressing the hell out it with full steam and I couldn't tell a difference at all. That's nice, I don't have a "delicate" lifestyle.

I wanted you to see how the sleeves bell out just a little bit at the end. So. Much. Fun.

Then I goofed amd sewed the collar, the hem band, and the center back seam with my serger. That much bulk under one seam made for some ripples and difficulty pressing the seam to one direction, which was super important when tacking down the collar and hem band. In hindsight, I should have used the machine for all the seams and my serger for finishing edges.

All in all, I'm super happy with this top! I will wear this quite a bit for work, especially if I can track down those taupe trousers. I have to call the dry cleaners, I have a feeling they never made it home.