The 2015 burda summer outfit with take 2 - Gaucho Pants 05/2014 #120 and the trapezoid top 07/2014#111

  After the Burda Gaucho pants no 1 it rained with this. I didn't love them as much but they were so easy to make and even more comfortable to wear that I did 2 pairs for each me, my mom and my mother is law.

   The starting point for all 3 of us was the same huge size 42 Burda 05/2014 #120. I only played with the leg flare and the length even if my husband's mom and me are quite a few sizes apart.
   The second to come were the red ones for my mother in law. I left the crotch the same and only added a bit extra to the sides and length since she is much taller then me. They are not that great but I liked them and went just perfectly with all 3 tops I bought for her birthday this summer. She really wanted some of this so she seamed very pleased with my gift. Is very hard for me to find something to sew for her since she had a very different body then mine but whenever I manage to do something she wears it around me and not only and she brags with me even if my items have small defects. I love her for that.

 The next one is still hers. A long version less wide and with the side seam and pockets skipped:

I absolutely loved this navy printed rayon and that made that all 3 of us got a pair in this fabric and I even made a top out of it - one of my favorite burda patterns - the trapezoid top 07/2014#111

I had 4 more of this top made before: the muslin, the top, the dress and the maternity knokoff.
So here is the version for me:

 For my mom I did 2 short versions. She 1st wanted to go with a busy floral print but I turned fer attention to polka dots to the last minute and I am so glad I did. I love how this print works with this pattern. Here is her pants:

Bargainista/Fashionista Contest - My Olian Colorblock Chiffon Maternity Top - Burda 07-2014-111

I love the idea behind Bargainista/Fashionista Contest on Pattern Review. I am no good at doing imitations but it sure is fun to try and of course you will never get better without exercise. So this is my attempt to copy one of the maternity top from Nordstorm shop - Colorblock Chiffon Maternity Top.

I started from a pattern well known to me from Burda 07-2014-111 - the split sleeve trapezoid top :

 that I already have sewed 3 times : the muslin, the actual top and the dress.

This time I removed some part from the sleeve ( the pink hash ) :

 I added a front seam to be able to add more room for my belly and hide it behind the white strap.

I am not sure what the fabric actually is since I got it from be small coupon box at a local store - 5 RON each ( that is about 1.3$ ). They put in this box pieces that are to small to sell as they are or have small defects and you can always find some interesting fabrics here if you are into small projects or open to combine them with something else to get your pieces.

The result is far from perfect but I think it is fun to wear and I am happy with it.

Navy polka dots dress ( BurdaStyle 07-2014-111 + Simplicity 3544)

A navy polka dots dress was often on my mind. But I never seemed to find just the right fabric for a dress until last week. And now that I had the fabric that I absolutely love ( it is very soft and pleasant when I touch it, it has nice draping and I can breath in it ) I realized I don't have a perfect pattern for it. I didn't wanted to do many cuts since the dots are quite big and didn't want to ruin their flow and that limited my options.

After waiting this long for this dress I didn't want to wait just as long to find a perfect pattern so I got working right away with the patterns I already had cut on my table from recent projects and it went smoothly. Here are the puzzle pieces :

• BurdaStyle 07-2014-111 top
• simple circle skirt
• pockets from Simplicity 3544 retro aprons view C/D ( I just did view A - only needs buttons and photos )

The top is size 34 with almost no alterations. I may add the sleeve band to close the sleeve that I did for the top to the dress as well and  I didn't do the split in the back.

For the skirt I did a full circle as big as the fabric with ( 1,4m ) allowed and the did another circle for the waist so I will have the desired  length for it. The waist opening was almost twice of what I need ed but I wanted to gather it to have more volume. Not sure if such a big and gathered circle was the best decision for the print but I just love my dress to much to have any second thoughts ...

The waist is white as the bias binding and the underskirt and it has a medium width elastic band. 

The pocket are from the retro apron : 2 layers of fabric and no interfacing since I wasn't going to attach them on the grain of the skirt fabric and I needed them to have some flow as well. I just love having big pockets.
 

Now I just look at it and wandering if my dress is at least a little bit retro. I love retro dresses.

BurdaStyle summer outfit ( 06-2014-124 + 07-2014-111)

Last week I tried 2 of the latest Burda patterns and I got some funny shorts and an OK beach top.  But I was not 100% pleased with any of them. Sure I love the shorts but they are a bit to tight and to short and the blouse I can only wear it to the beach being so transparent... So this week I gave them another go.  This time it was the other way around... love love love the blouse and the shorts get just my OK.

I tried to fix and improve everything but I am not sure all changes were good for the pants. I added the wrap panels to the back as well ( not so bad idea but it should have been somehow longer ). I wanted to add some ease but I got a crappy fit for the shorts this time. The good part is that they are a lot more conformable and easier to wear with the extra length.

The blouse on the other hand turned out just perfect. I had the inspiration to add the band to close the sleeve and now I just love the way it sticks with my hand and I can wear my hand on either of the sleeve holes. Also instead of the split in the back I did a keyhole.

 Some photos indoor : the colors are off but you can see better the shape and the drape for the blouse:

Previous pair of wrapped front shorts here.
Muslin for top here.