Burda Asymmetrical Top

I visited Sydney last weekend.  A versatile player in my weekend wardrobe was a Burda top made up in a very soft, grey, bamboo knit sourced from Oddz and Endz in Noosa.  The pattern is 02/2014 #135A.

I wore it on the plane, with black linen pants (not shown).

I wore it to a play, with my big red skirt.

I wore it to Bondi, where we were nearly blown away.

I did make changes to the pattern.  In the photo below, the back is in the upper portion of the photo.  Other reviewers found the top too short, so I wanted to add some length.  In the back this was simply a matter of splitting and spreading the pattern.  For the front, I wanted to reduce the amount of the drape, as the original pattern looks a bit as though you are carrying a spare belly around.  I split the front and overlapped at the split to reduce the amount of drape.  I then split and spread the bottom sections to increase the length.

I was happy with the fit, though looking at the photos, the upper arm is pretty loose.  I finished the neck edge with my coverstitch machine and binders.

I bought this same fabric in red and am wondering if I should just make up the same top again?  Only looking at the sleeves in the photos, I think I need to adjust the fit of the sleeves in the upper arm.

Stylearc Amber Woven Blouse

Stylearc is a pattern company that I have been wanting to love, but haven't quite.  This top is the Amber Woven Blouse, and I think it has been my most successful stylearc project so far.

I think that the success is largely due to the fabric choice.  It is a stretch silk georgette, which is not a fabric that I have used before. It drapes well and I suspect is rather forgiving when it comes to fit.   I bought it to make a dress for my daughter and then used something else for her instead.  I thought that the fabric would then languish in the stash as it wasn't really "me".  Now that I have made this top up, I totally love it.

I changed the pattern a bit to use a wide lace insert.  The external facing piece on the original pattern is round.  I got the lace from Lincraft, tea-dyed it (though maybe not enough, or maybe it didn't take the tea too well), then found it torn, so had to do some repair embroidery with solvy underneath.  This is a technique for machine embroidery that I have read about and never had need to use until now.  I also changed to a bias binding on the neck to keep the lace in check.

I only had to make minimal fit changes (I did make a muslin, and then when I went to adjust the pattern, I could not find the muslin and had to guess the changes).  I shaped the side seams a little, widened the hip area and raised the front darts. 

I will make this pattern again, probably using the colour blocking suggested on the pattern.