Finished: Blouse BPF SS-07-416A & Pants BPF FW-06-409

Long Blouse: Burda Plus Fashion Spring-Summer 07 416A

Burda has shown quite a few "long blouses" in their plus size offerings. I looked at the sites of RTW manufacturers I like (Anne Klein, Jones New York and even Eileen Fisher), to see if any long blouses or tunics were shown. I didn't see any and that should have given me a clue. But Burda has always been touted as being "fashion forward" so I went ahead and made the blouse as designed. After I finished the blouse, I wasn't really sure if I liked the length. I've shortened other Burda longer blouses and I wasn't satisfied with the results so I was apprehensive about moving too far away from the designer's original concept.

The fashion photograph showed the blouse worn open over a cami or tank top with the sleeves rolled up. I made my blouse to be worn in the winter and it isn't likely that I'd roll up the sleeves, so I omitted the button tabs that would have held the rolled up sleeves in place.

I wanted to go in a new direction with this outfit. I realized I was in a deep fashion rut and I wanted to try something different. I chose this pattern because it was unlike anything I've worn.

I bought the fabric on a recent trip to New York's garment district. I'm not sure about the fiber content of the fabric. It pressed very nicely, so I think it's a heavy cotton. I didn't notice any identifying information when I bought it, but I planned to have it dry cleaned just in case.

I enjoyed working on this blouse. The fabric was easy to work with and the pattern had enough design details to keep me interested. But, because of the length, I haven't decided if I like it yet.


Pants: Burda Plus Fashion Fall/Winter 06 - 409

Except for the faux welt pockets and flaps on the back, I could have made these pants in my sleep. In my deep fashion rut, I've made pants like this a gazillion times.










The fabric is a light weight wool. I thought about lining these pants, but I forgot about the lining when I started sewing. This gives me a chance to make a chance to make a pair of pant liners to wear when needed.

I've started extending the hip pocket piece into the fly seam allowance on all the pants I make. There is always a line marked on the pattern piece that says center front, but for some reason I end up with the extension flapping free rather than being caught up in the fly construction.

Since I wasn't entirely happy with the way the long blouse looked by itself, I've considered wearing this outfit with the blouse worn as an over blouse, as it was originally shown in the magazine. The three pieces add more visual interest and serve as a small step out of my fashion rut.