Finished: BPF SS-10-413 through 415 and BWOF 02-08-127

If this outfit had a theme song, it would be "The Long and Winding Road". This project took many turns on the way from concept to garment.

First, the road to the blouse …

The first turn on the road came when I noticed the blouse pattern was sized for petites. I'm 5'9". The differences in the length measurements (bust depth, front waist length, back length and sleeve length) were 3/4" or less. The alternations were easy, but annoying. I usually do (pivot and slide) pattern adjustments as I trace. For some reason, the (seemed like) 50 other pattern pieces on the sheet were more distracting than usual and the adjustments took longer than they should have. The road bent in another direction when I realized one of the variations was the bust length. Lowering the bust line on blouses is a regular alteration for me (when my ego lets me do it). Since this blouse was already drafted for a shorter torso, I decided this was the time to set my ego aside and include the alteration. That led to another bend in the road. This blouse had princess seaming and the only way I knew to lower the bust line was to lower the darts. I checked Fast Fit (Betzina, 2003) and learned how to alter the bust on princess seams. It was really a very easy process.

My original pattern choice was 414. I liked the flap and and top stitching (but not the belt). But, leave it to my beloved Burda to make things difficult interesting. The road forked again when I read the instructions and learned the center front panels on 414 are made with double layers of fashion fabric rather than a folded over facing. The center front was placed on the fold and grosgrain ribbon was sewn on the left front (a decorative and functional facing) with the buttons sewn on over the ribbon . Quite an interesting detail, but I turned away from that feature and took another fork in the road. 415 had the folded front facing I'm used to so I traced that front and followed those directions. I also preferred the rolled up sleeve on 413. I combined the preferred details from three similar patterns to come up with my blouse. And since I was going into so many directions at once, rather than confuse myself changing lanes between three sets of directions, I made up the directions as I went along.

And then came the pants …

… and yet another detour in the Long and Winding Road. When I bought the fabric for these pants I was thrilled. I searched among the fabric at JoMar and found a real bargain – quality fabric for $1.60 a yard. However, it was stored on a roll and I didn't realize it was only 44" wide. I would have noticed if it had been wrapped on a bolt. Consequently, I didn't have enough fabric to make my first choice pants. I didn't realize I was short on fabric until I'd already traced the pattern and laid it out. I switched destinations and went for capris instead. Still, it was a tight squeeze getting all the pieces on the fashion fabric. I had to use gray pocketing for the pockets and inside waistband.

This journey was made even longer by a side trip through PR Weekend. I started this project several days before PR Weekend and finished it several days after. For two days, rather than sewing, I was socializing and shopping with other sewing enthusiasts. Then, for the next two days, I was recovering from all the socializing and shopping. It was tremendous fun, but it added four days to the trip to a finished outfit. The journey might not be over. After looking objectively at the pictures, I might shorten the blouse … and maybe the pants, too. Some journeys never end.