Thursday, March 27, 2014

Burda 11-2011-114, Hot Pink Surplice Tee

Burda 11-2011-114 Thumbnail

Burda 11-2011-114 has been on my list ever since the magazine was published!  I got this fabric at Golden D'Or in Dallas in December 2011 and way overpaid for it at $8.50/yd, but I love the color and the subtle "space dyed" gradation.  It is extremely lightweight with little recovery and I don't expect to get more than a dozen wears out of this top before the fabric stretches out beyond redemption. Alas.  

The biggest negative for this pattern is that the front piece is a giant fabric hog and I couldn't find an efficient cutting layout that didn't waste a lot of fabric.

The center back is drafted on the fold, which doesn't work for my swayback.  I used my TNT tee to shape the side seams and add a center back seam.

This is the "easy" sewing pattern with illustrated instructions for the November 2011 issue.  I am sure I would have figured it out eventually from Burda's written instructions, but it was really nice to have the illustrations here.

Back Neckline

The back neck finish (which wraps around from the front) is quite clever.  You fold the right front's self-facing to the wrong side, then place the right front and left front right sides together.  Then you fold the left front's self-facing around the whole back and sew.  When you open it up the join is very neat and tidy.  In wearing, my top does not have the gathered V-dip at the center back neck shown in the illustration; it just looks like a plain old neckline.





Underlined Lower Back





The fabric is very soft and lightweight, one of those fabric where sometimes you can't actually tell if you're touching it or not.  Surprisingly, it was not hard to sew.  The edges didn't curl or ravel, though it did like to spit out pins.

Because the fabric is so lightweight, I underlined the back only in a tricot.  With the front two layers already, a lining would have been too much (and would have interfered with the drape of the neckline).


Interface Armscye to Prevent Stretching

With the front's cut-on yoke, the shoulder seam is not at the shoulder but several inches below it in the back.  Combine that with the dropped armscye, and this lightweight fabric has no support at all on the shoulder.  The armscye opening will eventually be at about my knees as the fabric stretches and stretches in wearing.  
To try to contain the stretch at the armscye, I fused bias strips of interfacing to the seam allowance (retrofitted after it was sewn).  With the dropped shoulder, I'm not sure how much good it will do but maybe it will buy me a few more wears. 

The tunic length of this top as drafted was *not* flattering to me, especially in this lightweight fabric that shows every lump and bump.  I shortened it 3 inches from the drafted length.

Front









I couldn't tell from Burda's photos whether the neckline would be annoyingly low and require a camisole, but it sits perfectly fine on me--no gapage!  I really like the style of this top and the bright color offers some cheer in this neverending winter.  Seriously, it snowed on Tuesday.  Again.

Though the top will likely be short-lived, the pattern is a keeper.  With the dropped shoulder it would make a cute sleeveless summer tee with shoulder coverage, and I'll eventually turn the red merino wool I got from Fabric Mart into another version of the long sleeve top.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.


13 comments:

T. Sedai said...

Super cute! Sad that the fabric won't hold up, because the fit and color look great on you. I loved this pattern in the magazine too - nice to hear that it doesn't have a front gapping problem. It is pretending to be summer here (off and on), so I probably won't be doing anything with long sleeves for a while, but I might have to pull out some stash fabric for this top when fall rolls around.

Paskiaq said...

It's so pretty!

Anonymous said...

Oh I hate it when the perfect color/print comes along and the quality is lacking. Because I love this color on you, and the blouse is super cute!!

Anonymous said...

This reminds me a lot of 08/2006 (I think??). There is a top in there like this. I love your version!

Trumbelina said...

Love this. I've eyed this pattern up for a while too. Your length alteration is perfect.

Vanessa said...

Nice top!

Vicki Kate said...

This looks lovely. I hope the fabric surprises you as I'd want to be wearing the top all the time!

Linda L said...

Nice top. I like the back yoke and center back seam on this pattern. As always a very thorough review here and on PR!

Mary said...

Gorgeous fabric and work. I love the gentle wrap of this tee.

Anonymous said...

What a great shirt! Perfect style, color, and fit. It makes me realize that I need some shirts that are warm enough to wear in this cold weather but in colors that feel like spring.

Joy said...

Lovely variation on the wrap/surplice. I like the slouchy collar in the back. And the back shaping is definitely a good choice to make (a little shaping probably would be good for anyone - they might as well start adding this to patterns!)

liza jane said...

Very pretty color! I made this pattern with some alterations for a maternity top. I loved it and wore it heavily for several months. But eventually it bit the dust. I think my fabric was similar- some sort of drapey sweater type knit. It stretched out in weird places but that also could have been due to my alterations. Great idea to make it a sleeveless tee! I may have to try that.

Kelly said...

Oh, I love it! I'm so sorry the fabric won't last on this one, but I'm sure there will be a few more in your future...