Sunday 12 April 2015

Burda Style 03-2011-131 Easter shorts stashbusting attempt

I've had a lovely time patting all my fabric sorting out my extensive fabric collection and piling all the smaller pieces in a "must use up very soon" section. This is a fabulous idea for reducing the stash, except that sometimes you just end up with even smaller pieces that do not quite fit the "can throw out now" scrap stage. Your fabric size storage and throwing out tolerance may vary, but mine causes these difficulties frequently. It is highly annoying to me that scrappy pieces of fabric somehow take up more space than 2 metres x 150cm of the same substance in a tight roll.
I had a very nice pale purplish pink  bottom-weight cotton from Michael's Fabrics, this being a byproduct of my regular collection of cotton for shirts from this source when they have a cotton bundle sale and the Australian dollar is feeling robust. There was about a yard of fabric, quite useable.

Being rather careless in my stashbusting efforts, I managed to cut out this cute pair of shorts for my daughter from about 60% of it, leaving a possibly useable remainder.
technical drawing http://www.burdafashion.com
The pattern is from Burda Style 03-2011, where the garment appears in a short and a knee length version, 131 and 132. This version is tapered out slightly from the hip, the original being rather straight and tight around the thigh, and given a slightly extended front lap for the waistband. The fitting changes are to slightly deepen the back rise, and to narrow the waist at centre back and at the side seams. To allow for this waist adjustment, I have given the constructed the shorts so that the waistband is sewn to the body before finishing the side and upper centre back seam, which seeing as Burda has left in a centre back seam in the drawing, but not the pattern piece, seems a better order than their sewing instructions suggest.
I left off the pockets, as my daughter does not care for side seam pockets and conveniently felt that welt pockets or a patch pocket would not add to the usefulness nor aesthetic appeal of the shorts (or maybe she wanted to wear them very soon, having brought insufficient warm weather clothing home from Brisbane)


I've used some very small scraps of allegedly Liberty print lawn, pattern Mirabelle, purchased quite some time ago from Fabric.com, and mysteriously missing both the texture of Tana lawn and the Liberty label in the selvage, to line the waistband, the fly, and to bind the seams and hem.
This secret inner detail is very pleasing to me, as even if the fabric has dubious provenance, the print is rather pretty. I used an additional layer of the bottom-weight cotton instead of a commercial interfacing, and stabilized the upper waistline with woven selvage of the same fabric to assist in the prevention of stretch during wear.
I've used a flower machine embroidery stitch for the fly topstitching, and used flower shaped pewter buttons. These sort of details were very pleasing to my daughter when she was 5 or so, and she still puts up with them, she is very kind to her mother.


I am pleased to have this shorts pattern fitted, as I have a few more small pieces of fabric lying about.


To co-ordinate with these new shorts, there is some experimental sewing.
I have some pre shirred fabric, from Pitt Trading, previously used for the bodice of a sundress. This fabric is a fine cotton woven, but acts like a 2 way knit due to the shirring. I traced off a ready to wear knit singlet and sewed it from the shirred fabric, binding the neckline and armscyes with cotton/lycra knit.
The hem, which is unfortunately not pictured due to wanting to display the shorts waistband, has caused great self back patting. Last time I used this fabric, hemming caused considerable time in the crying  thinking chair, as the fabric, being crinkled, stretches out when sewn in a highly annoying and unattractive manner. This time, I cut a thin strip of the cotton lycra knit, and sewed it the to the very edge of the fabric using a narrow 3 step zig zag and a walking foot. The knit rolls up slightly, giving a textural appeal that looks quite deliberate, and also has sufficient recovery to prevent a lettuce effect to the hem, and the zig zag  stitch stops the woven fabric from fraying.
Overall, I feel I have made quite a successful singlet, which is cooler to wear than a similar style of knit top, but still requires no ironing. I felt quite clever about this whole outfit, until I realised that I now possessed about 40cm scrap of cotton herringbone and about 70 cm of shirred white voile, less useable sizes than before I started sewing, and not really reduced the stash volume at all.
I will have to sew more things, how terrible!


7 comments:

BeaJay said...

A lovely summer outfit there. LOVE that shirred top.

Sue said...

Pretty pieces. I have been stash busting too and making tops from remnant pieces, but luckily I use more fabric than your daughter, so have got most of them out of the stash. :)

badmomgoodmom said...

Great shorts. I'm so impressed by the impeccable finishing on the inside. HK binding on summer knockabout short? So decadently wonderful.

I have a similar tendency to hoard scraps. I bought a 2.5 yard piece of lt wt French terry for PJ pants. I made the PJ pants, then used the scraps to make a boxy top for myself (with sleeves made from a thrifted T). Then I used the skinny scraps from that to make a color-block princess-seamed top for my daughter--again pairing the scraps with a thrifted T.

That's it. I have to stop and move on to the rest of the nice pieces in my stash.

http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2015/04/simplicity-1199.html
http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2015/03/world-water-day-2015.html

fabric epiphanies said...

I also struggle with throwing out scraps and then end up with a 'not seeing the wood for the trees' scenario. Your scrap busting combination really works. Maybe the 70cm could be a skirt but the 40cm, I have nothing!

SewRuthie said...

When the scraps get really small I make baby clothes, doll clothes or craft things like patchwork tote bags.
I also like to mix fabrics together in a garment. I've seen some woven front/knit back tops in the shops for example.

Anonymous said...

Yeah. I have a scrap problem too. I love the way you've solved some of yours!

Gail said...

Great shorts and tank. Scraps - I have boxes of them. I don't want to part with them but I don't think I'll ever use them.