I’m generally not one for fussy necklines and collars, so I wasn’t sure whether I would participate in this month’s challenge. However, I had recently been going through the last few months of Burda magazines and the flounce blouse (#109) from the May issue caught my eye with it’s simple shape and classic tie-neck collar.
I thought the 109 blouse from the May issue of Burda would make a great work top, but I had two concerns. One was that this pattern was a “petite” size, which I am not. Secondly, the top had a flounce on the front that I wasn’t sure whether I liked or not. Well, as you can see from the photos, I managed to solve both of these problems!
The details:
Fabric: Cotton/rayon blend from Tessuti
Pattern: Flounce blouse (#109) from the May 2017 issue of Burda
Size: 20
Special touches and alterations: Removed the flounce, took in side seams by 1cm.
Burda states that petite sizes are the same as the full sized counterparts, except that they are made for women of around 160 – 167cm in height, and so are shorter in length. Well, I measured the pattern against some tops I own and was surprised to find that despite this, the pattern seemed the right length even for my long torso! I wasn’t convinced, so I did add 3.5cm to the length of the hem, but it ended up being quite long, so I hemmed by turning up 1.5cm then a further 4cm, and I think I could have still gone shorter! I was further surprised that the bust darts seemed to be at the correct height, and not too high as they often seem to be.
And the flounce? Well, due to an error on my part in laying out the fabric, I was juuuuuust short of having enough fabric for all the pattern pieces! D’oh! So I trimmed the flounce off the front piece so it would fit on my fabric. Decision was made for me! And I’m quite glad I did as I do think the flounce might have been a bit too much.
The fabric is a wrinkle prone cotton/rayon blend of some sort from Tessuti’s clearance table. Not a colour I wear often but it is growing on me! I finished the insides by overlocking in black.
I do think it is a little tight over my hips, so I would grade out to a size 21 over the hips next time. And I can never decide how to wear the neck tie. I like it open but it does show the contrast black overlocking threads when it opens up. Tied up in a bow sometimes feels too fussy, but is what I’ve been defaulting to. How would you wear it?
More from me on my blog, Tatulinka’s Tales
The Monthly Stitch 
Love what you did here. I have this pattern but did not like the frills since its just not me. This is lovely. Thanks for the inspiration!
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Would look great tucked into a pencil skirt for the office.
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I like them tied, as well, but that is me. You should do whatever you are in the mood for at the time.
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I like them tied, the ends aren’t big and fluffy, and it doesn’t have to be done tight enough to bother you around the neck. Great color, too; lovely!
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I like them tied! To me since they’re not huge it doesn’t come across as too fussy.
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I love your top and the colour is one of my very favourites 🙂 I think I like it best untied completely. That casual draping of those ties down the front looks really nice although the length of them might get a little annoying…maybe tie the bow at the bottom of the ties rather than right at your neck? Or you could cheat and sew them down in spots down the front so they look like they’re draping down the front but they’re tacked so they don’t flop around 🙂 Just a thought! In any case it looks nice with the little bow at your neck too!
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