Adding Side Panels to Burda 6988

I just made this dress using Burda 6988.

Ii had the idea of slimming it down by adding panels to each side front and back.

This is what I did.

I cut my panels 3.5" wide by laying the pattern pieces (front and Back ) and tracing along the sides. I should say that I sewed in the dart first before tracing the front.

I then measured 3  and 1/8" from the sides of the dress and marked with my great measuring tool and my chalkener. This was my placement line for the panels.

Next I butted the edge of the panels against this placement line and pinned ,then stitched a 1/4 " seam allowance

I pressed the panel towards the sides and here I could have basted the layers together but I used strips of hem tape to fuse the two together.

                 

 After this the two layers were sewn as one and they serve as support for my flab and that's a good thing .

I hope this helps somebody and if not, it will serve as reminder for myself the next time I want to do this.

More  later from

Burda 6998...Adding neck facing and Narrow Shoulder Adjustment

I love Burda 6998. It has become one of my favorite TNT patterns .

This pattern fit very well out of the envelope but I did tweak it a bit.

I found the boat neck too wide on my narrow shoulders and as the space between the armhole and the neckline was very narrow,  I decided to not make my usual NSA. Instead , this is what I did.

I cut off the shoulder area as seen in the pic above and moved it  in 1/2". The neckline was perfect after that. It created a little jag in the armhole but ,using my French Curve,I trued up the armhole and the sleeve fit fine.

I really dislike how neck facings have a tendency to roll to the outside in many garments even after understitching. The method I'm describing here wouldn't work for the sleeveless version of this dress.

I drew a facing that include the upper part of the armhole for both front and back.

I cut it out of the dress fabric

I stitched it to the neckline, understitched it, trimmed the seam allowance  and turned it to the inside .

I then sewed it to the armhole before I put in the sleeves.
That's all there is to it and the neck facing stays put. I love it!


                                         

And in case  you're curious, here's the dress in the photos above.

Thanks for stopping by.
More later from,

Making a Twisted Fur Infinity Scarf

I  posted fur scarves I made as Christmas gifts on my other blog SewPassionista by DIANA and was asked for a tutorial , so here it is.

You'll need .4 meters (16") of a soft , drapey faux fur . Be careful in choosing your fur. The backing makes all the difference. If it feels stiff, it won't do.

Usually, this fabric comes in 150cm. (60") width. That will be too long. I made mine 33" long by 16"

If your fur is quite long or thick, it's best to shave the seam allowances. That's quite easy to do. Use your shears and clip off the fur as in the photo below. Be prepared for a mess!

Pin and sew the length of  the scarf using a longer stitch length. I used 3.5. This will give you a long tube.

Turn right side out . Place a pin or other mark  at the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 way marks at each end of the scarf. This is an important step when you sew the two ends together but is a little hard to explain why (so I won't! Just trust me!)

Now  lay the tube on your table. Twist the right hand end  and butt it against the left end . ( I hope that makes sense).
                                                        This is half a twist

                                                  This is a complete twist

 Pin with right sides of fur together matching the seams, the 1/4 and 1/2  marks.Sew this part of the seam and stop.

 Rearrange the ends of the scarf and pin the next 1/4 of the seam. This will probably be as far as you can sew by machine.

 Once you've sewn that far, you  will turn in the seam allowances of the last 1/4 and either hand stitch   or what I did was zig zagged it shut by just catching the fabric when I zigged  and sewing off the fabric when I zagged !! Does that make sense?

When you pull on the seam and fluff it, The stitching doesn't show at all..

I think these scarves are beautiful , elegant and so comfortable to wear . I hope you will try one!
Please let me know if the instuctions are not clear.

                                               Bad pic but that's all I have !