Following the success of Version A of Burda 7220 I was keen to have a go at making a Version B from this sewing pattern. B is a loose fit blouse with a cowl neck and asymmetrical pleat in the back. There are some beautiful blogged renditions of B, my favourites are at Valerie's Own Sewing Blog and Runamuck Weaving. Then I came across a 1990s Vogue sewing pattern for an Issey Miyake blouse with an almost identical neckline! With vintage Miyake sewing patterns costing a pretty penny, the Burda 7220 suddenly seemed like an absolute steal.
At the top of my stash was a piece of Hemingway Design tulip fabric in yellow – just enough to make this blouse. I've used Hemingway's tulip material before and can confirm that the wash and wear of this Makower fabric is as good as the excellent print design, it's quality stuff. I added a front patch pocket with a decorative wasp tag to the blouse and made the sleeves a few centimetres shorter, to finish just above the wrist.
The finished garment is part futuristic dentist's scrub and part intergalactic Lieutenant Commander's tunic. I love it.
I'm wearing it with a new pair of homemade baggy trousers, a second pair using McCall's M6514. I had a bit of a frenzy of trouser production this summer, clocking up more pairs than I had time to photograph and blog so they may appear here occasionally with future makes... These are in African wax print cotton with a design that looks like it has dozens of giant eels swimming in a river.
Yellow is flavour of the month as summer fades into autumn.
This is the first garment I've made in recent months that when worn has elicited the response "Where did you buy it?" instead of asking if I've made it myself. I don't mind at all if people can tell my clothes are homemade, on the contrary I'm a happy ambassador for home-grown fashion but must admit this blouse is a tad more sophisticated and muted than my usual handmade creations and I am rather tickled that it passes as 'shop bought'!
The sewing pattern Burda Style 7220 contains two different blouses (A and B), both reminiscent of Issey Miyake's futuristic chic office wear of the late 1980s. The fabric is Sea Island Cotton by Peter Horton Textiles. It has a lovely dense weave and is smooth to the touch, crisp to cut, and wears and washes well too.
I decided to make version A first, a collarless short sleeve blouse with high-low hem and centre front gathers. I drafted a longer sleeve to finish just above my wrist as I thought the above-elbow sleeve would be unflattering. Burda's sewing pattern instructions were quite baffling to follow but as soon as I discarded them and just followed the diagrams instead it was an easy shirt to make.
The back of the shirt is dramatically long and will probably peep out from below
most of my coats, but at this time of year when it's still warm enough
not to wear a coat or jacket, I'm really enjoying wearing this style. In fact it's one of my current favourite things to wear and I'll definitely make another of version of A, just as soon as I've finished and blogged version B...
