Up First - Burda 7828

In between weekend activities with the family, I was able to work on these two pieces.  I am very happy with the top and want to make more of them and possibly even the dress version.  On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being 100% satisfied, I would rate the capris a 7, partly for style and partly for fit.  I have not made fly front pants for years.  I thought it was time to try again.  I'll do a second post on the capris.

Burda 7828 is a pattern for a wrap front top or dress that ties on one side to keep the front wrap in place.  You can make a dress that flares out to the knee, view B, or you can make the top, view A.  There are two sleeve options, cap or 3/4 length.  I made view A, in a size 10, with the cap sleeves.

The first thing I noticed on the pattern was that the finished top with the printed cutting lines would be entirely too short.  So I lengthened the bodice 2 inches.  I was also concerned the under arms might not be low enough, so I took about 3/8" off the underarm and blended into the shoulder seam lines.  Because I did this, I also added about 1/2" to the cap sleeve width.  Here is a picture of what I did.

I was also concerned the neckline might be too low, so I added about a 1/2" of width to the neckline front pieces.  The fabric is some kind of a rayon blend that is very lightweight and doesn't have a lot of stretch.  When I measured the width of the bodice pieces I realized they might be too tight for my comfort.  So my final alteration was to add 3/8" to the front and back bodice piece at the foldline.  With all the alterations complete, putting the top together was a breeze. 

I serged all my seam allowances and used 1/4" clear elastic on the neck edge.  I zigzagged the elastic to the front edge on the wrong side, then turned it and topstitched it with a double needle.  My front does not gape at all and I think I got the elastic length right on, because I don't have a lot of wrinkling like when you use a piece of elastic that is too short.  I nearly forgot to mention that I did need to cut about 1.5" off the right front wrap piece that attaches to the tie.  It was too long when I test fitted it.  I used my coverstitch machine to hem the top.  I followed all the instructions as written and found them to be clear and easy to follow.  My only deviation from the instructions was my neckline finish technique.