Flirt item #5

Burda 05-2010-130




The back is strictly business as usual without the welts:



I sewed this in a record 4 hours - from seeing the pattern to tracing it to fitting it to finishing it. That's pretty good. That's because 4 hours in a week is all I have these days. My son being at the stage and age he is (exhausting demanding etc), I have no energy at the end of the day. And it's not going to get any better any time soon, the secret to enjoying your children may well be excellent child care but in this city that comes with fearsome waiting lists.

Anyway, let me quit moaning, let me extol the virtues of this pattern. It is a 3 dot Burda number only because it has back welt pockets but I just did not have the time or inclination to be bothered with those. I never use back pockets if there are decent front ones and the front ones are super cute, don't you agree? They have this cute little pleat that comes off them, turning the pencil skirt into a quasi tulip number. It also has an extended front lap piece that turns into a mock belt that buttons on the other side of the belt loop. Well you know me, I love a little mockin' in my wardrobe.



The fabric was from the Red cross shop $1.50. It was clearly a leftover from another project with big bits cut out along the side.



I only had enough to do a small hem and I couldn't lengthen it at all meaning I was going to have to wear it Burda model length (short). In this way I was forced to be a little bit trendy and modern and hip which is not my bag at all, but I dare say dressing younger than my years will not kill me.

I wanted to sew my first merino top this week but when I got to my sewing machine I discovered that my son had pulled off and hidden the back vertical spool making twin-needling impossible. And do you know what I did find behind my sewing machine instead? The back windscreen wiper. Yes he pulled the whole thing off the car and posted it behind my machine. I wasn't too peeved about that because now both my husband and me have had our dearest possessions trashed and so there will be no sanctimonaneous exhortations to accept the reality of having a toddler in the house.

Instead there were lots of sympathetic noises on both sides.

This skirt is officially the cheapest item I have ever sewn - I got everything, zipper, thread, even tracing paper at a really good price from Smart Dress Fabrics, and the button and interfacing were more charity shop finds: bringing the total to something less than $4. (about US $2.50). (I never count my Burda subscription when I price things because for me it's just pure entertainment - however, I do count paper patterns purchased specifically)