October Burda of the month: 10/2015 #110 cowl neck top

I'm running a little behind on my Burda of the month project, but better late than never. The last few issues of the Burda magazine have been great and I've found it hard to pick a project because of too much choice, but I do love a cowl neck and so I couldn't go past this lovely cowl neck top with an interesting v-neck for this month's project. This is Burda 10/2015 #110:

image via Burda Style

Burda calls this their sleeveless high neck blouse, which is a good description because that cowl neck certainly sits quite high and doesn't drape low like most cowl necks. This is because it is actually cut like a funnel neck so that even though it drapes it does stick up:

I've made my version in a lightweight poly-linen in a glorious kelly green colour that I picked up for a few dollars at the Fabric Cave a few months ago - it came in a 4.5m length so expect to see some more things in this colour soon. The fabric had enough drape to make the neckline work, but it doesn't have any stretch at all. I found this pattern to be rather tight through the body even though I made my usual 34 at the bust grading out to 38 at the hip line, so I had to let out all the two vertical darts on the front and back to have enough wearing ease. Since they are released darts they really need to be deeper to form that pleat at the top but actually fitting into it was also necessary!

Speaking of fitting into to it, I tried out the tips that a few of you left in the comments recently about sewing in zips in the side seam by sewing down the first inch or so of the seam and then installing the zip so that the zipper doesn't finish under the arm. But doing this I found that I just couldn't get my arms into the top at all - I think this one is a bit too fitted around the bust to use this method. Now I need to decide how to close that top bit because I may have been a bit too lazy to undo the zip completely and move it up to the top of the seam!

I really like the back neckline of this pattern - the v-neck bands are extended from the front neckline. Thankfully this pattern has the illustrated instructions to help figure it out because it is a bit tricky figuring it out. Essentially the shoulder seam of the back needs to be sewn to the front at the shoulder seam, then you need to clip into the fabric and pivot to sew along the rest of the back band. It does make a neat finish on the shoulder seam:

Although I found getting the point at the back neckline a bit tricky to get it to sit flat - mine has a small bump but it's not too noticeable:

This back view really shows how odd fitting this top is on me - a bit too tight at the waist and a bit too loose above that causing that blousing out effect. I'll live with it on this version, but if I make this again I would change the fit to closed darts and add some more room around the waist so that it sits flat against my body. There is a centre back seam so it should make it easy to do a sway back adjustment too. Oh and ignore that annoying skirt waistband - the hook and eyes always pop open and I need to replace it with something more secure.

Lengthwise I found this top a little long and veering into frumpy territory:

But since this version is too tight to wear untucked anyway I left as is without cutting it any shorter, but it is something to keep in mind if you are planning to make this pattern.

And in case you're interested, I made this skirt way back in 2008 from a vintage Vogue pattern. It was actually the third blog post I ever wrote - back when my photos were terrible and my writing wasn't so great either! I recently found this skirt packed away in my refashion box, so I refreshed it by taking off the white band that I had sewn around the hem. 

So overall I really like this pattern - the neckline is interesting and a nice feature. I found the instructions ok for a change, but I did have to read them through a few times to figure out that shoulder and centre back seams. If I make this top again, especially if I make the dress version (which is the same pattern just longer) I would make it a little wider through the waist and hips and change those released darts into normal darts to get a better fit.

Check out Two On Two Off and Sew Crafty Chemist for this pattern made up in knit fabrics, including the optional snood thingy that can be worn over the top.