My first Burda jersey top!

I have been recently to the Richmond Theater to watch the play "Jeeves & Wooster" and because we arrived early, I had the opportunity to have a look into WHSmith. And what have I found among their magazines? A Burda sewing magazine. There were actually two issue, but I only liked the Burda Style Special autumn/winter No5/2013. So, I bought it.

I never used a Burda before, but heard already a few stories about how badly explained everything is. And forget about any nice illustrations! Never mind, I wanted to give it a try. I chose pattern 0010A, which is a jersey top. I decided to make it with long sleeves because I am always very cold in winter.

They made a fury jersey top.
In the left bottom corner you can hopefully
see the pattern.

The top has little pleats at the front and back of the sleeves and the sleeves go up to the neckline. The neckline is finished with a little strip of fabric and at the back you have a little slit that you have to close with button loops and button. According to my high bust measurement, I am size 34. So, I cut 34 at the bust and graded up to size 37 for the waist and hip. It was my first Burda pattern and I had no idea how good the fit would be on me :) But I think it is not bad!

Fabric: A dark purple jersey, which I bought at Goldhawk Road (which will go perfectly with my planned Beignet Skirt). It is a little bit thicker than the basic T-shirts you can buy in the shops.

Tracing: To begin with I had to trace the pattern (I always do anyway), because there were so many on top of each other. And it took me ages, especially because you have to add the seam allowances and then in the evening with no bright light, it was a bit difficult to see all the lines through my tracing paper. Also, at the sleeves pleats there was some weird shaping going on.

The placket is a bit stretched. Maybe I need a broad shoulder adjustment?

Construction: Apart from the pleats and necklines no problem at all. I used my overlocker most of the time and my twin needle only for the topstitching. As you will notice, my pleats don't look similar at all. I gave my best, but somehow they did whatever they wanted. Next time... (yep, there will be a next!) And the neckline? I think I might have misunderstood the instructions here, because it was very difficult to attach such a narrow neckband and also my neckline stands now slightly up. What about the placket and button loop? Weirdly enough the placket is pulled open. Probably because my shoulders need a bit more room? I might add another button/buttonloop here (the pattern instructions call only for one) and see if that helps.

Watch these pleats! I prefer the one on the right :)

Have I worn it yet? Yes, twice and I like it a lot. The only odd thing is that I can feel the sleeve seams. As the sleeves are not super tight, it can't be that. The seam is just a normal overlocked one, so maybe I can feel the threads? I was hoping the threads would soften after washing, but didn't. Did you ever have such a "problem"?

Will I make it again? Yes! I will make the dress version and I am finally going to use my flamingo jersey that I bought at the blogger meetup in Goldhawk Road in August!

PS: I am still thinking about making garments from my sewing list. But I am sure winter will be long...