New Look shirt and Burdastyle top

I've made yet another shirt using New Look 6963.  This time I went with the short version with short sleeves.

 This was made from cotton poplin from Spotlight.  I had a 2.5 metre x 112cm length that cost $17.48.

I also made a pleated blouse from BurdaStyle magazine 10/2015 #115A.

I struggled with the top part and couldn't understand the Burda instructions:" turn facing to inside and pull the front pleat section to outside. Baste loose neck edge of facing to facing fold line.  Lay pleat over facing edge, to inside, and sew to inside facing edge. Sew inside facing edge to seams."

I tried it out on scraps of fabric first, but each time I did what I thought the instructions were I ended up with a raw edge of fabric poking out from the seam.  In the end I did a usual facing finish. That also wasn't successful, as the instructions were to just baste both of the side pleats and when I was sewing the facing the basting on one of the pleats came undone.  I tried to refold it as I was sewing on the facing.  When I finished the facing and understitched it I found I'd folded the pleat the wrong way.  I decided I really couldn't live with it the wrong way and so had to unpick the facing and understitiching to refold it correctly.  

Next problem:  I was concerned the weight of the pleats would pull the facing through to the front, so I thought I would top stitch the neck.   Big mistake, when I had top stitched it  I hated the look of it, but unpicking it wasn't really an option as there would likely be visible holes from the needle.  So I ended up making some bias binding from left over fabric and putting that on.  For anyone looking at making it and worried about the weight of the pleats, I recommend just hand stitching the facing on the back at strategic points, I ended up doing this as well.

I wanted something a bit different and like the 'handkerchief' pieces at the side.  Though a bit worried about it being at the hips, emphasising the broadest part of my body, However if I wear with slim trousers it will look OK.  I also managed to make a mistake on these, my mistake entirely as I didn't read the instructions properly.  It said to hem the narrow ends and one long end.  I read it as one narrow end and one long end and so attached the unhemmed narrow end to the side seam of the top,  it should have been the unhemmed long end attached to the tops side seam, after folding the rectange in half, as per the tech drawing. Rather than unpicking it all I just folded in half, stitched a narrow end to the seam allowance and then stitched across the top.  A bit of a fudge, but only another sewer will notice and then they'll have to look closely.

This was made from faille from Spotlight I had 1.5m @ 148cm and cost $11.69.

Like my photo collages?  I just found this free software at Fotor.  So easy to use, expect to see more collages in future posts.