It's 2013 and we are still asking the question: "How can you tell if your shirt was made in a sweatshop?"


Source: Andrew Biraj/Reuters

There was an incident in a factory that makes clothes for large retail giants causing many people to once again ask that question. On April 24th, a factory fire in Bangladesh killed more than 300 people. Last November, there was another fire in Bangladesh that killed 112 people. These incidents bring the nastiness of the garment industry to the forefront of people's minds. But, many will probably forget by the time they go back to the store.

The sad part is, this is not something new. It is just that those of us in North America have increasingly been able to push it out of sight and out of mind over the last 100 years.

I've finally finished the sweater I was making for myself. Actually, it had been 99% done for about a month, I was just waiting for some buttons.


I love the colour and how fitted it is.

Here we go with more Burdastyle Ute sewing. We are now at Step 7: finishing the collar. Step 8 is basically the same, but for the tie collar (Variation B).


Now you can iron the button band along the fold lines. My polka dots made this part easy, since I could just follow along a line of dots.

Now for more of Step 5 and 6 of the Burdastyle Ute Sew-Along. If you are following along with me, your fabric should start to look more and more shirt-like from here on out.


Ok, so if you haven't trimmed and neatened your seams, you can do that now. All I did was trim and use zig-zag stitch on mine, as I don't have a serger. I also had to re-cut my neckline, since it was a little higher due to my alterations.

Well, my first purse from an old jacket didn't last too long. It was only a couple of months before the pleather started to tear and the layers separated in some places. But, I expected it to, as that is why it no longer worked as a jacket. The good news is that I got to make a new purse.

Behold! Purse 2.0!

This time I made the purse using an old leather jacket.

Continuing along with my Burdastyle Ute Sew-Along, I am now at Steps 5 and 6, which has most of the actual sewing of the shirt. I'm going to skip Step 5, as that is just cutting the interfacing (I'll do that when I need it).


On to Step 6: Sew the front and back princess seams. But, if you are still unsure about the fit (as I am) do not finish and trim the seam allowances. Instead just iron the seams as directed.

One of the great blogs that I've stumbled upon recently is Male Pattern Boldness by Peter Lappin.


It's full of great (and humourous) posts on Peter's adventures into sewing. Today's post on "The Quantity vs. Quality Clothing Conundrum" I thought was particularly good and reminded me about why I started this blog.

Peter points out many of the issues with trying to achieve 'quality' vs. 'quantity'. For example, he points out that with more clothes, you don't have to do the laundry as much and you can play with more colours. While those are good arguments, I think I am more in favour of the 'quality' side. I am trying to be an ethical consumer and not ignore the impact my consumption can have on the environment and labour conditions, etc.

What do you think out there? What are your opinions on 'quality' vs. 'quantity'?

Just a quick little post for my Ute Sew-Along. I am now at Step 4: Cutting out the fabric.


And now you will finally get to see my fabric choice for my Black and White Challenge!

Lovely little polka dots

I've chosen a nice stretch cotton (97% cotton, 3% lycra) for my blouse. My muslin did not have any stretch, so that is why I have chosen not to simply copy my muslin, but review the pattern based on my measurements. (Hopefully, it will all turn out ok... fingers crossed)

As promised, I'm going to post a 'how to' on sewing the downloadable Burdastyle Ute (6020) blouse. Using the step numbers from the instructions, I'll fill in some parts that a new sewer might need help with.



Step 1 - Pattern Information

This step is just to tell you what pattern pieces are needed for View A and View B and the amount of fabric you will need. Nothing special here - this is what you would normally see on the back of a pattern envelop...

I've finally finished making my first shirt. It's a wearable muslin for my eventual Black and White challenge shirt. I wanted to go through the whole process (interfacing, buttons, buttonholes, etc.) before doing the same with my fashion fabric.


My notes after the jump...

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