Just in time for the weekend, my Burda plunge back top is finished! I'm very pleased with the way this top turned out - a bit more time consuming that what I had first thought it would be, but well worth it. I think that it's the little details such as the shirring on the back strap, the plunge look, as well as the gathered waist that make it look more ready to wear than something someone whipped up in their basement!

Overall, the instructions were easy to follow, but I didn't care for the way they had you binding the arm and inserting the elastic, so I changed it a bit. For the arm, I sewed up the side seams, sewed the short ends of the arm binding strips together, then attached the binding to the arm hole - flipping it to the inside and then twin stitching (I think my way makes the top look more finished than what the instructions call for). The pattern calls for a hem of 1 1/4 inches, but this seemed too wide for this top so I opted to go for a 5/8" hem instead (since the elastic is 3/8 inches wide, it also seemed appropriate so it wouldn't get 'wiggly' inside the casing). Instead of leaving an opening on the side seam to insert the elastic, I decided to fold up he hem, sew - leaving an opening, inserting the elastic, then finish sewing the casing closed - Much easier in my opinion!

Now that this project is finished, I'm deciding what to do with the other yard of this fabric - I'm seriously contemplating making the matching skirt!

Besides the plunge back, one of my favorite design elements of this Burda World of Fashion top is the slight shirring on the back strap.

To achieve this look, the pattern directions call for shirring elastic. I wasn't quite sure what I was looking for, but I assumed shirring elastic was either a small cord-like elastic or an elastic thread. I headed out to Hancock Fabrics (I was already going there for their pattern sale anyway) where I assumed someone would know what I was talking about. Unfortunately, no one working there knew. A glance at the notions wall (which was almost empty) turned up nothing so I decided to head out to Joann's - fortunately, their wall was much better stocked and I found exactly what I was looking for, stretch rite elastic sewing thread!

Instead of using the elastic thread in the bobbin and sewing, I opted for the more time consuming process of zigzagging over the thread and pulling it up to fit the width the pattern called for. It did take a bit more time, but was well worth it!

To create this effect I used a small zigzag (2.0 with and 2.0 length on my machine) making sure not to catch the cording in the stitching as I sewed. Once I gathered up the stitches, I knotted both ends of the elastic to make sure that they wouldn't move out of place. Now that the hardest part is over, it's time to put this top together!

With all the problems I had last month getting my Burda World of Fashion magazine, I was shocked when I opened my mailbox the other day and saw June's issue! I immediately ran inside and ripped open my box with my jersey from Lucy's Fabrics (thanks again to Shannon for discovering this gem at a great price!).

I intend on tracing this pattern, washing the fabric, and cutting out the top pattern as my next project (I'm not sold on the skirt yet, so I think I'll wait on this one).