I have to admit it…There was very little forethought behind these two new ‘makes’. I made these cocoon dresses on a whim….merely because I thought they would look pretty good with my new Cocoon coat (here)! Shallow…but true. Now that the 2018 RTW fast is over, I’m feeling quite free. I can sew anything I want without a single thought about whether I ‘need’ it to fill a hole in my wardrobe or not. Frivilous sewing is the life for me!!
I’m such a sucker for a good knit dress in the winter, so if anyone waves a pattern in front of my face that gives me an excuse to make yet another one, I’m all in. And this one has pockets, which makes it perfect!
I absolutely love a dress with side seams that wrap around to the front. I’m a big fan of stand up collars too….so Audrey Hepburn!
Burda Style patterns have never been on the top of my list because they come in a magazine insert, so they all have to be traced onto pattern paper before they’re cut and sewn, and, well, I hate tracing patterns. I’d much rather buy a paper pattern, thank you very much. But the design of this dress was too good to pass up. So, I put on a binge worthy show just did it. This Burda Style pattern (1/2019/111) was worth the effort.
I loved the pattern so much I made two versions – – one from a soft, ‘poppy’ colored sweater knit I bought at the Mill End Store, and one from a textured sweat shirt jersey that I found at Joann’s (on sale!).
It’s always interesting to see how different a dress/pattern looks with a two different knits. The gray textured jersey is a heavier moderate stretch knit so the dress and collar look more structured in that fabric. The poppy knit is so soft with a bit more stretch so the fit is loose and easy.
The dress went together easily. The collar is cut as part of the bodice so that makes things simple. The shape of the dress is created by the forward placement of the side seams. The hardest detail is the zipper at the back. Fitting is pretty straightforward…you can modify at the side or center back seam. I used a double needle for the sleeve hem and dress hem.
I love the neckline and the cocoon shape of this pattern – obviously, I’ll likely make it again. And the best part? Both dresses work under my new coat:)
It’s always fun to follow an intense project like a coat with a less involved project, a palate cleanser! To be honest, the tracing of the pattern wasn’t as bad as I expected…really went pretty quickly and I’m getting better at figuring out all of those crazy lines on the magazine insert. So, there will definitely be more Burda Style makes in my future.
I hope your New Year has had a strong start. I’m excited about all of the sewing happenings this month – – the Pattern Review Sewing Bee started this week. I’m not participating this year, but I love watching the fun. There should be lots of inspiration there. I’m hoping to make something for Sew Japanese In January, and there’s the Day/Night Dress Challenge coming up next month, hosted by Elizabeth Made This! Lots to look forward to…
Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!
I love these dresses, and you are right, they look perfect with your coat! I will have to find this pattern. It is just my style.
Thanks Becky!! It’s available in the magazine or on the Burda Style website. I hope you enjoy it.
Those are fantastic! Could you have skipped the zipper or is the neckline faced to not stretch?
The neckline is faced, and it’s pretty snug, but if your knit has a lot of crosswise stretch, you could probably pull that off:)
Your dresses are amazing! I made this pattern into a sweater as a muslin a while back and decided against the dress, but now I see where I went wrong: I should have gone down a size to make it more fitted like yours are. I haven’t got suitable fabric hanging around right now, but I might just give the dress another try once I have!
Thank-you, Chris! Yes, I quite like the fitted look and picked my size accordingly. I hope you’ll post your version so I can enjoy? That issue of the magazine had so many possibilities…
I’m with you on not liking to trace patterns! But these are both great – I like how comfy cozy yet pulled together they look. Also, I think I have the same grey fabric from JoAnn’s but now I’m questioning using it for a fitted peplum top, as planned. What’s the backing feel like to you?
Thanks! My gray fabric has a poly backing and it has one-way crosswise stretch. I usually write down the fiber content when I buy something, but didn’t do it on this piece. The top layer feels cotton-like.
The dresses are amazing. The red one and the coat are perfect together.
Thank-you! I’m so glad it works with the coat as I’m wearing it all the time:)
Both dresses are super cute..especially on you! I have ordered the magazine and feel equally hesitant to plod through the tracing aspect of Burda Style but want that dress badly enough to Just Do It. Keep on inspiring us.
Thanks Fran! Yes, the tracing is formidable at times, but this dress only has a few pieces, so it isn’t quite as time consuming. I binged a new show while tracing mine. I highly recommend that:)
Gah! You beat me to it…I was considering making this dress up…and maybe in red too. Great minds think alike. 🙂
Love both of your versions. Very chic.
Oh, thanks, Diane. I can’t wait to see your version!! And red is such a nice color on you. Yes, This particular issue of the magazine was so inspiring…I couldn’t wait to sew this one up:)
Both colours look lovely on you and with your coat! Although I am favouring the POPPY RED. Nice work! Looking forward to seeing what you do with your Challenges coming up!
Thanks, Linda! Poppy might be my new favorite color, although it will NEVER take the place in my heart that blue holds:) Yes, I have a bit of sewing to do!
It was certainly worth all your tracing efforts to make these dresses. Both suit you well, but the red one has a definite Audrey look to it, very stylish.
Thanks, Sue, especially for the Audrey comment!
I would like to order burda style magazine but all phone numbers on the website do not work. How does one order the magazine?
I ordered mine through Amazon.
I love a great wrapped seam cocoon dress myself (but what don’t I love?). You picked just fabrics too – so pretty!
Thanks, Faye!!yes, I’m with you..if a dress has wrapped seams I can’t resist!
Both dresses look fantastic on you, I love dresses like this that you can really just throw on and look instantly put together. I had thought that there was a strip on each side seam from the line drawing, the forward placed seam is a cool detail!
Me too! These dresses are getting a lot of wear!