Tag: Burda Style

A Burda Sweater Dress you can make in a day

Published on by ellegeemakes16 Comments

A simple pattern that feels stylish, and on-trend. There’s nothing better, eh?

The pattern for this sweater dress is one I’ve used before, traced patiently from a Burda style magazine pattern sheet. Once I’ve taken the time to trace a pattern, it’s always pleasing when I’m inspired to use it again!

This pattern is Burda 1/2019/111, destined to be a tried and true pattern for me. There are two things that attracted me to it ; the cocoon shape….

and the ‘audrey hepburn’ collar!

UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1955: Photo of Audrey Hepburn Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

In-seam pockets are so useful and stylish, don’t you think?

Construction Details: My fabric is a unusual textured knit I bought last year on sale at Joann’s. The knit is incredibly comfortable to wear, but I do have to admit, the stretch recovery is a bit on the relaxed side. As a result, the cocoon shape of this dress isn’t quite as pronounced as my last version (here.) Even though I’m a tad bit disappointed, the dress is fast becoming a favorite, worn over leggings, even jeans. Live and learn. I’ll be more careful when I choose knits for dresses in the future. Other than that, construction of this dress was pretty straightforward. I used my serger ( so easy) to sew and finish my seams. All in all, this dress only took about three hours!!

The Burda pattern magazine is so inspiring, but to be honest, I haven’t renewed my subscription for this year. The price tag is pretty hefty (in the States the price has increased to $100 per year), and I’d have to trace alot of patterns to make the montly investment pencil out. Instead, I’ve subscribed to the Burda on-line newsletter, (recently updated). I hope to get my monthly dose of Burda that way! We’ll see how long I can resist the urge to renew….

This weekend, I pulled a few pieces of linen and cotton from my fabric stash. I’m getting in the mood for Spring sewing. How about you?

Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!

Two Tops with a Difference from Burda Style

Published on by ellegeemakes16 Comments

I have always looked forward to each issue of Burda Style, but the inspiration I’ve found in the last couple of issues has been amazing. The March issue had so many options I wanted to explore, I abandoned my other sewing projects in favor of a bit of quick gratification. Here are some of the items in the March issue that I found especially appealing.

BeFunky-collageI love (!!) the two mint green jackets. I’m sure you’ll see a few from this collection here over the next few months!

To start though, I focussed on two tops that looked simple but satisfying. The first (3/2019, 112) has assymmetrical gathering in the front, a challenge that looked stylish and comfortable.

You can see from the drawing, that there are some interesting seams and gathers involved. There was no way I could resist this pattern! From the photo above, it looks like the pattern is made from a knit, but it’s actually for wovens. I noticed that this pattern is also available in the Burda pattern book so if you want to avoid the ordeal of tracing this one, hurry down to Joann’s and it will be yours.

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Construction challenges: The difficulty rating Burda gives this pattern is three dots (intermediate). At first glance, I couldn’t imagine why, but it was a bit of challenge. To make life easy for yourself, choose a lightweight fabric with a good amount of drape (I chose rayon). Then, cut out and mark the pattern carefully, paying close attention to the placement of the gathers. If you add gathers where there aren’t supposed to be any (even just a bit!), the front will not hang correctly. Trust me, I found out the hard way, LOL. My rayon is really lovely with a drape that reminds me of silk. But it does not like to be unpicked. So, when I extended the gathers a bit too far, it wasn’t fun correcting my mistake. But I love the assyemtrical gathering here – so worth it!

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My second make (3/2019/104) is pretty straightforward. It also requires a fabric with good drape (in my opinion), although Burda recommends cotton shirting for one version of this pattern.

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Well, when I saw the drop shoulders and the big gathered sleeves, it was all over for me:). There weren’t too many challenges here. I cut my usual size but was amazed at how large the neck opening was. Since I have narrow shoulders, I knew that would be a disaster, so I took out 5/8 inch at the center back to correct this. I’m so glad I did, because as you can see, it is still a generous neck-line. I used a rayon that’s almost a gauze, and finished all seams with my serger. I absolutely love these sleeves and they weren’t difficult at all. You just gather the fullness into some cuffs and call it good.

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I’d love to try this in another more colorful fabric for spring, maybe a rayon batik or a double gauze. I was very tempted to head to the fabric store after I completed this version, but fought the urge as I’m trying to sew from my stash. My rule this year is for every three pieces I use in my stash, I can buy one. So, eventually, I will be shopping again!

I’m happy with both of my tops – – they were well worth the time it took to trace the patterns from the magazine insert. Perhaps these two successes are a sign from the universe that my wish-list from the issue should be fully pursued!

#So50visible Instagram Challenge: However, my love for Burda these days does not change the fact that I am less than pleased at their blatent disregard for the sewist who is over 50. Of course, they are not the only company who chooses to ignore us. The Big Four are no better. Have you seen the #So50Visible challenge on Instagram? When you look at pattern catalogs/magazines, it is rare to see a model that is over 50. This is so disheartening to those of us who have supported the Big Four companies for so many years. We’re a huge part of the sewing community and the market – we cannot be ignored. So, find a pattern that features a over 50 model, make it and post it to celebrate how wonderful we all are no matter what our age. I’ll be participating in the  challenge and hope you will join me, no matter what your age.

Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!

 

A Burda top you can make in an afternoon and Dior Exhibit

Published on by ellegeemakes8 Comments

A Burda top and Dior….a lovely combination, eh?

First, the Burda top…..My box of precious fabric bits and lacy remnants is overflowing these days, so I’ve adopted a new ‘tidying up’ rule. If I can’t find a use for a remnant within six months of adding it to the box, it must go. So, I was thrilled to find this lovely pattern that seems designed to use up my bits and pieces.

Burda Style 12/2018/103 ticks a lot of boxes for me. Since my daily uniform of choice is a knit top with jeans, this one has the potential to stretch my every day wardrobe significantly.  I also have a thing for peplums (here and here), so I couldn’t resist this assymetrical version. Then there’s the opportunity here to mix fabrics…a big plus when you’re working with remnants.

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Because I could see lots of potential here, I decided it would be worth the extra step of tracing the pattern from the magazine insert (usually a hard sell for me!!). Luckily, this  pattern only has four pieces to trace (a front and back bodice, and a front and back peplum) so it took me less than a half hour – – Score!! Also, since Burda patterns don’t include seam allowances, I’ve taken to tracing a size up to avoid the process of adding seam allowances to each piece. So far, this method has worked well for me.

Recommended fabrics are knits for the bodice, and softly draping blouse fabrics for the peplum. I used a rayon knit for the bodice of both my versions. On the white version, I used a remnant of eyelet lace for the peplum and a remnant of silk for the blue peplum.

 

The blue silk was a bit tricky to work with. It’s sheer and my Bernina wanted to eat it:). I’ve found that to sew with silk, I have to use the right needle in my machine..the sharper the better!

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The sheer fabric really dresses up the top, so the torture was worth it. I used my rolled hem foot to put a narrow hem on this peplum.  I didn’t have enough of the bodice fabric for the sleeves so I cut them from a remnant of solid blue rayon jersey – – another piece from the pile!! I always feel so virtuous when I use a remnant, don’t you?

This top was an easy sew.  The neck is finished with a bias strip, and I used my twin needle to hem the sleeves and the lace. All of the seams are serged, but you could use a zig-zag stitch as well. Instructions on Burda Style patterns can be a bit brief, but in this case, there really wasn’t much of a need to elaborate. One other note…the fit on this top is loose and very forgiving, so I didn’t find I needed any adjustments.

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I was able to complete both of the tops in an afternoon. There’s nothing like a quick project on a Sunday afternoon, don’t you think?

In other news, I visited the Dior exhibit in Denver last week and was completely blown away by the exquisite designs and fabrics and finishings. Here are a few shots to enjoy…

(If only I was a better photographer…) The first dress here is embroidered with branches and leaves and flowers…so beautiful!  The green dress was worn by Nicole Kidman to the Oscars. It has netting, embroidery and fur trim! And let me tell you, this dress is….well, tiny.

The dress on the left is covered with equisitely made tassels. The red dress here is embroidered with flowers and studded with pearls and sequins. The white dress is tassled too. Touching these gowns was out of the question of course, but wouldn’t that be fabulous? We sewists are tactile creatures, aren’t we? After leaving the exhibit, I could hardly wait to get home to sew.

This week, I’ll be working on my look for the Day/Night Dress Challenge.  I’ll be posting my look on February 22. There’s a community challenget too and prizes…join us! dandc2019I

Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Burda Style Cocoon Dress

Published on by ellegeemakes24 Comments

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!

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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!

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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!).

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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:)

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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!