Burda June 2015 dress

In January I decided I had missed my Burda magazine long enough, and decided to renew my subscription after a 3 year lapse. After 6 months I finally found something that I HAD to sew.

In fact, I was flipping through the magazine when it arrived, and Mitch looked over my shoulder and said, "That dress is so you!" so I had to make it.

He's right, of course. It is very me! Comfy knit, with cute details and a swingy skirt is definitely my style all summer long.

The pattern is from the current (June 2015) issue of Burda Magazine. It is number 120, which includes both a top and dress version of the style and is made up in both knit and woven fabrics. Very versatile!

The pattern itself is really interesting, It only has one main pattern piece for the dress! Which made it manageable to trace on the crazy pattern sheets. There are no shoulder seams, only side seams and a center back seam.

There is minimal shaping at the side seams, so most of the shape of the dress comes from the front tie. There is a casing which is stitched onto the front of the dress just under the bust. A self fabric tie is called for by the pattern, but I used wide grosgrain ribbon instead.

In back, the neckline forms a pretty V that echos the front. I raised it about an inch, but as drafted it is actually pretty modest. I did take in the center back seam as there was no shaping back there and it looked very sack-like without some curves.

I also elected to bind the neckline and armholes with my coverstitch, rather than do a bias tape finish as the pattern called for. I like the bright white contrast there, and with my binder on the coverstitch machine it was super easy. Since there isn't a seam at center front, I darted the binding there to form the V. One thing I would change for the future would be to raise the armhole. It gapes open a bit too low, as you can see from this pic.

I also added pockets, of course, I regretted it at first, since they gaped a bit and made my hips look huge, but once I took in the center back, that tamed the pockets and they lie nicely now. I cannot wear a dress without pockets so I'm glad they worked out!

While there are a few minor things I would change should I make this again, I am really quite pleased with my first Burda make in several years. Maybe I'll tackle that pattern sheet again! Once I've recovered from this time...

Burda mag 01/2011-120 leggings

There's been a lot of chatter lately on Twitter about #oonapants, inspired by the lovely Kalkatroonan, of course.

I had to make some. Leggings are such a great instant gratification project. And I'm letting my coat muslin stew while I think over the alterations I need to make.

Since I don't have a well fitting pair of leggings to trace, I went with the leggings pattern from the 01/2011 issue of Burda magazine. I made the adjustments I commonly make for pants - lengthening the rise and scooping the rear crotch curve. The extra length was totally not needed, as these are drafted with a fairly high waistline. I ended up removing the extra I added and then some.

I added a fold over waistband, like Oona's. I had 'drafted' one previously for this skirt, and just used that. It's very simple to do this - you just need a band that is your waist measurement minus 2 inches for the width and twice your desired finished height. Add seam allowances and away you go.

I was worried that this crazy print would make my butt look huge, but I actually think it has more of a camouflage effect. Win! I'm not sure altering the crotch curve was necessary in a fabric with this much stretch, but the fit is good, so I'm keeping it. I'm also pretty darn pleased with my print matching back there. Can't even see the seam!

The inseam turned out really well, too. The upper part of the back inseam is a bit longer than the front, which makes for a good fit, but makes stripe matching impossible up there. Hopefully, no one is looking there, anyway!

You got a problem with my oonapants, yo?

When I finished these I thought to myself, "What have I done??" but I actually think I really like them. They are crazy comfortable and I actually think they are pretty fun. Maybe not typical for my wardrobe, but maybe, just maybe, I'll wear them out of the house after all. What do you think?