My First BurdaStyle Dress!

This is my first time making a BurdaStyle Magazine dress. I have seen many that I liked and would love to have, but I have never attempted it before. In all honesty, I don’t think I would have had the ability to do this even a few years ago. I’m not talking about sewing skill necessarily. I mean the knowledge to trace the pattern and get it right. And most important, the confidence to actually put it together and be confident all the way through the process. That’s important. If you start out not believing that you can complete a project, you won’t.

I used this lemon-on-navy stretch cotton that I bought from fabric.com (it’s no longer available but I can link something similar).

For my version (yes, it’s the same pattern as the first picture), I made a few changes. I: 1) raised the neckline, 2) added in-seam pockets, and 3) made it short sleeved. I was contemplating making a belt to go with it, but I like the comfort and ease of wearing it as is (it’s gathered at the waist). It gets really hot and humid where I live, so the last thing I want for summer is anything that is going to make me feel constricted.

In order to raise the neckline (about 3″), I redrew the front neckline which actually made the front wider than the back at the shoulder. I just gathered the front slightly to meet to back so the shoulder seams were even.

For the pockets, (I couldn’t believe the dress didn’t have them. Most BurdaStyle dresses seem to have pockets) I almost always use the same pattern piece. It’s a pocket from a pattern for pajamas. I retraced the piece and made it a little smaller so it would be more appropriate for this dress. Then I keep the new piece with the traced pattern pieces.

With making the dress short-sleeved, I just figured out where on my arm I wanted the sleeve to stop. I didn’t widen the sleeve or anything like that since it’s a loose enough sleeve. No other alterations for that were necessary.

As I said in the beginning, having the confidence to even start a project is important. But not doubting yourself during the process is also key. This is one of the few things (and the only one from BurdaStyle Magazine) where I did not make a muslin first! I’m so glad this turned out as well as it did and I’m very happy with the results.

As always, I encourage you to give your own project challenge a try. You might be surprised by how well things turn out!

Here is a link for a similar fabric from fabric.com. The one I used is no longer available. Click here

*affiliate links in post

BurdaStyle Mag Biker Jacket

When I was looking through the March issue of BurdsStyle Magazine, I knew that this was something I wanted to make. The problem was that I have never done anything from the magazine with this much detail. To say that I was concerned about whether or not I could actually get it done is an understatement.

Well, much to my surprise, this jacket was not as hard as I thought it would be. Actually, it was pretty easy! Of course I had to trace the pattern, but that’s a step I’ve done before so I was used to that process.

I had this tweed fabric I had bought a while back that I really wanted to use for this project. It looks good, but the material was hard (at least for me) to work with. Because the weave is very loose, it frays very easily. Also, there are little sequined pieces woven into the fabric which meant I had to sew slowly in order for the material to not get stuck in the feed dogs of the machine and for the needle not to be damaged. So, I learned my lesson. I would love to make this again, but with a very different fabric that will be a bit easier to handle.

But, I am definitely happy with the end results. This is my first time making a biker jacket with an asymmetric zipper and zippered sleeves. I know some of you consistently make garments from the magazine and I truly admire that. I’m trying to stretch my ability and I figure that this is a good way to do it.

So, until next time… I’ll keep sewing and sharing.

Favorite Skirt-BurdaStyle 09/2010 #106

I first made this skirt around the end of 2010. It quickly became a favorite of mine for a lot of reasons. I loved the corduroy I used which was much like a suede fabric. I also loved the style of it because it was stylish but not too short, etc. It became the perfect thing to wear with boots. I had always intended to make another one but I never did until now.

Because I really liked the look of the previous one I made (you can see that here), I wanted something that would give me the same sort of look and feel. But, it was also important for me to use up some fabric I already had. So, I chose to use this piece of printed moleskin suede. The skirt fabric and lining are both pieces I had on hand.

I know that some of you don’t particularly like to use BurdaStyle Magazine patterns, but I would like to challenge you as I’ve challenged myself on that. There are so many styles I truly love in the magazine and I admit that tracing them can be daunting and sometimes annoying. But I really look at it as part of the whole process of sewing a garment that I want. Whether it’s tracing from the magazine or tracing from one of the Big 4 (yes, I do that about 90% of the time), it has almost become therapeutic for me to do so.

That being said, I had initially chosen to make this skirt because I had figured it would challenge me enough to try something more detailed from them, but wouldn’t be too difficult to put together. Overall, This is a fairly easy project. By the way, the top I’m wearing in the pictures is from the same magazine. It’s 09/2010 #121. This was my very first successful BurdaStyle project completion. It has three pieces! So, if anyone wants a super simple beginner project, that’s the one I recommend.

Let me know what projects you have that challenge you.

We all have them so know that you’re not alone. The only way that I know of to get through those difficult pieces to to keep trying – make the mistakes and learn from them.