Fait Main magazine October 2012

First of all, apologies for the delay in getting this (and about four other posts you haven’t seen yet) live. Immediately after we returned from our week’s holiday in France, I caught an awful cold/flu and was off work for a week and then re-entered the office to an unholy stress-storm. So all the wonderful planning and progress and goodies which I meant to share right after we came home are still only now dribbling out of my brain and into the site.

(whisper it) And I’m running a marathon this Sunday. THIS SUNDAY!*

Moving on…

While we were in France, I had a browse through the sewing magazines in a few supermarkets. The bigger ones tend to stock Burda (regular, Plus, and Easy), Fait Main, and Elena Couture. I wasn’t planning on buying either of the latter two, but I had a flick through this one and decided it was worth it for the workout gear (read on!), but the Elena got left on the shelf. And then, of course, I found the new Burda Classics at Calais, too. I also grabbed the latest Burda Easy (which you’ll see soon), as it too was surprisingly better than usual.

If you’re not familiar with Fait Main, it’s a translation of the Danish magazine Sy but printed in France by Hubert Burda Media. As far as I know, it’s not available in English, or any other languages, and is a monthly publication, featuring not just sewing patterns, but also knitting and embroidery patterns, too.

I bought this once before last Spring during our French road trip, but I think I prefer this issue!

First up is a cosy faux-wrap sweater and skirt – the sweater reminds me of the one I sewed for my UK Citizenship ceremony back in 2009, and like that one, this sweater also appears to wrap but is actually attached at the side seams, which I prefer.

Burda Classics magazine FW 2012 (& MyImage sale!)

We’ve been away in France last week and I’ve picked up a few souvenirs, including a stonking awful cold, which is unfortunately delaying my resumption of normal life and blog activity. So just rest assured there will be much to talk about as soon as my brain is functioning again. Until then, please accept my apologies for anything that doesn’t make sense here!

So, what is this “Burda Classics”, I hear you ask? Well, it’s part of a new series of Burda pattern magazines, set to run alongside the existing monthly issues. It’s available in English & French only, and produced by Burda France as a test run. Apparently there’s going to be 8 “special” issues per year, two of them Classics, two Plus, and the other four are anyone’s guess!

I bought my Classics mag last weekend at Eurotunnel Calais on our drive back – the one and only copy, bwahaha!

Two of these patterns are definitely reprints of earlier patterns (see below), but some may be new, I’m not sure. As you’ll see, there are lots of jackets, which aren’t exactly staples in my own wardrobe!. Sizes range from 32-50 but the bulk of the patterns are 34-44 or 46. The instructions and patterns sheets appear to be similar to those in the regular magazines, though as I have the French version, I can’t vouch for whether the English instructions make any more sense than the usual “Burda WTF” coming from Burda Germany’s head office!

Here’s my favourite pattern of this issue, a great little sheath dress for wovens or stable jerseys, in three hem lengths and three sleeve lengths:

A “Chanel” suit (albeit with a 2 piece sleeve). I intended to place a little rant here about how any chanel-type suit has the magical properties of making its wearer look at least twenty years older, but seeing as how this model looks to be about 60, that actually doubles my earlier estimate. Want to look old and frumpy? Wear a boxy boucle jacket and matching matronly skirt!


(Ok, this is probably a cranky side effect of my cold, as it’s not this pattern’s fault, it’s the “style” I take offense with!)

Omg, it’s the knit wrap dress I made back in 2007! This is a great pattern, appearing first in the May 2006 issue of Burda magazine, and then appearing again as envelope pattern Burda 7953.