I received this issue a good week ago, but I hadn’t been overly enthusiastic about this one, even though there are a lot of interesting designs going on. There are noticeably fewer patterns included this time, too, which seems to be related to there being some huge gown patterns which take up more space than usual on the pattern sheets.
So if you’ve got a formal occasion coming up over the holidays, you’re about to become very excited, but there’s plenty of casualwear included too…
There are some great separates in this issue, but I personally don’t rate either of these! The top is made for lightweight wovens, but that hem is just far too wide, in my opinion, and really gives the sort of “is she pregnant?” look even when teamed with slim trousers (not to mention that deep neck pleat which will look terrible on large busts!). In this case, they’ve teamed it appropriately with leggings, but delving a little deeper into the pattern, these leggings have: a) interfaced waist facings, and b) an invisible side zipper. On a knit. Errr. The pattern itself looks fine, just not the finishing!!
So are these cigarette trousers any better then? Well, I personally think the inset leather pieces would be more flattering slightly curved rather than straight, but that’s just drafting preference. The zipper on the side though – if you read the instructions, you do 80% of the work of creating a zippered welt pocket, only to seal it up with a facing to make it utterly useless! Otherwise, it looks like a decent pattern for stretch wovens, with a back yoke and nice front pockets.
I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of this knit top across the sewing world in the next few months! It’s what Burda does best – a great knit top with interesting details and great fit that can be made up in a thousand different fabrics.
This lightweight coat is super flattering with the wide, dramatic lapel collar, nipped in waist, and hip-length hem. Burda have styled it quite vintage, but I think this could be flattering on a wide variety of body types- much moreso than the longer version (which has illustrated instructions).
You wait ages for a transitional “car coat” pattern and then two come at once! I’m not entirely sold on the gathered, wide portion on the bottom nor the weird patch pockets, but with a bit of tweaking I think it could really work. Since the bottom is just a gathered rectangle, I’d attach it 1:1 with the front to make it flatter, and shift all the gathering to the back instead!
And now for something completely different (and feeling more like something Manequim magazine would do!) – Burda have printed patterns for five iconic gowns! My favourite is probably this gown similar to the one Eva Green wore in “Casino Royale”. I just adore the back view, and the sleek silhouette.
I love that this asymmetric gown with an overskirt actually could become something really quite modern just by leaving off the overskirt, and shortening the hem to cocktail length (and saving you about 5 meters of satin, too!). Even though the design is over 50 years old, it’s something I’d totally wear.
And as a teenager of the 90s, I totally love that they’ve knocked off Julia Roberts’ red gown from “Pretty Woman”! The neckline looks quite dated IMHO, but I never realised before how similar the draped skirt is to that green “Atonement” gown (this could totally save you some time if you’re recreating the latter).
The children’s patterns this month are for babies, with onesies, teeshirts, little trousers, and even a pacifier holder. All very useful if you have a bunch of friends having babies that need gifts!
And finally, the Plus section this month features cozy jersey patterns, the highlight of which are these sweatpants! I love the yoked seaming, integrated pockets, and front fly so much I’m actually considering drafting my own in my size! Edit: As pointed out by Lauriana in the comments, what’s with the fly? I totally just assumed this was a mock fly, but I’ve looked in the instructions, and ermagod, they actually want you to do a fully functioning fly and button. Even though it’s a knit and has an elastic waist…!
Flip past all the scarf-collar tops and dresses and you may have missed that there’s also a super-flattering, super-useful jersey sheath dress here, too. It looks like the perfect winter dress, as far as I’m concerned!
So not really anything this month I’m on fire to sew ASAP, but plenty of interesting designs to pique my interest. What was your favourite?