Burda magazine August 2017

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oh. my. gorgeousness! Are you ready for, what’s in my humble opinion, the best Burda issue of the year, or possibly even the past few years? Seriously, there are SO many patterns in here that I want to make immediately that I can hardly stand it! In my eyes, I’d have to go back to the Japanese-style feature in June 2014 to find as many designs I’m utterly crazy about! But don’t take my word for it – let’s show you some of my picks!

First up is a structured, unlined coat for heavy jerseys like scuba. I love the wide, dolman sleeves, the angular seaming, and the overall cocoon shape here. It’s secured with snaps concealed inside a front placket, and you’ve got some deep pockets in the front seams, too.

Take off the nearly-rectangular cowl neck collar and you’ve got a pretty standard raglan, long-sleeved tee, which is a great basic to have in your arsenal. I’m not a fan of the over-the-shoulder look at all, so I’d probably cut down the width of the collar and just finish it with a band instead. But I mostly scanned this page because of the trousers – they’re a great, tapered shape with a “crease” topstitched down the front legs and ankle zippers, too. I’m not sure what I think of the V-shaped welt pockets, to be honest (it’d be easier to assess if there were any other photos of these where she was standing!), but there are extra illustrations in the instructions to sew them, at least. And for me the best bit is that these are for ponte jerseys! I’ve made a few pairs of ponte trousers for myself over the years and they are always so comfortable, as well as being practical for cycling commutes, too.

Again with the jersey patterns, you’re killing me with this 60s-influenced, long sleeved sheath dress, Burda!! And that’s even without talking about the increeeeeeedible ombre wool jersey they’ve used for the sample, omg! I love everything about this – the angled darts, the wide collar, the midi length, the 3/4 length, slim fit sleeves – perfection! 😍

Now the pairing of a long, slim pencil skirt with a cropped, boxy top isn’t anything new, but it’s hardly a detriment when the pairing looks as good as this! The pencil skirt features an exposed, asymmetric zipper and this pattern comes in three different lengths so you can choose which one suits you best. The structured, boxy tee looks like it’d be great for throwing on over a slim dress or high waisted trousers, a bit like the neon top I made to coordinate with the triple triangle dress I made last summer.

Burda have made a fair few jersey wrap dress patterns over the years (I even made one way back in the day!) but it has been a while, and they really do have near-universal appeal. This one features starburst pleats radiating from the central waist tie, plus a chance to use contrasting fabric at the left hem to give it a bit of punch. This pattern is also featured on the cover this month.

Before I get to the patterns, let’s all take a minute to appreciate the real star here – what’s clearly the world’s happiest dog!!

But not far behind is the gorgeous mustard short coat, which has the coloured illustrated instructions this month, along with some rare detail shots of the back of the jacket, too. The trousers I’m less keen on, if I’m honest, as I find the cropped length never works for me (reinforced recently with a pair of culottes that made me look ten feet wide and that were added to the charity bin before I even hemmed them!).

This! Dress! I love the interesting half-tie at the waist, which creates such great visual interest, and I particularly love that they made it in a pinstripe fabric. This could be the best office-wear dress IMHO, especially if worn with a little jacket over top. It’s anything but “business as usual”!

I saw the tech drawing for this dress before the model photo, and I was utterly smitten – all those diagonal seamlines, plus cleverly placed pockets! But then I saw the gaping neckline pleats and the weird, crinkly fabric in the magazine sample and was a bit less in love, if I’m honest. I wish there were more photos of this dress than just this one, so I may await judgement til the Russian readers make up a few…

Now, into the Plus section this month, which also features a midi skirt with zipper detail! Here, instead of an exposed zipper, it’s inserted into a godet seam so you can open or close it depending on how much walking ease you need (or how slim fitting a silhouette you prefer on any given day). I’ve seen this idea used before for cycling skirts, too!

This boxy, woven tee is made up here with some faux leather accents and edging tape with eyelets, which really elevates it beyond your average woven tee. It’s something you could easily do to your own pattern, as it’s just adding a few seamlines for colourblocking and buying the eyelet tape for the edges.

Holy crap, how amazing is this biker jacket?!? Seriously, this even tops the bomber jackets we’ve been seeing over the past few years! Love it!

And finally, from the children’s section, I just wanted to highlight this girl’s peasant tunic not for the overall shape or design (meh), but because they’ve used hand embroidery in a really attractive way that isn’t infantile, twee, or “happy hands at home”, and I thought it was worth putting in my memory bank.

What did you think of this issue? Did you love it as much as I did? Did I miss any of your favourites?

10 Comments

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  1. 1
    erin alter

    The masterpiece dress with the waist band gathering into pleats… love it. Apparently I love radiating pleats at the waist, because I also really dig that wrap dress. And the plus skirt with the adjustable zipper? Marvelous.

  2. 2
    G

    The petite jacket with the side sunburst darts needs to be “unpetite”. Dress 120 is bad fabric choice, I think the dress would look nice in aother fabric, of with the pleats sewn closed. Have you seen Sigrid’s version of dress 119? If not, you need to!

  3. 4
    JenL

    I agree – a really standout issue. The knit coat caught my eye back when it was only a preview on the German site. I usually find cocoon coats too vintage-y or too blob-like, but this one looks close to perfect. Perhaps it’s because it’s a knit. I love the little mustard jacket too. It would not work on my figure, but I may have to adapt it – I really like that bib detail on the front.

    The main problem with the metallic crinkle dress may be the design of pleats across the boobs, which is being pulled apart. Looks like the lower parts of those triangles are dart-like seams. It might be correctable by sewing the seam up further as darts, until the upper part of the chest, and then allow it to ‘release’ as a pleat. Or, perhaps the dress is just too small for the model. Looks like her shoulders are extending beyond the shoulder seams.

    Thanks for the review!

  4. 5
    Chris schwab

    Sigrid recently posted s review and tips on the dress 119, I think that number, of the fabric belt with some improvements in construction. May tempt me to explore Burda magazine.

  5. 6
    Allison Churchman (AllisonC)

    I agree, this is a fantastic issue. I love all the dresses – although I’m not crazy about the asymmetric hem on the wrap and the metallic bubbly fabric reminds me of interfacing disasters from my past these are both easy things to change.

  6. 7
    Kim

    I haven’t bought Burda in quite some time but this might sway me. Lots of nice garments here – and yes, an outstandingly happy looking dog .(I’m glad I’m not the only person to admire the animals!)

  7. 8
    Lori B.

    Thanks for the review, Melissa. I used to buy every single issue but stopped about a year ago. This one I will go buy, though…I agree with you about these designs being fantastic!

  8. 9
    Nancy K

    I like this issue too. I have to say that I am enjoying having a subscription again. I am making a wedding dress from the May issue and I made a great summer dress from the June issue. As soon as I finish the wedding dress I am going to make another dress and there are definitely some pieces in this issue I am going to make. Love the skirts and the coat is on my list as well.

  9. 10
    Diane in London

    I had not bought a Burda for the entire year (which is unusual for me) because too many of their patterns were similar to things I already have, but this issue is fantastic.Issues like this one really show how talented the Burda team are.

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