Search Results for: which sewing pattern magazine

Burda magazine – October 2017

Wow, what a whirlwind few weekends I’ve had recently! I’ve barely cleaned up from the Great British Sewing Bee Live show and suddenly I found myself jetting off to northern Portgual to run up and down some mountains in the unseasonable heat! I’ve written up a full race review on my running site, but it may interest some of you to know I wore the cycling shorts pattern from my book for the race, too (minus the padding and silicone elastic hems, of course!).

It might also interest those of you in the southern hemisphere to know that there’s a new activewear fabric store in Australia – Sew Active Fabrics – and they’ve got a bunch of wicking prints, too. I’ve got a few of their fabrics to road-test over the next few weeks, but you can save 10% with code LAUNCH10 til the end of November if you want a sneak peek for your spring and summer activewear makes.

But enough about me – let’s look inside the latest issue of Burda magazine and see what delights await us!

La Maison Victor magazine – Sept/Oct 2017

While we were relaxing in the Loire Valley in France a few weeks ago, I took the opportunity to hit up some of the big hypermarchés’ magazine sections and flip through all the sewing magazines! I saw the usual suspects like Burda, Elena Couture, and Fait Main but also a fair amount of new(ish) ones, too. I was unimpressed by the several magazines which simply reprint Big Four patterns (I understand the economics, but I’m not tempted in the slightest), but excited to see Fashion Style (the French language version of KnipMode, which I’ll share in a future post), and also Couture Actuelle, the French language version of Patrones, and of course, La Maison Victor!

The Sewing Weekender 2017

Sewing retreats are fairly common in America from what I can tell, but up until last year’s inaugural Sewing Weekender, there’d never really been a large scale sewing retreat here in the UK. I was lucky enough to snag a ticket for myself last year, and I had SUCH a great time as a punter that I knew I wanted to go again should Rachel, Kate, and Charlotte plan another one.

Luckily, out of the writing of my book I realised that a lot of the points I made about sewing activewear were also heavily applicable to anyone with a body who moves (so, err, everyone except possibly the comatose) so I approached the organisers months ago saying I’d love to talk about Sewing For Movement at the next event if they were planning one. I’m glad I got in touch early, because as it turns out, this year’s Weekender sold out in under 20 minutes!!

Patrones 56 magazine

It’s been a while since I had a Patrones magazine to share, but I kept an eye out for them while we were in Malaga last month. Eventually I found one on a newsstand in the centre of Malaga, but they certainly weren’t as easy to find there was they were in Argentina, which is more than a little odd considering it’s a Spanish magazine. It comes sealed so the pattern sheets don’t get separated or lost (as they’re not stapled in place like Burda), but it also means you can’t peek at the styles before you buy.

Anyway, if you’ve been following along with my reviews over the years, you might recall that they used to do knockoff patterns of seriously high fashion designers, then there was a fallout and they stopped being able to name any non-Spanish designers (so no more Gucci, Prada, Paul Smith, etc), and around the same time they also started to produce compilation magazines made up of a bunch of old patterns and photos lumped together. The only way you could tell the difference between the latest styles and the “latest” compilation was to look at the issue number, as the “new new” were in the 4-500s and the “not really new” had very low issue numbers.

La Maison Victor – their first English-language magazine!!

If you’ve followed this site for any length of time then you’re probably already aware of La Maison Victor magazine, as I’ve been buying up issues whenever we’ve travelled to France over the past few years. It’s a Belgian pattern magazine, which started off as quarterly in the early days, expending to 6 issues a year and publishing in French, Dutch, German, and now… English, too!

This is super exciting because I love La Maison Victor‘s aesthetic – definitely more like a fashion magazine than a sewing magazine, and unlike some *cough* Burda *cough*, each of the patterns has incredibly well illustrated instructions, so they’re suitable for beginners, too.

Burda magazine April 2017

I hope you all had a lovely, long Easter weekend! I managed to get a little bit of sewing down but I’m in the last week now before both marathon and Book Deadline so I haven’t got much time to do anything else! Add in some internet problems at home (grrrrr) and you’ve got a very delayed review of the latest Burda magazine. I’ll be honest, if it was a better issue, I’d probably have found a way to post it sooner… 😕

Burda magazine March 2017

Springtime in Burda’s world means the start of wedding season, and the March issue is traditionally the one filled with wedding gowns and other formalwear suitable for bridesmaids and guests, too. I’m personally in the market for a gown to wear to a gala event in June, so perhaps something will take my fancy here…?

Burda magazine Jan 2017

I think Burda Towers must’ve taken a break for the holidays or something because everyone I know received this issue really late for some reason! But better late than never to kick off a brand new year of Burda sewing patterns, and this one’s not only got the traditional January carnival costumes (and nary a “recycled water bottle lady” bonkers one in sight!) but also… activewear! 😝

Burda magazine December 2016

I know it’s a cliché, but my god, where did the year go? I mean, I know I basically lost the first three months of the year but still. Overall, it’s been a fantastic year of Burda magazines, in my opinion, and I’m pleased to report that there’s no letup for the final issue of 2016. I’ve ended up picking a lot out of this one so grab a mug of something hot and settle on in…

Burda magazine November 2016

November is the start of winter in the Northern hemisphere and for Burda, this also means the start of the glitzy holiday party patterns, too! Thankfully, this issue also has a good variety of warm, wearable separates if you’re Billy No Mates and haven’t got a Christmas party to attend this year (waaaah! Anyone want me to come gatecrash their party??). So let’s take a look at my highlights this month…