Tag: bwof

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In Progress

A cape in progress

I don’t tend to post about in-progress garment much anymore. I think part of the reason is that I tend to make projects quickly, so there’s not much to document and I roll any construction notes into the finished garment post, but also because I’m not not exactly light on garments to post about and it takes enough time putting together the ones I do share without adding any more to the To Blog pile!

But I’d been making a lot of quick garments in the past few months and decided I wanted something a bit more involved to sink my teeth into, so I started making a cape, using this Burda magazine pattern from 2011 (still available to buy as a pdf). I had some gorgeous teal wool coating a friend had bought for me in Tokyo in January, and I thought it paired really beautifully with some black and pink abstract tartan fabric I chose from Sew Essential as my #sewphotohop prize draw. It’s a lightweight John Kaldor satin with a lovely hand that you really could believe was silk, but alas, it doesn’t appear to be on the site any longer!

Magazine

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…

Article, Magazine

Burda magazine September 2016

It’s September and that can mean only one thing – Oktoberfest and an issue crammed full of ugly dirndls, yay. Luckily for us, the rest of the patterns in this issue are continuing on Burda’s 2016-long winning streak so let’s take a look inside…

Article, Inspiration, Magazine

Burda magazine August 2016

The August issue traditionally signals the start of Fall fashions in Burda’s world, and I’m pleased to report that this is yet another great issue! You can probably tell this by the sheer amount of designs I’ve pulled out to show you, ha.

Even in my first flip through the magazine after it arrived, I was so struck by the beautiful and unusual tab closure on this jacket! It’s such a great idea that I feel it must surely be a vintage-inspired detail, but the shape of the 3-piece(!) rounded sleeves really gives it a good balance of modern design, too.

Magazine

Burda magazine July 2016

Burda definitely keep up with the seasons, but I still kinda miss the reliable rhythm that the issues used to have back in the day – January had loungewear, March was always the wedding special (the only one they’ve reliably kept!), some menswear in April, May had tons of dresses, August was the Fall fashion previews (and usually maternity, too), cocktail dresses every November, and evening gowns in December. But my least favourite was always the summery beachwear in the June and July issues, because there was pretty much nothing I could wear in an English summer, where it rarely gets about 70-75F (25C)!

But in recent years Burda have been mixing things up, and the old scheduling has given way to more unpredictable features, which I think gives more variety and appeal to a wider rare of sewists. This issue certainly has a lot more than I’d usually like from a July!

Article, Magazine

Burda magazine June 2016

Apologies for the delay in reviewing this issue, but as I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been spending pretty much all of my sewing-related time and effort into getting the new site ready (and running a little race in Transylvania as well!). Handily, this issue is still on newsstands for a few more days so if you see something you like, you should still be able to get a hold of this issue – or you could always buy the pattern pdfs from the BurdaStyle site if you’d rather.

Inspiration, Magazine

Burda magazine May 2016

It’s May already, can you believe it!? It’s finally getting warmer here in London, and Burda have started their summer patterns, which usually means disappointment for me – but let’s take a look inside!

I really like the tech drawing for this asymmetric cocktail dress (which also comes in a maxi-length), but all the photos of it just look rumpled and a bit wrinkly. I’m not sure if it’s their fabric choice, or what, but I prefer my cocktail dresses more on the clean lines and sleek end of the scale…

Gallery

An upcycled baby onesie

This is a much smaller project than my lace dress but one I wanted to share anyway as it involves upcycling a teeshirt into something more useful. One of my very first sewing projects as an adult was transforming a XXL promotional teeshirt into something more stylish, and I think a lot of beginners find teeshirt refashions to be both inspiring and approachable – after all, there’s no question of how much fabric to buy, or if you’ve got the wrong kind, as teeshirts are pretty universal.

In any case, this started life as a very oversized promotional teeshirt for the sports personality Alan Brazil, who records his weekly show in my office’s studio and is well-known around the office. He’s particularly loved by our Creative Director, Ben, so we all decided he should have the teeshirt. But Ben is not a XXL, so it just stayed on his desk for ages, and was left there when he went away on paternity leave…

…when I mischievously spirited it home and refashioned it into a onesie for his newborn son!

Inspiration, Magazine

Burda magazine April 2016

I’m catching up with the Burda magazine issues I missed while I was ill, so even though I showed you my picks from March’s issue last week, here I am with April already!

This isn’t the best garment photo, but I love the seaming on this dress, which Burda have very cleverly accentuated further with their use of stripes. Well done! I also live the asymmetric neckline, which makes me think of the neckline I chose for my wedding dress back in 2010!