Burda WOF 6-2007-109 (strapless peasant style dress)

Well I have finished the Burda WOF 6-2007-109 dress, but it doesn't look much like the original line drawing! I originally wanted to make this dress just to have something cool to wear around the house and maybe down the beach in our humid Darwin weather.

Half-way through making this I realised that the loose styling probably wasn't going to be very flattering on me, in fact I would probably end up looking like a maternity wear advert. So after a bit of thought I decided to see if I could create a little more of a waist by adding some extra rows of elastic.

Below is the end result, I don't think it looks too bad however I am wondering if I could have gone with a bit less fullness on the skirt:

Here is a closer look at the top. I was worried that with adding a few extra centimetres to the length I wouldn't have enough fabric, so I used some of the matching embroidery anglaise fabric (shown here) to add a band to the top. If you think the seam on the bust looks a little puckered you are right- the band fabric was about 1cm shorter that the dress fabric, so I eased the dress fabric in with a bit of gathering to fit the band. Not probably what I would do again as I think it looks a little strange. Also instead of attaching the skirt section at the waist I stitched it on top of the bodice panel a few inches down from the waist- just to make sure the dress was long enough :Here's a shot of the elastic on the inside, two of the rows I sewed flat onto the fabric before sewing the side seam of the bodice. the other three rows were joined to make bands and applied afterwards:

Marking out where the original two lines of elastic would go (using the embroidered patterns as a guide):
I then marked quarters on both fabric and elastic, then matched the marks up to each other and pinned:I used a triple zig-zag stitch to attach the elastic, stretching it to fit the fabric evenly between the pins (quarter marks). The end result:

Other bands were added afterwards to help keep down the boofiness factor around my midsection :)

Below is a close-up of the top edge of the skirt panel (its upside down). I tried Burda WOF's technique of folding the edge over, sewing with a fine zig-zag and trimming away the excess fabric underneath to finish this. I think it worked pretty well:

You can read my SPR review for this pattern here.

Wonky fabric -grrrrrrr!

I've been busy making up this Burda dress over the last few days. I like the simple style and knew that I had some suitable fabrics in my stash that I could use - making it eligible for the SPR Stash 2009 contest as well. Both fabrics are light cottons,in pretty much the same colour. The first has an embroidery anglaise pattern all over it :

The second fabric had simpler lines of flowers embroidered across it , except for the richly detailed hem , which was the whole reason I wanted to buy both fabrics in the first place.

I brought this fabric about 3 or 4 years ago from Homecraft Textile in Mirrabooka (western Australia), and all I can think is that I must have been pretty distracted- or a little green in the fabric buying department- as I never noticed that the pattern had been stitched on slightly off grain. You can see below how crooked it was at the selvages, the blue lines are the embroidery pattern, the yellow is the pricking line on the selvage and the black is the fabric edge. There is about 2 centimetres difference between one end and the other:

Luckily the actual pattern itself was still relatively even spaced so I cut my pattern pieces using that as a guide, and ignoring the selvage. I know it means that the dress will probably be a bit off grain, but to tell the truth I am not even sure if it will work or suit me, and the fabric was pretty cheap. I figure I haven't got much to lose! :)

The good, the bad .....and the nineties.

After flicking through my "new" bundle of circa 1990's sewing magazine I realised that most of the projects therein could be divided up into the above categories.

So without further ado I give you:

The Good

Some examples of the reason why I like to keep an eye out

for older sewing patterns/ magazines when op-shopping.

Some of these patterns would still look quite fashionable today.

A rather nautical styled 1 piece bathing suit pattern from Burda June 1993. Made all in black it could fit right in with the recent trends of Grecian styled dresses (the ties around the waist) and deep V/ slashed necklines. As to whether it would suit me without alteration is another thing...

Below you can see a nice simple jersey dress.
Unfortunately the English instruction booklet was missing from this June 1992 edition of Neue Mode, however as the pattern is quite basic it shouldn't be too hard to "wing it" without.


Two bustier patterns. Bustier on blonde- Burda June 1992. Bustier on Brunette from Neue Mode May 1992- it appears each pattern was only available in select sizes in the Neue Mode. This bustier was for a size 36 only.


















Another 1 piece bathing suit, this time with asymmetrical top, from the same June 92 edition of Burda as the bustier above.
















Next up we have:

The Bad

Now I don't really care much for cherry sprigged seat covers even with matching red piping!I think if you can afford a sport car you would not be making these babies yourself. .

Next to continue the horror we have a lovely matching floral set that looks more like it would be at home in a bedroom (covering pillows maybe?) than on this model. Still it was the nineties and Diana magazine seems to be catered towards the more frillier aspect of that decade.


Luckily this pattern by Burda Spring/Summer 1993 didn't catch on as a fashion must have. Who would have thought that terry towelling shorts- with front pleats- would look baggy and unattractive in reality?

Finally did anyone actually look at this photo before deciding to run it in the Jun 1992 edition of Burda? This child is obviously unhappy people! Was this truly the best shot they could get- or was the budget limited to one shot per shoot only?








And lastly we have...

The Nineties

Yep in all its pastelled, puffed and padded glory.

You can betcha I wont be using any of these stylings in the near future!

Wow how bouffy is that hair, teamed with a ruffled and square padded shirt it somehow reminds me of "Dallas".


Despite the overall hideous-ness of this ensemble from Diana (complete with matching handpainted scarf!), the white camisole underneath actually doesn't look too bad.

Is it just me or does those shoulder pads make this girl look like a quarterback? And the peter pan collar.....










Finally


It's interesting to note that Burda used to also publish a "Miss B" magazine, obviously aimed at the younger (teen?) sewer. I would love to look through one of these if I ever get the chance.


Also look at how much information you got in this 1992 Burda magazine- step by step instructions for tricky areas on all patterns! It appears they stopped doing this around 1993, a pity as some of the modern Burda magazine instructions still really need it.

More retro sewing finds!

While one of my BFF's from Perth and her partner were visiting we decided to take them to one of the many outdoor markets that are part of the Darwin lifestyle.

Usually these markets consist of stalls selling locally grown Asian fruit/veggies (Dragon fruit, papaya, breadfruit and snake beans all available!), plus a few local craft stalls selling jewellery and clothing.

However this Sunday we decided to check out the Nightcliffe markets, next to a charity store that luckily for us girls was open (the boys weren't interested). Not only did they have a tonne of fabric and sewing haberdashery in store but also a stack of sewing magazines and patterns.!
All up I spent about $4.00 total, which considering the money is going to a good cause, is pretty excellent in this day and age. Although the sewing mags are from the early 1990's I spied a couple of pattern that wouldn't look out of place today. Also zippers, Kwik Sew and Simplicity patterns for 10-20cents a piece, who can argue with that?

Browsing around...

Hey folks!

I have had visitors lately up here in the top end, AND have started a new full-time job in one of my local libraries (join one today!).

Therefore not having much time to actually make anything myself I give you the best of my net-surfing over the past few days:

First up is Stacy Sews (http://www.stacysews.com/) I have to admit this was the first sewing blog I read that I felt related to people in my age group. Stacy sews stuff that is trendy, useful and up to date. Also now her talented daughter -Taylor- has taken up the sewing bug (and doing it really well!)

Also every Thursday Stacy posts a bunch of useful sewing related links AND she contributes to the Burdastyle website- just more good reasons why you should read the Stacysews blog.

Next up is Burdastyle - brought to you by the fantastic people who publish Burda World Of Fashion magazine. If you sew and haven't already found this website then please go there NOW! It has the most fantastic FREE fashion patterns- all drafted beautifully! Plus you can see what others have made (with and without patterns) and participate in a whole new realm of discussions, competitions and exchange of fashion ideas....

If you haven't heard of Burdastyle and you are into dressmaking/couture/fashion sewing, then please beg, borrow or buy (remember karma always comes back to you) a copy of the Burda World of Fashion Magazine.

If you are not sure what this is about check out the pattern reviews on sewing.patternreview.com- it will give you an idea of what type of patterns are available in this wonderful magazine. Also there is a website here that you can directly order the magazine from- plus they offer a few FREE downloadable fashion patterns from back issues!

If you live in Western Australia, Town of Vincent public library did have the Burda WOF available for loan (and inter- library loan) as part of their collection. I am not sure if they still carry this title but for the price of a few minutes of your time (to join the library) I am sure it is worth a look if you want to check this magazine out in proper paper format.

Finally : Fehr Trade. What can I say but that you have got to admire a girl who can take IKEA shower curtains and see in them a dress suitable for the Glastonbury Festival. The author of Fehr Trade- Melissa-lives on a HOUSEBOAT (former floating hotel) - how cool is that? Plus she holds fashion shows of her work-truly an inspiring experience for the stuck at home sewer.
Happy holidays everyone!!!

Burda WOF Kimono sleeved top (10-2007-114)

Have finally gotten around to posting a review on http://www.sewing.patternreview.com/. I have been a "lurker" of this site for a few years, but have not-until now- ever posted anything. This site is a great source of sewing related information, plus (this possibly being the most useful part) you can see and read about what other people have made all over the world.

The pattern I decided to review was from Burda World of Fashion Magazine October 2007. A Kimono-styled sleeve top, designed for knits and featuring distinctive neckties. I made it up in a lovely stretch velvet devore fabric, brought from the Balcatta Janome store and which had been sitting in my stash for a good six months.

I had actually completed the top just prior to my move to Darwin and was pretty happy with the results:

Back view of Burda WOF 10-2007 Top 114

You can read the full review here.

NB: Just a note on the fabric - as lovely as stretch devore velvet is this fabric shedded lots of microscopic glittery fibres (from the cuts edges) really badly while making it up and then a little more for the first few washes. Not only did these fibres get over- and into- everything, but they are also quite itchy and could be a problem if they got in someone's eye.
I have a metre of the same fabric in a blue colourway and will be running it through the wash (which I didn't do the first go) quite a few times before I cut and sew it up. Otherwise it was a great fabric to work with, retained its shape beautifully, nice drape and great to sew on my very basic sewing machine (no overlocker yet!).