I’ve finished my first ever BurdaStyle project.

I was very pleasantly surprised at the September 2010 issue of Burda Style.  I decided on a subscription out of curiosity after reading so much about it on all my fellow sewers’ blogs just to see if it was as great (or horrible) as people say.

Well, I was very pleasantly surprised, and since I need some tops that are suitable for fall, SSS and the duties of a SAHM, I thought I’d give style 111B a try in some rayon-lycra jersey from my local Fabricland.

After looking at the pattern sheets, I suddenly remembered what turned me off Burda patterns when I first started to sew back in the 1980’s:  the lack of seam and hem allowances.  However, after sewing all these years, I felt confident enough to draw in my own!  It was very meticulous work tracing the pattern pieces.  I’m thankful that the instructions give the drawings of the pieces with all the markings, as it was very easy to miss them when tracing through so many coloured lines!

The instructions were quite easy to follow.  I will say, though, if you’re new to sewing Vogue’s instructions are a lot more detailed: there’s more of the finishing/finicky tips for putting a garment together that these bare bones instructions did not include.  However, I’ve not  yet tackled something more detailed, like a jacket for instance, so I’ll reserve my final opinion until later!

I was unsure of the sizing, so imagine my surprise when I needed no alterations, for a change!  I measured myself, and was disappointed to find that I should be cutting a size 46, according to Burda’s sizing table.  This pattern only went up to a size 42, but I cut it out anyways  – I figured knit fabric has a lot of give (if it was snug) and the design has the crossover happening so high that I didn’t need to worry about falling out the front of it.  I didn’t actually measure the pattern pieces prior to cutting – DUH – although I did tissue fit to my dress form.  And what a pleasant surprise!  I’m not sure if the design is meant to have so much wearing ease, as the pics of garment don’t show the entire thing and the model is wearing a belt to boot (something I’m not  likely to do, since I don’t have a 24-inch waist).  And I really liked the sleeves.

Although in retrospect, the ties are going to be ANNOYING when I’m cooking dinner for my crew.  Oh, well, I’ll just push the sleeve up past my elbows!
Conclusion on BurdaStyle:  I’m liking!