Burda Magazine Options

 The regular monthly Burda Style magazine has become a little too expensive for me, and I decided to let it go when my subscription expired. I think that I will still get December’s issue, but that is the last one. It was a sad decision, because the magazine is fun to get, and because I probably sew more Burda than any other pattern company (we’ll see when it’s time for the year-end tally).

But there’s hope! Data Media Publications/Roltek sent me a list of all the German language magazines they carry, and both Burda Style Easy and Best of Burda Curvy are inexpensive enough to be contenders. (Updated this post - you can also contact Data Media Publications and request a 3 month trial subscription to the flagship magazine, another option.)

Some notes: both of these publications are in German only, but that might not be such a big deal as Burda has much better step by step illustrations than they used to, in addition to video tutorials on Youtube. They use European sizing. The patterns are printed on large newsprint sheets stapled into the center of the magazine and are nested so that you can blend from one size to another when tracing them off. Patterns do not include seam allowances.

 I did a little research to see which magazine might be best for me. The sizing difference isn't an issue because I generally use sizes 44-48 and am confident about scaling patterns up and down. Let the comparison begin. 

BURDA STYLE EASY

First impressions, looking at some YouTube flip throughs and internet images, is that this magazine is aimed at youthful beginners. I have nothing against simple patterns and routinely strip my Burda makes of frippery, so the “easy” aspect is definitely not a negative. However, the models look more like girls than women, and I saw a lot of halter tops and slip dresses - unstructured stuff that I would never make. Here are a couple of overviews. (The Easy magazines don’t seem to have all the line drawings shown together, but do have the “styles at a glance” spread.)

The Easy magazine is issued every other month, so 6 per year. Sizing seems to range from 34 (bust 31-1/2") to 44 (bust 39-1/4").  I didn't do extensive research, but it doesn't look like larger sizes are ever included.

There are 5 basic patterns in this issue, each with three variations.  Potentially the elastic-waist pants (without the ruffle) and the boxy white T, but there's nothing that moves beyond a "maybe".

Again, 5 basic patterns with variations. I'd use the sweatshirt, the coat/jacket (the ones in tan), and the shirt. I can't tell much about the dress without a line drawing.

BEST OF BURDA CURVY

Burda Curvy magazines are issued only twice a year. They also usually feature patterns without all the exaggerated details and random hardware that often appears in the flagship magazine. Sizing ranges from 44 (bust 39-1/4") to 52 (bust 45-3/4"), and sometimes up to 60 (52" bust).

From this issue, I'd make the shirt, the sleeveless top, the elastic waist pants, sleeveless dress, and folkloric-looking raglan sleeve top.

And from this one, the sweatshirt, drawstring pants, quilted vest, and tunic/dress at lower right.

Scoring: looking at just these two issues from each magazine, looks like I'd be likely to use 3 from the Easy mag and 9 from Plus.  OK, Plus wins and I will place my subscription order forthwith.

 If you've read this far, you must be somewhat interested in pattern magazines. I've toyed with the idea of doing a little how-to series for people who aren't sure how to use them. If you'd be interested in reading something like that, please drop a comment saying so.

About Town - Pattern Emporium

It's not often that a new pattern release gets made at Casa Unzipped, but I happened to watch the Pattern Emporium video for their new About Town and was sold. The video cleverly shows how versatile the pattern is by styling it with a selection of other patterns in their line, and it went with so many other types of garments that I could see it fitting into my wardrobe really well. It was on introductory sale at the time and that didn't hurt, either.

Now that I'm aware of Pattern Emporium and have looked at some of their other videos, I see that showing their new releases paired up in different ways is typical for them. That just seems so smart, a great way to sell patterns. It worked on me, anyway, and I'm glad it did because I'm really happy with my results.

About Town is a boxy popover top with sleeve and length variations. It has a collar and the option of a two-piece front, with a seam down the middle, or front facing with no seam. It has a deep hem, and the short or long sleeves have a clean-finished cuff with optional decorative tab and button. It can also be made dress length. It seems to have been thoughtfully designed to give satisfying results.

The instructions are written for ultra-beginners. Every little step is photographed and described. This was frustrating for me because when I did want to check their recommended method for certain steps, I had to hunt through pages and pages to find the information I wanted. Their instructions for the collar are stellar; following them worked beautifully.

There are also extensive extensive instructions on picking your size. Working through them was tedious, but again, I'm happy with the fit. There are different fronts depending on your bust measurement (darted and undarted) and different heights. Although I could have gone with the undarted front, I chose to have the dart because I knew I'd look sloppy without it. 

Alterations for me - lowered the dart about 3/4" and lengthened the body about an inch (using the tall cutting lines would have been too long). I cut a 14 at the shoulder and blended all the way out to a 22 at the hemline. The sleeves needed to be widened 3/4" at the bicep.

I used the split-front option and two breast pockets because I wanted to do aaall the edgestitching and topstitching on my cotton chambray. I used a matching thread and right now the topstitching doesn't show much, but I think as the piece gets repeated washings the space between the two lines of stitching will bubble up slightly so there will be a little dimensionality going on.

cuff outside

cuff inside

It's a sharp-looking little top and I immediately made some pleated pants in lightweight black twill to go with it (pattern from Burda mag). The shortest length looks great with pants and skirts that have a little volume - that was one of my takeaways from the video.

It's easy and quick to make, so I'm working on another one right now as a palette cleanser after the laborious fit-as-you-go process I took with the pants. I really needed something easy and satisfying before starting the lined jacket that is next up. The only change to this next top is raising the neck opening a little.

It's great to have found a new pattern company and have more options. My Burda subscription came up for renewal and even though I really enjoy getting the magazine and Burda drafting, it's expensive, and I let it go. For the price of the annual subscription I can easily buy more single patterns as I can sew in a year, and there are always Burda envelope patterns. 

It's time to end these reflections and go feed the dogs! (or so they tell me)

Burda Plus shirtdress from 2006

This dress is from the Spring 2006 Burda Special issue, which was a plus-size magazine. I made it once before, way back when it first came out, and remembered liking its easy yet tailored fit. The bodice with vertical darts attaches to a skirt with four sections for a hint of fit and flare. Most of the other dresses I've made lately all have gathered skirts, so this was a nice change.

Only a small style change was needed. I sew a lot from Burda magazines, but almost always end up "dumbing down" their designs to suit my classic tastes. Many of their styles seem extreme to me with details that are just plain crazy. But they have solid drafting and I enjoy getting the magazines, so I stay alert for designs that have good bones. This dress features an absolutely huge collar stand and would probably look lovely on someone with a long graceful neck. I reduced the width of the stand by an inch and it is still oversized, but within my tolerance. I also opted to leave off the collar.

Line drawing to show the style

Tracing a pattern that doesn't have seam allowances makes it easy to alter while you trace. In this case I did shoulder alterations - 3/8" forward shoulder and 1/2" narrow shoulder. Some flat pattern measuring indicated that I would need a much larger size for the skirt than the bodice. That skirt has an A-line shape, but it's a narrow A. To fit the larger skirt to the bodice, I added darts that would line up with the darts on top.

It's not actually floor length. The dress form is a lot shorter than I am.

The fabric is a linen tencel blend that is woven like a lightweight denim. Because of that, and because I just felt like doing some slow sewing with extra nice finishing, I decided to do flat felled seams and have clean finishing throughout.

collar topstitching

Interfacing came from my scrap pile. I've never had much success when I've tried to repurpose old makes that didn't get worn much or that I outgrew, so they go into a pile.  I really prefer sew-in interfacings and have bemoaned how hard it is to find them. Duh! I've got a great big pile of interfacing, every weight imaginable. A compatible piece of linen was just right.

Sleeve and skirt hem finished with a double row of topstitching.
It doesn't show well in the photo but with a bit of washing
and wearing, it should become more pronounced.

Everything was going beautifully until it was time to sew the side seams on the skirt. I did a pin basting and tried it on...and wished that it had more ease. Unfortunately, that was the end of my dream of completely finished seams, because I was going to have to sew them at a mere quarter inch to get an extra 2" of ease all around. (Glad that I had allowed 5/8") After stitching, serging the seam allowances together, pressing to one side  and then edgestitching, I'm confident that they are strong enough to wear well.

This dress will be good for fall and winter wear, with its longer sleeves and long midi length that will hide the tops of my knee high compression socks! Thumbs up.

A Second Jacket From Burda 02.2024 #114

This is a pattern for a jeans-type jacket. All the skinny panels involved in that style, especially when it has two-piece sleeves, make it a good candidate for using up scraps from another project. That's what happened here. I first made this pattern last year - here's the post. It fit really well and I always intended to make it again.

For this version, I eliminated the pockets, cuffs, and bottom band; and included the collar from view #113 in the same Burda issue.

The seams are all flat felled (except the armhole) and topstitched with a double strand of thread to make it stand out against the striped fabric.

That fabric is a black and white stripe cotton that was described as a "suiting". It reminded me quite a bit of a pin cord, but not quite as supple. This had a lot of crispness and body. That helped to keep the flat fell seams nice and straight, but easing the sleeves was a real chore! Now that it's complete, I hope it softens up a bit with washing. It might even get a coke soak to see if that will help.

I was just able to eke out the pieces left over from making a pair of pants. The under collar was cut from a scrap from yet another project, and I had to piece the back. The martingale insert in the center back panel helps make the piecing look intentional.

The inside is pretty because of the flat felled seams. I think I used every foot in my arsenal to keep my stitching straight. The bias binding on the armhole and around the hem is from the same scrap as the under collar. It's a pale grey, not white.

Finished it off with fancy metal buttons that came in a button grab bag from Califabrics. I had tons to choose from but liked these the best.

This project just dragged on and on and seemed like a lot of effort for leftover fabric! But it's a nice lightweight jacket that fits in with my liking for neutral colors. I've known for a long time that it's best for me to stick to grey, taupe / natural, black, white, and shades of indigo; but when fabric shopping, I often got sucked into pretty colors and prints. The trouble is, I hardly ever wear those pretty colors and prints. I don't feel like myself in them. I feel best in neutrals that have some textural interest to them, and really need to spend my money and time on fabrics that suit me. "Pretty" is fun to shop for and fun to sew, but I sew mostly to have things that fit and that I feel good about wearing.

The grey plaid dress in the background of the first two photos was my palate-cleanser project after this jacket was finally finished and I'll blog it soon.

Bye Bye Big 4?

 The discussions I’ve seen about the recent sale of the legacy sewing pattern brands to a liquidator mostly seem to focus on them not keeping up with modern methods and preferences - meaning their late adoption of pdf files and lack of projector patterns. I do think it’s characteristic of our times that customers more than ever expect their individual preferences to be catered to, but I’m happy to go along doing things the way I’ve always done them, so what do I know?

My own preference has been for the pattern magazines. I really like getting Burda or Ottobre in the mail (snail mail!) and having a little fashion magazine with 20-30 patterns included. Browsing them is fun, and not much storage space is needed for the magazine format. After the magazines, my choice has been Style Arc, but that is because of their styles, not because I heart pdfs. And then there are a few other indies that I will try if I like the style  

So, along with the rest of the crowd,  I’ve been buying way fewer of the big 4 than I used to. Last year I think I bought 6 patterns, and whether they were Simplicity, Butterick, McCall’s, or Vogue, is anyone’s guess. Except for Vogue, the difference between the brands seemed negligible. 

When I heard the big 4 might be going away, I would have loved to have a last catalog browse for old time’s sake. But Jo Ann’s is already gone. So I headed to Half Price Books, where they usually have a bookcase of patterns to look at.

And look what I found for $15! It’s even in my size. I can’t wait to make it.

I hope that the pattern companies find a way to continue on and wish I had some advice that would save them. They’ve given me much, much enjoyment as well as a special bond with my grandmother. If they must die, I’m glad to have had one last thrill of anticipation and exciting possibilities looking at patterns.

But I really hope that they won’t be gone for good.

Four Simple Burda Tops

Long post ahead about things I'm very glad to have.

Here are four minimal (quick and easy to sew) tops made from the Burda Style magazine, all made over a long weekend. Tracing them back to back made it easy to compare patterns. I had thought that except for the tee shirt, they would all be basically variations of one basic pattern, but they were not. There were variations in shoulder slope, the depth of the armhole, and of course necklines from style to style. To me this shows that there is some thought - maybe even finesse - that goes into even these really basic shapes.

#113 from 02.2025  is a box top with darts, V neck, and deep sleeve bands.  It's also supposed to have center front and center back seams that I eliminated. The example in the magazine photo cut striped fabric on the bias so there is chevroning down the front and back. Darts in a box top seem like a good idea - they can help that box hang just a bit nicer. Sizing - I used Burda's size charts to pick the base size using my full bust measurement, then traced the shoulder and neckline one size smaller and afterward added about 3/8" at the hem for a total of an extra 1-1/2 inches of hip ease.

The fabric is an all-cotton double gauze.

The photo on the mannequin shows the original width of the sleeve bands. These would be fine if you were making the top in more of a blouse weight fabric, like a rayon challis or some silky type. With the dropped shoulder, it all adds up to a 3/4 length sleeve. The double gauze had too much body for such a wide band, so it was shortened to the elbow length you see in the modeled photo.

with shortened sleeve bands

If you trace #113, you actually have an option of sleeve lengths because you can simply leave the sleeve bands off and have a shorter sleeve. This is what Burda did for the related style, #114. That one is cut on grain, has a round neck with a quarter zip, and the shorter sleeves. The main pattern pieces are the same. So you can mix and match your options to make several different-looking tops from this pattern.

Next up, something even simpler. This one is 5.2024 #120. They don't come much more minimal than this dolman sleeve box top with a boat neck. Front, back, turn under the neckline, sleeves, and hems and you're done. I made a neckline facing and stitched it down because I'm not a fan of a turn-and-stitch finish there.

This was made up in a cotton/linen knit with no spandex. It has drape similar to a cotton interlock but hardly any stretch. A loose style that just hangs from the shoulders seemed to be the best choice. 

Tracing and sizes: again, I traced a size smaller than my bust size for the shoulders and then at the sleeve edge just continued on for two sizes (this lengthened the sleeve a mere quarter of an inch or so) and continued tracing the underarm and body using the larger size. Also added length to the body. I'm very pleased with the way this fits nice and securely on my shoulders. It's very comfy to wear and I like the way it looks, too.

The previous style in this magazine, #119, uses the same pattern pieces but with longer sleeves, longer body, and a V neck. So again, if you trace off all the options you can make a few tops that are not exactly the same.

This brings us to the third top. I sewed a white basic tee shirt. Who does that?? I did and I'm glad. This was a very nice fine cotton interlock. Beefier than the tees in the tees in the shop, it has a quality feel. I solemnly swear not to eat anything with tomato sauce when wearing this tee.

It's #127 from the 2.2024 issue, a very basic short sleeve tee with a round neck, loose fitting, with very subtle shaping in the side seams. Sleeves were lengthened to the elbow. When I use this pattern again, I'll narrow the shoulder seams a bit. 

Lastly, a shirt that is not plain white. It has a gray stripe! So here's a different loose knit top with a boat neck that is meant to suggest a breton-type stripe tee. This one uses the pattern 122 from the 9.2024 issue, which is supposed to be for woven fabric, but it's companion style, number 121, uses the same pattern pieces and is for knits. It's the same except the sleeves are cut wide all the way down and it has a turtle neck.

This stripe is a modal/lycra knit.

Although these tops were not challenging sewing, or exciting because of the print or color, they were not boring to make. Partly that was because the sewing went so quickly. The thing that really motivated me, however, is all the thinking I've been doing lately about a neutral wardrobe. It is fun to sew with pretty colors and fun prints, but I'm realizing that most of those kind of clothes don't get worn a lot. Those of us who sew do it for differing reasons. For some it's all about creativity, for others it's more like puzzle-solving. While I enjoy the activity of sewing, the real reason I sew is to make my own clothes. A collection of clothes made just the way I want them and that make me happy when I wear them is my reason. And that seems to mean a lot of white tops. 😉

Itch To Stitch Vikos x 2

 

This is a pattern that I think will be very versatile because it can be reworked many ways. As it is, it has a bit of a folklorish vibe to me because of the neckline and wide topstitched facing. It reminds me of a smock or some of the old patterns from Folkwear, except that Vikos is not a hugely voluminous cut. It can be either a top or a dress, and comes with a short sleeve or a 3/4 sleeve that can be finished with a vented cuff or rolled up with a tab.

I did some flat pattern measuring before making up what ended up being a wearable muslin. The sizing chart put me in the same size as my previous Itch To Stitch top and that consistency gave me confidence. Before cutting the muslin, I widened the sleeve 1/2", lowered the bust dart, shortened the top by 1-1/4" (it's fairly long), and graded out two sizes at the hip. I made all these changes as I traced the pattern, hoping that I could keep the tracing nice and neat and maybe not need to re-do it.

the muslin

The muslin was made from a drapey rayon/linen blend left over from a pair of Style Arc Bob pants. I do make quite a few pants but don't put them on the blog often because it is such an ordeal to get decent photos of them. Back to Vikos - I think the very short sleeve included with the pattern is cute, but wanted more coverage. The sleeves on the muslin are cut elbow length because that's all the fabric I had. I was pleased with the fit except that it seemed like there should be a little more uptake on the dart. That was the only fitting change made after the muslin.

the fixed boo-boo

When the top was laundered to get it ready for its glamour shot, the fabric frayed right at the base of the notch. It's pretty narrow there where you need to clip and I thought I went right down the center. I hope I saved it by tucking the ends in, applying a drop of Fray Block, and clamping it in a hemostat to dry. When you look closely you can see the fix, but it's not glaring enough to bother me. I hope this will hold up through the next wash. I also learned from this test garment to use interfacing with more body to keep the corners of the neckline from flopping open.

the cuff

The second version was made from Brussels Washer, another rayon/linen blend that is slightly heavier than the test version. For this one I was able to make the cute vented cuff. This is just the sort of detail I like.  On me, the 3/4 sleeve is a bit long and I'll shorten it next time. And on this one I went ahead and applied some Fray Block to the tip of the neckline slit before washing.

Here's the lovely bathroom mirror photo of me wearing it. Both my versions were made from drapey fabrics which allow the neckline to splay open a bit (even with stiffer interfacing) causing the armscye to droop down the arm a little. Maybe a slight narrowing of the shoulder is in order. I can see making this again, turning the facing to the outside and maybe embellishing it with some pintucks or contrast topstitching. I might also make a tracing with a plain scoop neckline and use this pattern as a basic woven top. Really, you could transfer all kinds of necklines onto it. It would work well with a little popover-type placket, too. Vikos may well reappear on the blog in other iterations.