Something new, not a UFO for a change!

Tuesday 13 April 2010
Well I finally finished the Burda dress that has been absolutely annoying me for the last two weeks. Thanks to my new resolve of no new UFOs, I overcame the crappy instructions (no surprises there), and the most slithery, shiftiest and difficult to pin down fabric ever.

I made dress 119 from Burda 10/09:


It's a pretty simple shape really, but what I couldn't figure out is how there could be five pleats shown on the line drawing, when there are only three drawn on the pattern piece. Thank god for Pattern Review, because others had figured it out for me: the seam line joining the side pieces with the central pleated panel gets folded under and pressed into another pleat.


So with that sorted out I could finally finish sewing it. The fabric I picked is a grey wool flannel from the stash picked up from either an op shop or a garage sale sometime in the past. Yeah I know, it's plain grey and looks just like the magazine photo but what can I say? Anyway the fabric had a lovely drape and a good dress weight, but it would wrinkle like crazy if I just looked at it, so I decided to underline the whole thing in organza. But the fabric would shift and move badly during sewing even though I used a gajillion pins so it became quite difficult to sew.

But I got there in the end, and underlining it certainly was worth it because here is the back view after a whole day of wearing it at work:


Um, the dress is straight, I'm just standing like a drunken sailor! Sure there's some wrinkling going on back there, but not as much as I expected after sitting down for the most of the day at work. I also lined the entire dress in a Bemberg lining because I thought the organza layer might get scratchy. Shame on Burda for designing a dress that isn't a simple summer floaty thing without a lining, but it's not too hard to use the side pattern pieces, adding a bit extra for the front centre panel and cutting it on the fold so as to cut down bulk. I did the lining right to the edge of the dress because with all those pleats at the neckline there was already enough bulk.

Technically this dress turned out really well - I put in a perfect invisible zip, lined up the waist seamlines exactly and by putting in little darts at the shoulders it fits closely around my forward sloping shoulders. But I think this dress is a little.....blah, to be honest. I think it's a combination of the plain light grey and I think it looks a little like a school uniform. I wore it to work today with a black cardigan and the shoes in the above photos, but perhaps I need to do some dress up to see how I can better style it.

But for now I'm just pleased to get it off the sewing machine and into the wardrobe. I think I'm a glutton for punishment though, because I already have another Burda dress traced off and about to cut!

25 comments:

  1. I love the style of this dress - you've done such a beautiful, neat job. Looks great!

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  2. Very nice. Fits lovely. I think there would be lots of ways to dress it up.

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  3. It is so pretty! You know, I think in anything more interesting than a solid, you would lose all the wonderful details of this dress. I think grey is a great choice. You just need some bling. ;-)

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  4. The dress is great I love! Did I understand correctly? There are three layers to this? All you need to brighten it up is a bit of bling or a floral cardie which seems to be the big thing this spring/summer season anyway. This is a great wardrobe builder, you can do a million things with this!

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  5. Oh, I see the school uniform aspect. But, I still LOVE it. I'm impressed you did the knife pleats. I forgot to trace mine and was too lazy to go back. Plus, my fabric has a lot of body and I don't know that it would have held.

    I scratched my head for AGES over the front bodice pleats! Yours came out beautifully.

    I feel like I'm writing you a letter! But, I accidentally removed you from my RSS feed and am so GLAD I finally got around to checking. I just thought you weren't writing anymore! LOL. My bad :)

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  6. I think the dress is lovely on you. You've done a wonderful job with the pleats.
    I like it in the grey, it's one of those wardrobe staples we all keep hearing about that can be dressed up with different accessories. I would add a contrast belt at the waist and maybe a red cardi?
    Oh and for a different look, one of those large necklaces that are so current would be great.

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  7. Kristy - I love this dress on you and can see it with the black cardi. I think you just need a "wow" necklace to give it some added punch. Personally I wish this pattern came in my size...it is a perfect work dress!

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  8. I think it's a lovely dress. Good for you for persevering and letting it turn into another UFO. Great thought on the underlining and the fit is perfect. Grey is a great neutral and you could always dress it up with some interesting colored shoes or a print jacket with some gray in it.

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  9. The dress is lovely. It just needs accessorized. A fabulous belt in a soft pink or if you are bolder, try a black belt and a bright orange cardigan. Colored tights with a turtleneck underneath in cool weather. The possibilities for this dress are endless.

    Dig out the shoes, belts, cardigans, jewelry and try some new combinations with the dress. I bet you will be feeling the love for this little dress once you start styling it.
    Diane Drexel

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  10. It's not blah at all! I love it.

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  11. I made this dress and lined it, too! Of course, mine is sitting and waiting for someone to help me pin up the hem (no dress form here).

    I changed the waistline to empire because that looks better on me. My dress is charcoal grey and blue plaid wool.

    I have got to get that dress hemmed.

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  12. I think it came out very nice. And really sometimes you need that staple garment with a little pizazz and maybe this dress is that new go to for career chic.

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  13. Great, sleek style! Boring didn't come to mind until you mentioned it, but even then I think it's such a classic look, that you can dress it up with awesome shoes or a bold necklace for more punch :)

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  14. Really nice, great fit - and I think grey is perfect for this style! I never considered it to be boring, but you could try a belt or interesting tights, or a flash of colour to jazz it up a bit if you feel the need.
    I might have to seek out this issue!

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  15. it looks great! In time I'm sure you'll come to enjoy it more - it's hard to love something that was really tricky to make straight off.

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  16. It's not blah at all! It's lovely. Your shoes are gorgeous, too! A 3/4 sleeve short cardi in black with a chunky something at the neck would be my options. Or, now I think about it, red or purple or even lime green. Very nice dress.

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  17. Nice dress and wonderful fit! Looks like a good basic piece to pair with lots of colourful accessories. I imagine you'll get lots of wear out of it for this reason. Grey goes with so many colours.

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  18. What a flattering shape on you!

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  19. Kristy, this looks great on you, and I'm impressed by the fit you've achieved, especially with such unusual pattern pieces.

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  20. Great dress! To tell you the truth I can see it with all sorts of colors! Jackets, sweaters etc... accessories would help but I do really like the detail in the pleats!

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  21. Lovely dress! The organza really is effective. I've just tried this in a skirt but haven't worn it yet. I am all about belts (including scarves used as belts) for adding a little pizzazz to an outfit.

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  22. That's a great dress! Nice work.

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  23. Darling Dress-I love the lines.n And it's so versatile.
    Jana

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  24. The dress looks wonderful. Well done on persevering with such a tricky project.

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