Burda of the month: 10/2012 #118 - the surprising choice

Wednesday 7 November 2012
Once again thank you all for chiming in on what fabric to use for the dress for my latest Burda project (10/2012 #118)  - so many compelling arguments for going with the plaid, a solid or a print! I think I'll have to do what Allison C suggested and make a few of them because it is such a good pattern.  I did have a chuckle at the suggestion that the muslin should become the final version - whilst it may have looked ok in the photos the print is not really to my liking.  I think my mother in law gave me that fabric and there is heaps of it too, so I was glad to use some of it up. 


The Vivienne Westwood bias plaid dresses that Trumbelina and lsaspacey helpfully linked to are exactly the look I was picturing in my mind, so I think the plaid would (probably) look really good, if I could get over my obsession with exactly matching the stripes at the side seams.  However I decided against using the plaid fabric not because I was worried about wasting the fabric if it didn't turn out well, but because it's more of a winter fabric and needs lining since it's a soft brushed cotton (ie a bit clingy). We're heading into summer here and I couldn't bring myself to sweat (literally) over a dress I wouldn't wear for another 6 months.

So then I tried to find a solid in my stash because I agreed with those of you that pointed out that a solid would be the best to show the side gathering detail of the dress.  But unbelievably, despite the hugeness of my stash the only solids I really have are either winter weight fabrics or were too stiff for the drapiness required for the cowl.  I did have some black ponti in the stash, but I"m trying really hard for colour these days so I passed on that.

Anyway, while I was digging through the stash I came across a cotton sateen buried way in the back, that is a deep pink with a print that looks at first glance to be thimbles and stitches (gotta love a sewing themed fabric!).  I don't think I own a dress in a dark pink, in fact I don't think I own many (or any?) clothes in pink, so it is a surprising choice for me but it just seemed right:


And here's my finished version:



I still can't believe that I didn't need to make any changes to the pattern to get this to fit, aside from my usual grading out from one size to another at the hips to fit my pear shape.  This fabric has only a slight amount of stretch to it, but enough to make wearing this comfortable enough whilst still fitting remarkably well.

Because the fabric is a non directional print I was going to cut it out following the suggested grain lines of the pattern, but my fabric wasn't wide enough to do that.  This fabric is only 90cm wide, so I had to cut it out with the straight grain for the skirt part and the bias grainline for the cowl.  But the fabric was soft enough for the cowl to drape much better than the practice version without having to deepen it or change the shape of the cowl.  I did wonder if I would need to sew the cowl down to one side, like #117 which is the shortened top version of the dress (as an aside, is there really a need for another pattern when it's just shortened with longer sleeves?), but it seems to sit well enough in this fabric:


The only changes I did make to the pattern were deliberate: I added a vent at the centre back seam for walking ease beause I tend to walk really really fast, even in heels, so I need a bit of space to allow for a good stride.  It seemed strange to me that such a fitted dress would not have one, but since it has a centre back seam it wasn't difficult to add one in.



The other change I made was to make a cap sleeve instead of the three quarter sleeves, using the sleeve piece from the dress from September's Burda challenge which just happened to be still on the cutting table (laziness does pay off sometimes!).  I do love a three quarter sleeve, I think it looks very graceful and flattering, but again this is a summer dress, and a Sydney summer is usually really hot so a cap sleeve was a more practical choice.

So onwards to the November Burda challenge garment - this might just be the month that I fulfil the part of my challenge where I sew something from the magazine in the month of its issue!

35 comments:

  1. Bravo! Smashing frock. Definitely one to make again.

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  2. What a great looking dress! The fabric is perfect ..and nice colour on you. I wondered how a cowl would work in a woven...you've inspired me to try this...and I'll go with cap sleeves too...

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  3. Looks lovely Kristy, you are going so well with the monthly challenge!

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  4. The dress looks so pretty on you.

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  5. That is such a great dress and I think the colour really suits you. I'm going to have to get that Burda out of the library again.

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  6. This dress is your perfect silhouette! It's SO flattering! Your waist looks especially tiny. I agree with you that you need to make several more versions.

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  7. Great dress, and the colour is lovely! Good job!
    Barb

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  8. It looks really nice on you. Glad you chose the pink.

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  9. I think you're fabulous with this dress, fits you perfectly! I'm making the shirt version of this same pattern.

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  10. Love this! I'm glad that the cutting layout worked with the skirt on straight grain, as that's likely what I will adopt.

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  11. so nice.so many turkish blogger sew this dress and post..but not me. please visit my blog..
    www.modavesaire.net

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  12. I may just have to make this dress! It looks so lovely and is flattering too!

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  13. Very nice! I might have to download this pattern and find the sewing machine...it is there somewhere under the dust.

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  14. It's beautiful!! Looks fantastic!

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  15. Great job! This is a wonderful color on you. I really like how this fabric shows off the details of the pattern. Super flattering fit!

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  16. Great sleeve choice. The dress fits so well too.

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  17. the colour really suits you - you`ll have to sew a whole new wardrobe in pinks . It is amazing how different this looks to your muslin which is what I love about sewing - different fabrics created such different looks in the same pattern.

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  18. Proving that a redhead CAN wear pink!

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  19. Wow great fit and love how the cowl sits, a real winner!

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  20. Great dress, great colour. I can't believe you made next to no changes to the pattern. How often does that happen?

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  21. I seriously love this dress!!
    Lesley S

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  22. What a beautiful color on you, and the cowl sits so prettily.

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  23. A terrific version of this dress, it fits so well and the cowl looks great.

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  24. Alright! Great color too! It looks really nice! I've decided that Burda is just too much for my eyes... I about died the other day trying to figure out which pieces I needed for 08/2011 #116... cute, simple dress (although, I wanted to make it 3/4 length sleeve)... but it's the pits trying to copy off the pieces! Arugh!!!
    Sorry... I really wanted to make that... now I have to dig into my pattern stash and see if I have something similar to make instead. Try, try,try again! Hmmmm!

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  25. Really nice but...... I still like the muslin best. Sorry!

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  26. Wow this looks great, the fit is fabulous. I wouldn't have looked twice at this but might have to add it to the (ever growing) list of patterns...

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  27. Love the dress on you! well done. I should try giving myself a monthly challenge list because I keep on forgetting patterns I wanted to make...like this one. The printed fabric turned out very nice too. Sometimes it's good to dare a bit

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  28. Looks great and the fit is amazing! Definitely make more of these. My plan is just to make 12 garments in this year, but not month specific. I'm up to 9 finished so maybe I will make it. Good luck!

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  29. Very nice. Great job on your dress. It looks like it fits very well.

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  30. The pinky/coral looks great on you. Yes definitely make a bunch of these, the fit is amazing, even more so that you hardly made any adjustments.

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  31. Oh I'm so in love with that pattern, and it and the colour looks so good on you!

    The pattern adjusts nicely to a warm-weather dress too

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  32. I love it. Looks great and so pretty. You've inspired me to track down a nice dress pattern that I can make for work next year.

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  33. Great style for you. Does this mean you are back at work and no longer breast feeding? Fantastic style but not feeding friendly.

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  34. You should think pink more often because you are very pretty in this dress! And definitely do as Allison suggests and make several of these! It's stunning.

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