Newsflash: January 2013 Burda Preview!

After the fabulous issue that was December I had high hopes for the start of Burda's new year.  Sadly, those hopes were dashed with the full preview of the January issue.  I suppose after the brilliance that was December it is natural that there would be something of a lull in the next issue.  And January usually is at something of a disadvantage because of the large space devoted to Carnaval costumes.  Even so, this is probably one of the boringest Burdas I have seen in quite some time.  So much so that I don't even know if it is worth looking.  But, well, for you, dear readers, I will.

So, firstly Burda tries to keep the party going with more "festive" looks.  The colors and fabrics are nice, but the patterns themselves are pretty mundane.

Shirt... Meh.

Leftover wrapping paper dress.

Basic purple dress.

The shoulder detail is nice, but I am not a fan of the boxy shape of this jacket.

The collar is pretty cute.  Otherwise... eh.

Another cowl neck.  Very similar to the shirt from last May.

A nice pencil skirt, but still, just a pencil skirt.

Without the sparkles it is just a baggy top.

Changing the color doesn't make this any different from  the design from last October.

The Plus patterns are similarly derivative.

No - you aren't seeing double - Burda has a tulle skirt for all sizes.

I actually like this maxi skirt... but that is mostly due to the fabric I think.

How many times have we seen this pattern now?

Ok, maybe this vest is kinda cool.

But this vest definitely is not.
Just think of all those poor yetis...

Burda also included slouchy loungewear that looks practical, but not particularly exciting.

A nice PJ top.

A cozy cardigan.

Ok, after this week I wouldn't mind being all snuggled up like this...

The one possibly redeeming section is the vintage-inspired dresses:

This sheer dress is pretty, but not awe-inspiring.

Not a fan of that strap placement...

This dress... This dress I like!

Yeah, ok, this dress I like a lot!

So... ummm... Yes.  That's one thing I like.  One.  Oh well.  If you can't find something to sew for yourself Burda gives you can sew something for your man:

Yes, this is a purple velvet jacket.
No, it isn't in the costume section.

Yeah, I know.  I guess if you have found your prince charming you can now let everyone know by forcing him to dress like one.  Or something.  Look, my experience with sewing for guys mostly involves velvet, sequins, and rhinestones, but I am pretty sure even the guys I sew for wouldn't be caught dead wearing this out on the street.  Let alone to a fabulous New Year's party.  Which is apparently where Burda thinks you are heading in this ensemble.

Oh well.  If you can't admire their brilliance then you might as well giggle shamelessly over their costume patterns.  So, let's take a look at the BEST SECTION OF THE YEAR - the costume section.

It the Very Hungry Caterpillar!
Please tell me I am not the only one who read this book obsessively as a child.

Am I supposed to know what this is?
It is sort of like when Dorothy is lost in the woods... but not.
Ummm... I might actually like the shirt and corset top.
The owl is pretty cute.
That tree... is downright terrifying.

Sparkles!  Ok, I am won over.

Don't you want to find five more and make them dance in a circle?

Hmmm... I suppose this explains that crazy man's jacket.
These costumes aren't terrible, but I think Simplicity has better options.

The shark is pretty stinkin' cute though.

Burda attempts Star Wars.
The Padme dress is meh.
Baby Leia is kinda cute.

Darth Vader costume... *giggle snort*
The little Jedi... is actually pretty good.

Burda tells me it is an Ewok.
I see a Wookie.
Thoughts?

Yoda!
Ok, um, you guys - I might have to make a Yoda hat.
I mean, seriously, you guys, it's a YODA HAT.

And that's that.  Actually, compared to the travesty that some of Burdas other costumes have been (anyone recall those garbage bag people?), these aren't actually too bad.  The kids costumes are pretty useable.  The adult costumes... well, there are better options from the Big 4, but, on the other hand, these at least are legitimate looking costumes.  Boring, but legitimate.  So, other than that Darth Vader costume (and the tree... and the caterpillar) I won't be too critical.

In the end, though I might be a bit too excited by that Yoda hat, there really isn't much in this issue.  I mean, honestly it is like taking a look at all of Burda's most boring and most repeated pattens from last year, all in one issue.  Which actually makes choosing the top pattern really easy.  Without a doubt, the first Best of BS for 2013 goes to:

Sexy pink dress!

The neckline is interesting, but the dress is simple enough to wear to a variety of events.  I am imagining it in black or bright red.  I can imagine a lot of people wanting to sew this one up.

The worst pattern was a bit more difficult.  Most of the patterns were so boring as to be non-remarkable.  Though I feel like I have already voted this pattern off the island, in the end I decided the BWTF for January obviously belongs to:

The yeti Ewok/Wookie vest!

Oh.  Oh.  I see what happened there.  Those poor, poor Wookies.  That's cold Burda.  Really, really cold.

And..... that's what I got.  Which isn't too much.  For those of us hoping that January would continue the Burda brilliance that has been coming our way since August... we are outta luck.  For those of you who were worried about the lapse of your subscriptions - looks like you picked a good time to focus on sewing from your back issues.  What do you all think?  Is there anything you are dying to make?  Or does this just seem like an issue full of repeat patterns (and not particularly interesting ones at that)?  And, most importantly, who else feels a burning but inexplicable desire to whip up a Yoda hat?  Feel free to discuss in the comments!

November Fabric Splurges

I have been quite stressed the past few months what with finishing up school things.  Which will be coming to a close (with a little bit of luck) this week.  As a celebration for finishing my paper (I hope) I am doing a little blogging.  I haven't had any time to sew.  But apparently stress and time crunches don't stop people from buying fabric.  Or, well, at least it didn't stop me.

From Fabric Mart:

I couldn't pass up some great deals on these sale fabrics from Fabric Mart:

Back: Black wool suiting.
Middle: Periwinkle wool.
Front: Cotton-silk print.  It is fabulously soft, and still available.
All of these were less than $5/yard when I got them on sale.

Of course, I wasn't able to restrict myself to sale items when I saw these gorgeous fabrics:

Back: Royal blue wool.  This is destined to be the classic coat from the 2012 Burda Magazine.
Middle: Textured cotton boucle.  I plan to make a lightweight 3/4 sleeve jacket for summer
Front: Royal blue/gold cotton/poly brocade.  The photo does not do it justice.  I am planning to make an opulent coat.

After I bought these I saw the sad announcement that Fashionista Fabrics was closing.  They had been my source for Burda magazines until I finally got a subscription.  Although I am very sad that the site will be closing, I couldn't help but be a little excited to snag such beautiful fabrics at great sale prices.  Though most of the fabrics have sold they still have a few great pieces on sale - check it out before they are gone!

Back: brown/pink/white silk, and brown/teal ITY knit.
Front: Navy/white silk print.

I also did a little Black Friday shopping.  Which isn't something I do every year, but this year I was trying to eek out as much time with my sister as possible.  And since I was out helping her get ridiculously cheap camera memory cards (Black Friday - the favorite shopping day of photo majors everywhere) I figured I might as well get some shopping done for me too.  I didn't do too much, but I did pick up some fleece from Jo-Ann fabrics with plans of making the casual zip-up jackets from the December Burda.  No pictures (I mean, it's solid colored fleece...not that exciting), but with any luck I should be able to get to those before the end of the month.  Because I want a snuggley casual jacket that doesn't have cartoon characters or university logos on it.  Not that there is anything wrong with cartoon characters and university logos.  But sometimes I just want to wear something without a label, if you know what I mean.  Of course, while I was snagging some $2.99/yard fleece I also decided I couldn't pass up one of the Black Friday door-buster items.  And with a 25% off total purchase coupon, well, I think it was a Black Friday morning well spent.  So here is a look at my real Holiday splurge:

I bought the rainbow.
Oh, and it was like $45 with sales and coupons.
Ridiculous, I know.

So. Much. THREAD!  So many colors... I love it!  Sadly, I haven't had a chance to use it yet...  But just looking at it makes me happy.  And anxious to get back to sewing.  Which will happen soon.  I hope.

Newsflash: January Burda Early Preview Posted

Hard to believe that we aren't even in December yet, but already the first preview of the 2013 Burda collection is up!  And... well... ummm... yeah.  Color me not impressed.  This time around it looks like we have...

Dresses that just aren't as cool as December:

This dress is ok, but not spectacular.

This sort of looks like the vintage boucle dress, but not as pretty.

Repetitive outerwear:

How many times have I seen this pattern now?

Not another yeti vest!

Slouchy lazywear:

Yawn.

Ok, to be fair these actually ARE the sorts of things I would wear around the house.
So I suppose I can't complain too loudly.
But they still aren't all that exciting either.

And, finally, everyone's favorite section of the ENTIRE YEAR - the Burda January costume collection!

*Giggle snort*

Doesn't the music from Fantasia just start playing in your head?

YOU GUYS IT'S THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR!

Yeah, ok, so maybe I am just a little bit too excited by that last one...  Also, where did they find that many shades of green tights?  (And now I start humming the Men in Tights song... yeah).  So, erm, yeah.  So far I am not seeing anything super impressive.  Also, am I the only one who noticed that the previews seem to be getting shorter and shorter?  Anyway, at this point I am hoping that the January issue will be like December and completely reverse my opinion once the full preview comes out, but I am not counting on it.  Oh well.  That's ok.  I have a backlog of stuff I need to sew up anyway...

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Also, just to let my readers know - no I haven't died, but no I also haven't been sewing at all either.  Probably won't be getting much sewing done until mid-December, at the earliest.  So fear not if I seem to disappear for a while - I am not abandoning the blog.  Just dealing with real life.  I will try to post if any interesting sewing news pops up though.  In the meantime I am trying to keep up with blog reading, but I haven't been posting very many comments.  I have been seeing some really fabulous stuff being sewn up recently though - I am having some serious sewing envy over here!

Newsflash: New Butterick Patterns Announced

Butterick has released their winter collection of patterns - you can look at it here.  Overall it seems like this collection has a Retro-inspired feel, but there were a few patterns that seem to be following the modern trends.  When I looked at the thumbnails I wasn't too inspired at first, but a closer inspection of some of the photos and line drawings have won me over.  Dang it Butterick!  I don't have time to sew patterns I already own - don't tempt me with more!  Let's take a look...

"Retro Inspired" looks:

B5846 - I actually like this shirtdress, but I have a lot of shirtdress patterns,
and not a lot of desire to actually sew a shirtdress.

B5850 - This would be a cute party dress, especially for the holidays.
I think the bow might be a bit voluminous for me though.

B5851 - A nice sheath dress.

B5858 - I actually like this top and skirt (there are also pants, but they are a bit boring),
but I don't know if I would ever actually wear them.

B5859 - A fun wardrobe pattern.

B5859 - I actually like the top and skirt, but, again, I don't know if I would ever really wear them.

There were also a lot of looks that were following more modern trends:

B5847 - The exposed zipper is used in a sort of interesting way here,
but I am not really a fan of the overall shaping on this dress.

B5852 - Super Sexy Color Blocking!
I actually really love this design, just maybe not in those specific fabrics.

B5849 - This dress reminds me of the design from the 2011 September Burda magazine -
except the collar is much more wearable here!  This one is also going on my list of must-buys.

B5857 - Another knit top.  Similar to other patterns I already have,
and yet, who can resist a knit top pattern?

B5862 - I love the draping on this knit dress.

B5836 - I like this simple dress, but I already have a few Burda patterns that are similar,
so I don't really feel a need to acquire this pattern.

There were also a few fun craft patterns that actually weren't too bad:

B5864 - Retro doll's clothes that are actually really cute!

B5865 - More Retro doll's clothes.

B5841 - iPad/iPad mini protective cases.  Perhaps a great thing to sew as holiday gifts?

Also, since it seems like there are quite a few soon-to-be-mamas out there in the sewing blog-o-sphere, I thought I would give a mention to the two maternity patterns:

B5855 - This is actually a loose-fitting tunic, but I think it works better when they style it for maternity.
I do like the sleeves quite a bit, and there is some variety with this pattern.

B5860 - This is actually a really cute maternity dress!  This pattern also has some
maternity pants, so it could be quite useful for the future moms out there.

Though I did find quite a few patterns I really liked, there are still a few patterns that are worthy of a little ridicule:

B5848 - Cocoon sack dress.  I think the mullet hem really just makes it look like a nightgown.

B5856 - Maybe it is just the fabric, but, honestly, the top just looks really sloppy.

B5854 - This must have been really easy to sew,
since it was clearly fashioned out of curtains that had a dust ruffle at the bottom.

B5853 - I just can't get passed that bow!  It is literally growing out of her bust!  I mean, I am not a bow person anyway, but this is horrible.  Worse than any butt-bow ever worn on any terrible bridesmaid dress ever.  Trying to keep it classy here, but it is taking a lot of restraint to avoid jokes about how cold it might get at those holiday parties and thoughts that her pasties need tassels.  Ummm, yeah.  So much for classy.  And, yes, yes, if you left it off the dress would be fine whatever, but now that I have seen the bow I can't un-see the bow.  Horrendous.

So, now that I have collectively blinded everyone's mind's eyes with that last image... I ask, what do you all think?  For me, overall it is a pretty good collection, but not without some (hilariously bad) missteps.  What do you all think about the retro-inspired looks?  Or are you a fan of the more modern trends?  Is there anything you are dying to make from this collection, or are you board because you have seen it all before?  Feel free to discuss in the comments!