Newsflash: May Burda Preview Posted (Sort Of)

I have been waiting for the preview of the May Burda all week.  Every time I checked the Russian website the page was up, but I couldn't see any of the model photos.  Actually, I still can't see the model photos on the main page, and according to my reader Sewing Sveta, the Russian website is only showing the preview to registered users.  Looks like I am going to need to register with Russian Burda. However, I was able to see the new designs when I clicked on the Garment Type links at the bottom of the page. And I have to say I am excited for May!  On the one hand, I can't really point to one all-out spectacular pattern that I am dying to sew.  On the other hand there are a lot of patterns that I really like and lots of projects I want to add to my summer wardrobe.  So on the whole I think this issue is a win.  Much better than April at any rate.  So let's take a look.

Since May is traditionally Burda's spring/summer dress issue, let's start with the dresses:

Pretty!  I would so make this if I had a beach wedding to attend...

Still in love with the maxi.

Line drawing - the back is cute too!

This would be a nice simple dress for summer.

I would probably leave off the pockets myself,
but I like the basic shape of the dress.

I like the version with sleeves too!

I also like this more fitted dress, the vintage pattern for the month.

Much easier to see all the seams in the line drawing.

Still a bit torn over this dress.  I feel like the way the skirt is draped
might add a bit too much of a maternity look to the dress.

I was on the fence with this one in the preview, and I am sort of still on the fence now.

I would definitely leave off the dust ruffle skirt though.

But the back on the model is hot!
This might be a candidate for a frankenpattern...

Babydoll isn't really my style, but I suppose this might be cute on others?

I am also super excited for a lot of the new tops coming in this issue:

I know this is a basic tank with a keyhole, but this would be fabulous to wear under a
lightweight summer jacket or on its own.  I am thinking this is going my must-sew list.

Love the knot detail!  Another one I really want to sew.

The collar is so pretty!  Love this shirt.

Hooray it is a pattern!  Not sure how I feel about the center front
seam, but I LOVE the back of this knit top.

There are also a few other pieces I am really liking in this issue:

Ruffle skirt is pretty!

Line drawing for the ruffles...

I also like this wrap skirt...

But with a slit that high it wouldn't be practical except as a beach cover up.

Cardigan with a peplum looks interesting.

This sweater looks so cozy!  I might reduce the pocket size a bit though.

A slip pattern!  I have been wanting to make a slip after seeing so many awesome
ones on the blog-o-sphere, and this Burda one might be the way I go.

Hard to see in the photo though...

This year's bikini pattern.  The top is better than years past.
The bottom is still a bit wrinkly.

But it does look to provide decent coverage, so that is nice.

While there were a lot of good things in the regular sections the Burda Plus offerings this month aren't as exciting:

Can't decide how I feel about this dress.  Might be a bit too sweet for my taste.

I do like this top though.

But this skirt didn't look too flattering on the model.
And it looks like it is made out of lining fabric?

Though, to be fair, not all of the regular sized patterns were all that spectacular either:

Crazy flutter sleeves.  Which look cool in the garment photo,
but look crazy in the model photo.

Boring sack-tee of doom!
If you were eaten alive by fabric it would look like this.

The lace + sweatshirt combination is something I just don't get.
Lace makes me think of parties and dresses.
And sweatshirts make me think of, well, sweat.
Very very odd combination.

Ugh.  Another unflattering romper pattern.

But does it look even worse with longer pants?
I think it does.
And I am not a fan of the crooked crotch either.

So, yes, a few blah patterns this month.  But not enough to detract from the awesome dresses, tops, and skirts that are going to be showing up in my mail soon.  Yes, I am excited.  Which means it is time to do the best and worst picks of the month.  It was a bit difficult because there are so many tops I really want to sew, but in the end I think the Best of BS for May goes to:

Maxi dress of awesome!

Yes, the maxi dress.  I mean, how can you look at it and not want to immediately jump on a plane to some exotic beachy local?  I haven't been on board with the whole maxi dress trend that was super popular last year, but this one might have changed my mind.

As far as the worst pattern of the month, well, I think it is pretty obvious that the BWTF award goes to:

Quilting cotton playsuit.

It just looks a bit much like scrubs made out of quilting cotton.  And the print makes it so drab.  Not a fan.

But, all in all, a good issue!  Can't wait for mine to get here, though I know I won't have time to sew anything from it for a good long while.  What do you all think?  Are you excited?  Anything going on your must-sew list?  Or are the designs too similar to things you have already seen?  Feel free to discuss in the comments!

What I Have Been Up To And New Fabric!

So I haven't been posting too much lately, but I have been sewing.  About 4-12 hours a day, actually.  It seems like the more sewing I do, the more I have to do.  So much sewing, but not for me.  Sigh.  I mean, I am grateful for the business, and I am more than willing to do the work, but I also have so many awesome stash fabrics that want to be worn dang it!  Though at this rate I won't be doing much garment sewing until July.  Definitely will be doing skating costumes almost non-stop for the next three months.  With a few garments for my sister thrown in for good measure...

I have also been keeping up with my blog reading, but I haven't been writing a lot of comments.  Or writing much of anything on my own blog either.  Though there are a few things I will hopefully have time to post in the near future: (1) The Russian Burda has been taunting me with the page for the May Burda magazine, but none of the model photos have been posted yet.  I will continue to check back several times a day until the preview is up though...  (2) I also have a mostly finished birthday dress (that missed being done for my birthday), but I need to fix the wonkiest zipper insertion ever.  With any luck I can do a pattern review post on the Butterick pattern I used soon.  (3) Since I have been doing so much sewing of skating costumes I have been working to finish my tutorial posts.  I still need to take some pictures, but with any luck I should have those going up by the end of the month.  (4) I have also been wanting to do a skating update and posting more videos and more discussions about equipment, but I haven't had a lot of time to get things written.  (5) I have at least one more book review to post soon too.

Ah, yeah.  One of the conundrums of having a sewing blog - usually the amount of blogging is inversely proportional to the amount of sewing.  So I am feeling very behind in my posting.  But at least I have been getting sewing done!  Even if it is for other people.  On the upside of that, doing all of this sewing for other people meant I had to take a trip to the LA garment district, where, of course, I had to stop at the Michael Levine Loft, home of the $2.50 per pound price tag.  I didn't find as much awesomeness as last year, but I did find a few fun fabrics to add to my stash:

Top Left: Teal ribbed double knit.  Possibly enough for a long sleeved dress for winter?
Bottom Left: Striped (rayon?) jersey.  Only enough for a tank top for summer.
Right: Soft sweater knit.  I might have enough for a drapey cardigan and a cozy winter top.

Left: White spandex (for skating stuff).
Right: Beautiful jacket-weight woven of mystery fiber content.
It has a lovely drape and is so soft.  The color and texture are gorgeous too.
And it was so cheap!  Fabric love.

And my splurge - an embroidered pannel fabric that I just couldn't leave in LA:

So pretty!  Photos don't even begin to describe...

Sadly, these fabrics are going to have to be stashified for a while.  Though since a lot of them are winter-weight knits that might be ok.  Either way... it is time for me to get back to stitching the glitter stretch velvet!

Pattern Review: BS-03-2013-109

I feel like I have been chained to my sewing machine!  Last year I was asked to make a few skating costumes for other people, which I did gladly because I was quite happy to pick up some extra cash with my sewing.  This year - business has increased tenfold!  Well, not really, but the people who have asked me to sew for them are wanting lots of outfits.  So I have been working in my sewing area almost non-stop the past few weeks.  I have been doing mostly pattern drafting, so not too many finished items yet, but working like crazy none-the-less.  Which is why it was only a matter of time before I gave in to temptation and made something for myself.  I wanted to make something fast and easy, and I have been enviously coveting all of the fabulous lace skirts that have been popping up on other sewing blogs over the past few weeks, so I jumped on the simple lace skirt from the March Burda:

BS-03-2013-109 - White Lace Skirt

Close-up of Burda's version of the skirt.

I made a quick muslin and it was fairly evident that my skater's thighs were going to need a bit more room, but otherwise the skirt was an almost perfect fit right away.  It was fairly quick to sew together, and in the end I have a great "lace" skirt that is right on trend for the spring:

My version of the lacey white skirt!

Love the length and they way it hangs.
(Oh, and can you tell my legs haven't seen the sun in months?)

The back.

Side seam with invisible zipper.

Close-up of my cotton eyelet "lace like" fabric.

The inside.  You can see my ribbon waist stay on the left, and the seam binding.

Here is my official pattern review:

Pattern Description:  A-line skirt with waist darts for fitting and ribbon waistband.

Pattern Sizing:  Burda sizes 38-44.  I cut a size 40 on the waist and graded out to a 44 on the hips.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, I thought the instructions were decent for Burda.  I changed the construction a bit though, because I didn't want the seam allowances to be visible through the outer fabric.

Did it look like the photo/drawing when you were done with it?  Yes!  I was really inspired by the lace skirt in the Burda magazine, and I wanted to make one as close to the original as possible.  However, I thought that a lace skirt might be a bit impractical, so I used embroidered cotton eyelet to get a similar effect with less likelihood of snagging.

What did you particularly like/dislike about this pattern?  Likes:  I love that this is drafted for use with a lace that has a scalloped edge - it would also be great for a boarder print.  I also love how simple the skirt is - just four darts and the side seams, yet it is enough to create a nice fit.  I am also a fan of the A-line style - I think it is rather slimming.  Dislikes: I think this skirt might be just a tiny bit too high waisted, which I changed a bit with my construction decisions.

Fabric used:  Embroidered cotton eyelet for the outside "lace" portion of the skirt, and acetate lining (from the recent $1.99 Vera Wang sale at Fabric Mart).  I also used an invisible zipper and a ribbon for the waistband.

Pattern alterations or design changes you made:  As far as alterations go, I added an extra 1/2" of width to the skirt front piece below the dart so that it would lie more smoothly over my thighs (ah, skater thighs...).  I also changed the construction a bit.  First, I treated the outside and lining fabric as one piece rather than separately  so that the seams would all be on the inside of the skirt and not visible through the eyelet.  Also, I changed the ribbon waistband into more of a waist stay.  Since the skirt is rather high waisted to begin with, I didn't want to add to the height by adding the ribbon waistband, so instead I flipped it to the inside and used it as a stabilizing waist stay.  Otherwise I made the skirt as instructed.

Would you sew this again?  Would you recommend it to others?  Yes!  I really like the way this skirt turned out, and this might be heading to a TNT pattern status.  I would love to find a great boarder print to use with this pattern in the future.  Or, of course, for more lace skirts.  I would highly recommend this to others - the fit is great, it is easy to make, and the style is quite flattering.  Very easy to make a great on-trend skirt!

Conclusion:  Love this pattern!  A lovely simple pattern that really lets the fabric be the star.  I expect I will be wearing my skirt a lot this spring, and I also think I will be using this pattern again in the future.

Newsflash: New McCall's Patterns Announced

McCall's is ready for it to be summer!  And they aren't afraid to let us know it, especially with the cheesy painted beach background they decided to use for their latest pattern releases.  All in all... meh.  I am not too interested in most of the new designs.  Mostly because I feel like they are shapes I have seen before, or that I have something similar in one of my Burda magazines.  And, well, since these are summer looks, most of them have the oversized baggy easy I try so hard to avoid.  So I don't think there will be much for me in this release, but let's take a look anyway.  Here are some of the more exciting options for summer:

M6759 - Summer is here!  Swimsuit pattern with various one- and two-piece options.

M6751 - Tank top with criss-cross strap details.

M6756 - Fashion Star shorts (in super short and Bermuda lengths).
The lace short seems to be a huge trend right now - I have already seen
a ton of girls wearing them out and about...

M6745 - A nice halter dress.  Similar to other patterns I already own, but cute.

M6740 - Button front dress.  Can't decide if I actually like it, but the stripes make it interesting.

M6754 - I love the chevron pattern created by the seaming and the stripes!

M6752 - The knit dress is ok, but sort of boring.
But this pattern does contain some other interesting pieces...

M6752 Line Drawings - I am loving the view C top!  Might have to get this pattern for that reason.

M6750 - Palmer/Pletsch Shirt pattern. Lots of darts to create a perfect fit.

M6757 - Palmer/Pletsch pants and skirt pattern.  Nice classic shape with lot of darts for fitting.

Of course, with the good there was a lot of not so good...

M6760 - Fashion Star dress and jumpsuit.  Now, I love a wide-legged pant, but those legs are ginormous!

M6743 - Draped dress.  To be fair, it is also pictured with a belt,
but even that doesn't do much to cut down on the volume.
Also, I think this would be a great summer maternity dress,
but if you aren't pregnant, why would you want to look like you are?

M6746 - A Generation Next dress pattern.  I hate to say it,
but the way the hem is wadded up makes me think of a giant diaper.

M6753 - Oversized tunic pattern.  The plaid boucle and straight cut
does nothing to create any sort of a figure.

M6739 - Sack dress extreme!  It really does look like it was fashioned out of a giant sack.

Finally, a few fun patterns of note:

M6770 - An over the top costume-ish pattern.
Looks a bit crazy with the jacket, bustle, and skirt all together.

It also comes with culottes!   

I have to admit I really like the lace-up back to the jacket though.
Might have to get it for my costume pattern collection.

M6764 - The doll clothes are super cute!  Love their little jackets...

So, what do you all think?  Is it summer time?  Are you ready to be making bathing suits and tank tops?  What do you all think about the latest patterns?  Anything you can't live without?  Or are you going to stick to sewing from your stash?  Did I miss anything exciting from the full preview?  Are we sick of giant draped sack patterns yet?  Feel free to discuss in the comments!