fun!

Fun! – The Header Dress – Pattern Review: BurdaStyle 01-2010-130

January 9, 2012 in burda, fabric, fun!, pattern review, retro style, sewing

Thanks for all the great feedback on my new layout, I have made the post text font bolder, and hopefully that´s made it easier for you to read.

Today I present to you the first installment in my new segment Fun!. If you are interested in joining in on the fun, you are more than welcome, just grab the code below, paste it in one of your sidebars, leave a comment about it here, and off you go. I´d love it if you´d tell me if you are joining me, the more the merrier!

This dress was made on a whim last autumn, but I haven´t actually begun to wear it much until now.

The inspiration for this dress is a combination of two things. I really wanted to make a navy dress with lace inspired by this incredible dress that Zoe made, and I thrifted the lace for this dress (it´s really a table cloth) ages ago. My second reason for making this was a longing for clothing with no waist definition. Now, don´t get me wrong, I love high- waistedness, thoroughly documented here, here, here and here, but after a summer of wearing mostly waist-clinching garments, I longed for something that was a bit more relaxed.

Personally, I believe that the main reason for the fashion change from the fifties to the sixties, was women who wanted more breathing space!

Well, here you have it, my review of this pattern, it is yet another BurdaStyle pattern, the only obvious change I made was to skip the sleeves.

BurdaStyle Magazine 01-2010-130 Shift Dress

Pattern size: European 36-44

Avaliability: BurdaStyle Magazine and BurdaStyle.com

Pattern Description: Cap Sleeve Shift Dress

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Apart from the fact that I omitted the sleeves, yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn´t follow the instructions much (although I probably should have), but what I used was quite clear.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I really like the simplicity of the pattern. A really classic style, that can be used for lots of different styles.

Fabric Used: I used a heavy cotton sateen with quite an amount of stretch, not entirely suitable for this style. I wouldn´t recommend this fabric for this type of dress – try either something really stiff and heavy for a boxy effect, or something with a better drape for a softer shape.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I omitted the sleeves, as I didn´t want it for my version, I made an FBA on the bust darts, and because my fabric is stretchy, I omitted the back zipper.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I might make it again, perhaps with the sleeves, and I would recommend it to others.

Conclusion: A really simplistic design, and a nice shape for a shift dress. A good pattern!

Tags: burda, dress, pattern review, patterns, retro, sewing
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Fun!

First of all: Happy New Year, everyone! I sincerely hope that this will be a wonderful year for all!

The last couple of years, I have been focusing on putting together a thought-through and balanced wardrobe, but this year, in 2012 I am going for the fun!

As I now have a closet full of practical everyday wear, I want to focus more on unique clothing, and on evening wear. Updressed casual daytime clothing is where I excel, but I´d like to not have to rummage my closets in panic each time I´m going to a party or I´m going out for drinks. I usually end up in black, and although I love black, it´s not really representative for me to always wear black – I love color too!

So here are the colors of my Fun!-palette. These colors are bright and fun, and I love to wear them. The emerald-ish green color represents everything green in my plans. I have a couple of different fabrics in a range of greens and teal, and I want to wear more of them! I used to wear red all the time. But as my wardrobe is slowly changing into a handmade one, the red didn´t come along! This has a lot to do with the fact that I´ve had such a hard time finding red fabric, so when I´ve finally found some, I have been excused from my Stash Bustin´and have bought a couple of meters. The navy blue and the eggshell white are both staples in my wardrobe, and the coral is so fresh and spring-y. I have one particular coral colored fabric that I´ve been wanting to use for ages! This is the time for it!

When it comes down to picking patterns, that will be more difficult (yet Fun!), because there are so many gorgeous ones to choose from, and I really want to explore unique styles and techniques. One guideline will be Sewing trough the Decades as I still love to explore patterns from different eras and styles.

So there you have it, I am going to have some fun this year! Hope you will too!