Burdastyle summer dress

[dolcevita]

I'm having a bit of a summer dress binge at the moment and loved the design of the A-line summer dress on the cover of the July Burdastyle magazine.  I found some printed cotton/linen mix in Fabricland that seemed like just the job for it and it's coming on well at the moment.  There's a little more hand sewing than I anticipated, but this is mainly as thread tracing that Burda recommend in the instructions.  Burda's instructions are minimal at the best of times, so if it's included I usually do it.

The pattern is a petite sizing, which work well for me as I'm just on the edge of their standard sizing for my height.  I was a little concerned about the placement of the pockets and facings, but they hit at my high hip and so aren't a problem and don't draw a disastrous horizonal line.  It's loose fitting through the waist, lovely for the hot weather.  Burda use a metal zip on their version with the teeth exposed, but I'm swapping it for an invisible zip as that's what I have.  I've graded down through the sizes from top to bottom to reflect my pear shape, but that's easily done with the lines of this pattern.

Here's the dress and the fabric, along with some silk that I've used for the lining.  As it's a hot weather summer dress, I'm going for maximum comfort.

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[b15erk]

DV, that looks lovely, and the fabric will be perfect.  I stopped getting Burda when my local newsagent closed down, and we haven't got a WH Smith in town any more, so it isn't easily available for me .  Maybe I need to look further afield....

I still use my old Burda magazines (and Ottobre), for children's wear, as they are such lovely patterns.

Look forward to seeing your progress with this one.

Jessie

[dolcevita]

Thanks, Jessie.  I've ended up subscribing to Burda even though I know there will be some duff issues in amongst them.  That said, I often go back to ones that are years old and make something from them; Burda are very fashion forward and it takes a few years for some of their stuff to become more acceptable to old girls like me!

Here's the progress up to last night.

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[b15erk]

That's lovely DV, your fabric is beautiful!

As you say, Burda can be used over and over - and I still do!

I suppose subscription is a possibility, but as you say, there are sometimes duff  issues...

Jessie

[Silver Rose]

Beautiful fabrics DV especially the silk lining, a pretty dress for the summer.

[Efemera]

That looks really nice.

[SkoutSews]

Nice simple style, which will show off that lovely navy and white fabric.

[Nevis5]

I love that fabric!  I'm a Burda girl too @dolcevita although I hadn't bought a mag for ages.  I have back issues going back for quite a few years so have plenty of patterns to trace should I feel the need....

[Catllar]

Very nice - must get ou amy old back issues too!

[dolcevita]

Here's the finished article.  I could have saved myself some time with the lining by machine sewing the long sections together but decided to press the seam allowances in and then hand sew, both for greater accuracy and for a softer finish on the silk.  I wore the dress yesterday evening and the lining feels gorgeous against the skin.

The style of the dress is really comfortable. It's an odd thing to describe, but it feels really 'secure' around the neck and shoulders.  Not choking or anything, just like it isn't going to go anywhere!  The rest flows nicely, not surprising given that it's an A-line.  The only downside is that it wasn't possible to do a sway back adjustment; I normally need to take out about 2.5cm for this with Burda patterns so I do have a bit of a rumple at the centre back waist, but I can live with that in this case and it's not too obvious in the large pattern.

I may make another in plain linen but not this year as I have my full quota of summer dresses now and it's time to move onto some other things. 
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[b15erk]

Lovely DV, that fabric suits the style so well.

I'm now looking at options for purchasing Burda magazine - you enabler you! 

Jessie

[Lachica]

That is lovely.

[dolcevita]

Thanks, ladies.

Jessie - I subscribed to Burda as I got fed up with waiting for it to appear in WHSmith but, to be honest, it takes a long old time to arrive on the sub, I would say at least a week, more like 10 days after it's available in the shop.  Ironically, the lowest price for the sub was WHSmith online, but they are just a middle man as the magazine is sent out by someone else.  That said, I don't have to go hunting for it any more.

I am going to make a resolution to make at least one garment from each issue, but knowing how some issues can be for ugly patterns, it's not one that I may be able to stick to!

I will probably make another of these dresses as it's lovely to wear, but probably not this year, even though it's reminding me more and more of 1976 when summer dresses were very welcome.

[Ohsewsimple]

Nice and cool for summer @dolcevita.  Love the coolness of silk when it's hot.
What was the problem with a sway back alteration?
Nice to see you posting again.  Hope things have settled down for you.

[Manuela]

@dolcevita that dress is beautiful and I looooooove the lining.
If I could just find the fabric of the original Burda dress, I'd kill to get that print.