Tuesday, April 1, 2014

March Wrap Up & April Plans

I have totally abandoned each "Make a Garment a Month" plan so far this year. Oops. I got all gung-ho about shorts and summer and never got around to my high waist pants. In time.

For March I added 17.75 yards to the stash (thanks a lot FabricMart with your tempting sales).

I used 15 7/8 yards of fabric though! Almost parity. Almost doesn't count! Hahaha (remember, I masquerade as fasting. I try to fast...I do...but I love stashing. I love having a big ole choice of fabrics when I am inspired to make something!).

Stash used this month:


  • 2 Burda 6910 tops in black (YUCKY fabric & the watercolor mesh) - 2.5 yards
  • McCall's 6927 tank in black & white cotton voile - 1 yard
  • Burda Style Magazine 03/2013 shorts in green twill (awaiting finishing) - 1 yard
  • Burda 6933 pants for my son in black poly/wool suiting - 1.75 yards
  • Burda Style Magazine 02/2014 drape top in blue and white burnout jersey - 1.5 yards
  • McCall's 6754 top in plaid (double?) knit - 1 yard
  • PR Winter Street Dress (debuted today, to be blogged tomorrow!) in border print jersey - 2 yards
  • McCall's 6927 top for my daughter in plaid (the torture chamber) - 1 3/8 yards
  • McCall's 6614 sweatshirt for my daughter in tie-dye fleece - 2.25 yards
  • Butterick 5678 in striped shirting - 1.5 yards
The shorts will be finished - had to move my focus to the contest entry and to the PR dress.
The tee for my daughter will need a new pattern. Someone else attempted it and said the sleeves were "restrictive". I don't know what's wrong with them or how to fix them so I have to move on to find a cute woven tee for her! I will reuse the fabric though.
The McCall's top just didn't work out for me. I made the sleeveless version last year:


Which fits just fine if not a little gapey at the armhole. Well, I sewed the same size but out of that blasted plaid knit that didn't work for the plantain!!! It really has far less stretch than I thought. The top is too tight - AND - my plaids don't match :-(

See how it rides up at the waist? Booooo!


April Plans...

I want to sew 2 spring jackets. This past weekend the weather was pretty nice (and then it snowed today). I have a wool coat, a down coat, and a suede jacket. The suede jacket is so outdated but I love it! lol!! I really need a jacket. So I am aiming to finish the Burda Style Illusion Jacket and to sew up Simplicity 2153 (view D with no drawstring at the bottom).

Simplicity 2153 Misses Anorak Line Drawing
I'm also planning to hack this jacket for my daughter, provided I can find a nice fitting denim jacket at the thrift store.


And I hope to get back to sewing some spring garments.

OH and I have a rant.

The US edition of Burda Style magazine stinks. Do not buy it. Do not waste your time and money. Why does it stink?

  1. Bait-and-Switch: The magazine was introduced with the promise of 40 patterns per issue; 4 issues per year. In the first issue, 'Winter 2014', there were 20 patterns on the tracing sheets in the magazine and 20 patterns available for download with a free code. HOWEVER, the 'Spring 2014' edition of the magazine has NO DOWNLOADS. The patterns are included in the magazine photos, the instructions are included, but you have to pay full price of $5.99 per pattern for the downloads. The cover says "23 additional patterns to download!" well that would cost you $137.77 to get those 23 patterns.
  2. Lies: When they got called out about the missing code in the new edition, they backpedaled and said those free patterns were only for the premier edition of the magazine.
  3. Confusion: The pattern sheet patterns have seam allowances included but the downloads did not. Ok, I guess, as long as you are aware of this...
  4. Foolishness: They claimed "better" instructions. They are not better. They are printed on prettier paper.
  5. Silliness: Like many other things that have been "created" for a US audience; the magazine is dumbed down with a lot of silly extras.
  6. Poor Editing: The Winter 2014 edition is missing patterns and pattern pieces. There are several complaints about this and I spent over an hour looking for a pattern piece that is not there. Also, one entire pattern is missing from the sheets. When several people asked if it would be made available as a download - silence. Not sure how the Spring edition fares as almost everything I like is from March 2013 which I own.
  7. Cost: Many people paid $29.99 for a 1 year subscription to the magazine (I'm sure some people got slightly better offers and there was a better offer if you went with 2 years vs 1). But at $29.99 for 4 issues; you are paying $7.50 per issue - for 20 patterns. If you subscribe to the English translated International edition at $90 for 12 issues; you are paying $7.50 per issue - for what, 50(?) patterns. **For those that subscribe, I know there are variations on a pattern that count as a "new" pattern. That is another gripe I have; simple variations were separated. E.g., dress - included. crop top that's the bodice of said dress? Not included.**
  8. Extra: To add on to the cost factor, the US magazine patterns are all repeated from the international editions. So there's no reason to double up if you have access to the international edition.
Boo you, Burda.