BurdaStyle 10/2015 - 110 Top & 108 Collar

Thanks to Sue for spotting that this pattern was a special offer on the Burda site on the very day I posted the dress version.  I honestly thought it was a typo, but I did a bit of digging around and Burda are offering a 25 cent pattern, bundle or course each day till December 25th, a fantastic opportunity to try their patterns if you don't already subscribe to the magazine.  You can access them daily from here.

Anyway here is the top version of the pattern, there is also an accompanying cape / collar thingy.

Pdf download version

I made this from quite a heavy double knit which is great for holding the shape of the collar on both pieces, but a bit impractical, it will have to be just the right weather to be able to wear a sleeveless top in a heavy fabric.  Somewhere indoors I suppose is the easy answer to that!


Construction is identical to the dress in my previous post, except there really was no need for a zip this time so I left it off.  The collar is a very quick and easy project.

You can see I have a bit of pulling at the back v from the bands.  The point of the V is better than on my dress, but it is pulling where the other side meets it, it really shows up in photos - I need to try and fix that, hoping a few handstitches to take the strain off will do the trick....

Bingo!  Had to go off and try this straight away.  As I thought I was able to fix this problem by just handstitching on the inside where the two bands cross each other.  It's not perfect, but much better and a quick and easy fix.

Here is the top with the collar.

Here I am wearing it, I just threw it on with the jeans I already had on, I think it will look better with a pencil skirt, maybe in a double knit too.  Good excuse to go fabric shopping (as if I needed one!).

BurdaStyle 10/2015 - 111 Dress

This is the dress featured on the cover of the October Burda, a sheath dress with a v back and a small cowl front neckline (also available as a pdf at the link below).  It's not too clear from the line drawing, but the vertical darts are open at both ends on the back and open at the top on the front.  I've also made the top version of the dress (110) and the matching capelet (108).  The construction is identical, but the look is so different that I'll put that in a separate post.  If you want to make both the dress and the top and don't have the magazine then don't buy 2 pdf patterns, Burda really should bundle them together I think.

(Edited to add : thanks Sue for pointing out that today only (2/12) the top pattern is available for just 25 cents!)

BurdaStyle 10/2015 - 111

I used a textured stretch cotton jacquard, but - and this is a big but - I didn't even notice I had cut it with the stretch going vertically until I tried it on before finishing the side seams!  Surprisingly it wasn't the disaster it might have been, but getting it on and off was a very undignified affair so my plans to skip the zipper went by the wayside and I inserted an invisible zip in the side seam.  With a stretch fabric used properly you may be able to skip the zip, you definitely can on the top (my top is in quite a heavyweight ponte so the drape is similar to this dress fabric).

This dress is the sewing lesson for the month so the instructions are more detailed than usual and also have diagrams so it's a good one to try if Burda's instructions are too minimal for you or you are a Burda beginner.

It is a pretty straightforward sew, the only fiddly bit is attaching the back neck bands which are extensions from the front piece and wrap around after joining the shoulder seams.  Rather like sewing an inset corner, you need to carefully mark the point where the band meets the centre back seam and stitch the 2 sides one by one so you can finish exactly at that centre back point.  Mine is pulling a bit even after doing this - it's quite bulky there -  so maybe basting each side separately first would be a good idea.

I cut the armhole facings from some scraps of black ponte just because I thought my textured fabric was a bit lumpy.  After attaching them, I decided to topstitch the armholes and trim off the excess.  I also sewed a deep hem by machine, nothing really shows in this fabric.

I like how the stiffness of the fabric makes the collar stand up at the front, I like this kind of structural detail.  Despite my silly error in cutting - and I'm still not sure if the stretch went along the selvedge or I cut it by mistake because I have none left - the dress worked out well and had enough give in it for me to comfortably wear it out to dinner.

Terrible back photo, but you can see here that the v is a good, wearable depth