Choosing Patterns

BurdaStyle recently included me in their list of the 50 Best Sewing Bloggers for the year, and gave me the opportunity to choose five patterns from the site. Thank you Burda! To further illustrate my pattern selection process, I wanted to share with you how I went about choosing which patterns to get.

BurdaStyle patterns aren't very expensive, but I still felt I had to choose carefully. I'm on a strict budget, not just financially but space and time-wise too. It was important to me to get patterns that were unique and added value to my collection.

BurdaStyle has so many patterns that it was helpful to first knock off some that wouldn't work for me.  Here are a few patterns that I didn't choose:

Tops
There were a lot of great shirt options, but I quickly realized that some could be easily created from patterns I already own. The tops with the fold, crossover detail, and cute bow could all be done by modifying a basic t-shirt block, like the Scout Tee. I decided not to buy these patterns, but save them to my Pinterest for inspiration instead.



Shawl Collar Jacket
I don't have any grand coat or jacket plans this year, but I do have some fabric in my stash for a shawl collar cardigan. I have struggled in the past to draft my own shawl collar, so I decided to check out the jackets and coats patterns. Because I was looking for a specific design detail, I focused on how the shawl collar was constructed more than the rest of the jacket details, which could easily be modified. That said, I'm still not sure any of these are the shape I'm looking for, so I'm going to hold off for now.


Dresses
I wanted two new dress shapes: a sleeveless shirt dress and something akin to this Guy Laroche pattern from Vogue. While BurdaStyle has a huge range of dresses, I unfortunately didn't quite find what I was looking for. I could have gotten something similar and modified it, but I think I could do that with what's in my stash anyway.


Next, I narrowed down the patterns I did want:

Pants
BurdaStyle has a lot of great pants options, and I've had good success with the fit of the printed Burda patterns. I wanted a pair of pleated pants to add to my collection, so I compared the different features to choose a winner. Looking at the line drawings really helped me pick a favorite. I ended up going with the one that had double front pleats, single back darts, a zip fly with one button instead of elastic, and a pocket flap option. If the pattern works for me, it will be a great block to add to my collection. The selected one are the Satin Trousers 07/2015 #117A.



Tops
Along with the pleated trousers, I opted for some interesting knit tops, including the Assymetric Jersey Top (a BurdaStyle favorite) and the Funnel Neck Top. I also chose the gathered neck Blouse, and for my last pick threw in the Retro Top. The Retro Top technically doesn't meet my criteria of being a novel design, but I liked that it included both bust darts and back shoulder darts, which give it more shaping than a Scout shirt.

While the samples aren't always my style, looking at the line drawings and comparing them to patterns I already own really helped me make my selections. I'm inspired to have some new patterns in my collection, and I hope I get to sew them all up for you!

I also learned that BurdaStyle has an affiliate program which could be cool for some of you out there, but I'm currently not participating so these links are just my personal faves. 

1 comment:

  1. Awesome, congrats! I love burdastyle pants patterns, the fit is spot on for me usually. I'm excited to see what you make!

    ReplyDelete

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