I liked the look of this skirt right away when this issue of Burda showed up, um, almost four years ago, but it has taken me until now to get around to making it. It's a great basic skirt: fitted at the waist, full and forgiving through the hips, easy and quick to make but with lots of pleats (two kinds) so you feel as if you are doing something.
The waistband runs a little loose. My waist and hip measurements are toward the upper end of Burda size 42, but the waistband slides down as I wear the skirt. I was focused on whether the skirt would be too small, rather than too big, so I completely missed this until I had already put in the zipper and sewn on the waistband. As another PR reviewer mentioned, the fullness of this skirt feels best when the waist stays snugly where it's supposed to be. The good news is that the pleats are in the same position for all the sizes, so you can put all the pleats in place and then decide how much seam allowance to go with on the sides.
And as for the seam allowance at the top of the front and back: don't bother adding it when you trace off the pattern in the first place. One of the first things you do after getting the pleats in is "Cut off seam allowance at upper edge of skirt." Yes, really. And the bias strip for the waistband? Allowances are already included in the measurements given. So if you really hate adding seam allowances to Burda magazine patterns, this is the skirt pattern for you.
We've got knife pleats in the front
and box pleats in the back.
My fabric is a charcoal corded cotton from Fabric Mart, sturdy but surprisingly lightweight. (The top picture is closest to the actual color. It's neither light gray nor steel blue, despite what some of my photos show.)
The instructions are clear, and I suspect many sewists wouldn't even have to use them (though I can't keep myself from reading any and all instructions; I blame it on my former life as a copy editor). I did stitch in the ditch (I stitched in the ditch?) instead of edge-stitching on the waistband, and I hemmed the skirt by hand. The invisible zipper is not perfect, but we're getting there . . .
Happy me.
The PR review is here.
Audio files:
Listening to Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling, separately, though they're also very good together, as you can hear here.
Thanks for the tips about the seam allowances - anything to save time! This skirt looks great, and like you, I am an instruction reader as well...J
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Judith! I see from your blog that you knit as well as sew (lovely cardigan, by the way). I'm hoping to get back to knitting, too, one of these days.
DeleteI agree with Judith! I like the way the skirt drapes on you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Heather! Yes, I can imagine this skirt draping nicely in many types of fabric. I tend more toward subdued solids, but I have often admired the beautiful colorful prints you use (in my lurking, pre-blog days).
DeleteI think the skirt looks great! I have a love/hate relationship with Burda. I think if everything was consistent (seam allowance with/without) and the instruction were a bit clearer I would absolutely love them! I seem to spend hours trying to decipher what they are saying even for some really basic stuff. I think they are secretly trying to make the instructions hard so that every pattern seems like a mystery and when we finish it is even more satisfying! Or they just stink at writing directions :) Great job on the skirt!
ReplyDeleteHi Maggie, it's so nice to have made a sewing connection with our local cheesemonger extraordinaire! It's funny, Burda magazine is working better for me as time goes on (with the exception of the latest July issue, which is clearly not meant for people of my age/body type). I think it's because of what you said: the feeling of victory once I have deciphered what I am supposed to do to get through one of their patterns. Also, I clearly have more free time than you. Courage!
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ReplyDeleteI like the knife pleats very much! I've just started a Burda subscription and hope to have as much sucess as you at thier patterns. :-) I've bookmarked your blog as I don't blog myself so will be popping back every so often to see what you get up to (in a non-stalkerish manner). FYI - found your blog from the Pattern Review website.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Claire. I'm delighted to have you as a reader. It's true that tracing off the patterns and deciphering Burda's sometimes-opaque instructions can be a bit much at first, but it gets better. Feel free to ask questions of the sewing community (I'm no expert but will be happy to help where I can), and have fun sewing.
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