Finished: BSM 02-10-138

The Pattern:  I love Burda for its design details and this pattern has plenty.  But they all work together to make a dress that I really like.  I'd sewn this dress before so nothing was a surprise.  Because I loved it so much, I forgot, or refused to remember, how involved it was to sew this dress.

The Fabric:  It was love at first sight with this fabric.   It feels like a cotton-silk blend and I think the color is great. It's drapey yet casual and a little ravelly.  Still, it said "shirt dress" to me and I immediately thought of the pattern shown above.

The Welt Pockets:  The first issue I encountered was the welt pockets.  The last time I made this dress, I essentially ignored Burda's welt pocket instructions and used the instructions from Jackets for Real People. (Alto, Neall & Palmer 2006)  This time, I read Burda's instructions carefully and studied the pockets in the previous dress.  Then I compared them to the instructions from JFRP and realized they were essentially the same.  The only difference was JFRP had nice clear diagrams to illustrate the steps.  Burda, of course, had no diagrams and the instructions were translated to English very awkwardly.

The Flaps: I had an issue with the flaps but it was totally user error.  I made the buttonholes before I sewed the flaps to the dress fronts.  No argument – it's much easier that way. My mistake was to sew the buttonholes so that I had two flaps for the left side.  I had to choose between removing the buttonhole stitches and sewing the buttonhole again and sewing the flap with the wrong side of the buttonhole up.  I chose the latter.  I think anyone would have.

The Collar: I wish I'd used s stiffer interfacing for the collar.  The collar is a little floppier than I would like. Note to Self:  Use a variety of interfacings.

The Shoulder Tabs:  I learned from the mistake I made with the flaps.  No problems here.  I had a tab for the right shoulder and one for the left shoulder!

Front Band:  I used The Sewing Book (Smith 2009) in addition to the Burda instructions.  Again, the pictures in the supplemental source made things easier.

The Sleeve Bands with Placket:   The sleeve band is cut in separate inner and outer pieces.  I don't know why I didn't cut the bands as a single unit.  It would have saved me the trouble of pressing the seam so that it stays on the edge of the sleeve band.

Belt:  When I made the dress the first time, I didn't include the belt.  Friends, online and IRL, advised me I needed a belt.  I don't fully agree, but I went with the belt this time.

Click BSM 02-2010-138 for review or see sidebar.

I really like this pattern, so I didn't mind dealing with all the details.  I think it turned into a very nice dress that I will enjoy wearing.