Saturday, March 15, 2014

New to me sewing contest on Pattern Review

My family has just returned from an impromptu trip to Walt Disney World. It was a wonderful time away making dreams come true for our kids. With all of the planning needed for a spontaneous trip, I did not get much sewing done for the "New to Me" contest on Pattern Review. It requires that you sew a garment from a company, book, or magazine you have not sewn from before.

When I signed up for the contest it was midway along, but I was optimistic that I could get a project done in time. I originally choose a dress from Sew Serendipity, by Kay Whitt. It is a lovely number that has many contrast panels and is wonderfully cute. As I write this, I have six hours to choose fabric, cut it out and construct whatever I make. Making my first choice dress is not going to happen.  

I stealthily went into my sewing room, careful not to wake the napping kids, to find an alternative. I found this dress one shoulder dress by Burda.


 
This is a fun dress that reminds me of one I pinned last month. Isn't it cute? i have to make this!
I decided to shop my stash for fabric. Unfortunately I didn't have a lovely coral fabric, but I found a print I purchased at an estate sale earlier in the year. Here is B.I.R.A wearing the finished dress. (I will update to a photo of me wearing it tomorrow).

Front

Update: I missed the deadline for the contest by 18 minutes! I forgot about East Coast time and I am in Texas! Oh well. Here is me in my fab and fun new dress.

 
 Here is my review of the pattern:

Pattern Description:
One-shoulder dresses, slightly flared and above the knee for warm and sunny days. View A with smart bow-tie, B with big pockets.

Pattern Sizing:
6-18, I made a 10

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? 

The shape yes, but I added a flounce to the neckline.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes. This is my first time sewing a Burda pattern and I found the instructions very easy
to follow. I like that you align numbers rather than notches in this dress.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I liked the one shoulder style and the large pockets. I like that it can be modified easily if you like.  I found the armscye to be too small and needed to be widened about two inches.

Fabric Used: A rayon/poly(?) blend print fabric that I purchased at an estate sale. The vibrant print reminded me of Emilio Pucci and it screamed "mini dress".

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I added a flounce to the top angle. I used a dress I saw on Pinterest as the inspiration and I installed an invisible zipper.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I will sew this again. And recommend it to others. I have a few other Burda patterns in my stash and I plan to get sewing.

Conclusion: This is a quick and easy dress. Despite this being a "Young" pattern, I think it can be aged up.


Happy Sewing!
Bianca

9 comments:

  1. Gorgeous dress! You found the fabric at an estate sale?! I've only been to a couple and never saw fabric - what a cool find!

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    1. Thanks! My friends say I have a thrifting and resale guardian angel. I only paid $1 for this! I practically bought all of the sellers stash. The original owner died and her kids, just wanted it all gone. I promised I would make good use of it.

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  2. You whipped this up in less then 6 hours with modifications to boot? Fantastic! It looks great on you. Bet your kids loved Disneyworld.

    Hillary

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    1. Thanks Hilary! I loved it so much I made another this morning (I have a problem!) We all loved Disneyworld. I went as a child, as a newlywed and now with kids. There is nothing like experiencing it through the eyes of your child! Today, my 2 yr old asked if we can go back tomorrow :)

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  3. That amazing print with your style choice looks so fresh and fab!! I always enjoy seeing what you are sewing~

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