Do I need one more summer dress? Probably not. But they are one of the things I enjoy sewing the most. And wearing. I love the sensation of airy cotton against my skin and summer dresses make me feel light and joyful. Although the smiley face in the photo doesn’t tell the complete picture, I’m actually not entirely happy with the outcome of the Burda magazine dress. Mostly because some design quirks on Burda’s behalf, like the insanely low décolletage and the snug shape around the hips which doesn’t really work with the suggested batiste. This dress would probably look better in something slinky and drapey, like the wedding version, which is sensational.
I was a little surprised by the shortcomings of this pattern. Burda are usually very reliable and I have the exact chest/waist/hip measurements of their size 38, so I didn’t really expect the fit to be slightly off. But then again sheath dresses are generally hard to fit and in hindsight I should have used my personal sloper instead and my own puff sleeve draft. Because another object of discontent are the sleeves – they’re huge. I ended up pressing the puffs into pleats to make them more subtle.
All things said, the end result looks pretty good and the overall design is very nice. I will definitely wear the dress, at least if the darn weather could be more cooperative. The two week heatwave was wonderful, but now we are back to a classic Swedish summer. i.e. mostly cold and rainy. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
For more info on the pattern see my review.
