Burda 109 - A Simple Sheath

No pattern stash contest would be complete with a rummage through the bin of Burda Style magazines.  Number 109 from Issue 5-2010 caught my eye, it seemed like just the thing for some textured silk purchased this spring.  

If you look closely at the photo above you'll see it says, "Use only fabric with crosswise or two-way stretch."  Did I notice that before I cut my non-stretch silk? Nope.  Oh Heather, you bad instruction skimmer, when will you ever learn.  (Hint, Never)

My top half is still a Burda 44 but my bottom half is now in the Burda plus size range. Not a problem though because you can use the existing grading to grade up the bottom closer to your size.  Trace the largest size (in this case 44) and then shift that traced line over a smaller size and retrace.  I needed to grade the bottom 2 sizes up so I traced size 44, shifted my paper over to line up on the size 40 and retraced the size 44 line.  Needed to do a bit of blending at the waist since I wanted to keep the top a size 44.   This combination 44 top and 48 bottom got me in the ballpark but then I needed to make the following adjustment for a better fit.

1. Increasing the back dart intake 1/2".
2. Taking the two front princess seams in 1/4"
3. Took in the side seams 1/4" just from the waist to the hip curve.
4. Took in the shoulder seams an sizable amount 1 1/5". There just seemed to be a lot of extra fabric there that was making the neckline gap.
5. The very top of the princess line seams were taken in an additional 1/2" to prevent gaping of the neckline.
6. The facings needed to be adjusted to reflect the neckline and shoulder changes.


The trickiest sewing part is the combination facing, especially in my case since the facing size needed to be drastically changed due to my changes.  There was a bit of last minute trimming around the armholes to get the fabric to lay correctly.  I did understitch the neck seam but not the armhole seams.

Overall this pattern worked fine with a non-stretch fabric, thank god.  The only odd thing is that this silk does not seem to hold a press.  I've gone over the seams numerous time and they still look puckery in places. I'm a much better presser than these photos would lead you to be believe.

Flickr set here for some close up pics.

Despite the puckering issues I like this dress, it's simple and elegant.  The muted pastel print works well with the design and I thought it was the perfect match for my giant vintage butterfly pin.

Just hanging out on this dress until I spot some sweet flowers.

Next post will be the last of my 3 dress set, the Darling Ranges dress.  Otherwise known as the dress of a thousand alterations.