Burda Style March- What I Like About You

The March issue of Burda Style arrived yesterday- Yay! Unfortunately, I still have not made a thing from the January or February issues- Boo.

This is not a bells and whistles issue for me. There is not an "OMG, I have to make it right now" piece in this mag like the color blocked dress from the last issue. But I think this one will be a sleeper. There are actually quite few quiet, but very nice pieces in here that I can see myself making at some point.

Blouse 113 is one of them. It's a very nice shirt with a band collar, patch pockets, and some shoulder detailing, offered in two lengths. Nothing ground-breaking, but a nice, basic piece. Blouse 127 is just a little more exciting with it's neck gathers. I have already traced a very similar top from an older issue (one of the 2008 issues, I think.) It has cut-on sleeves and I have yet to muslin it, but if for some reason it doesn't work for me, I can fall back on this one with set in sleeves.

Jacket 115/116 is adorable and would be very cute for spring. It's like a motorcycle jacket, but in fabric rather than leather.

Haven't I seen top 121 before? Oh, wait, there was a similar piece in the January issue. This one has cute cap sleeves, though (although there is a long sleeve view) and it doesn't wrap all the way over in front. A camisole or tank would be required under this.

Jacket/cardigan 122 is very nice, although not really in the fabric that Burda chose.

I adore skirt 128... on the model. A muslin will definitely be required for this one. That knot in front with the fold of fabric right underneath could end up looking sloppy and extremely unflattering on someone with a tummy, like me.

Dress 108 is lovely. It's a twist dress (can't get enough of those) for woven fabrics. It could be dressy or casual, depending on fabric choice.

Do you ever find yourself drawn to a pattern that you just know will not work for you? You shouldn't even waste time thinking about it because it is so utterly wrong for your body type, and even if you could get it to fit, it will look horrible on you and make you feel like crap for a day and a half, possibly longer? Yeah, that's dress 102.

This is not my type of dress, yet somehow, I still like it. It's just a simple shift with absolutely no shaping except for bust darts, pictured here with sheer sleeves. I'm sure as drafted, it would make me look like a garden gnome. But I can't help but wonder... If I nipped in the waist just a tiny bit, and maybe added vertical darts in back... Maybe it might be cute on me? Not gorgeous, not elegant, not long and lean (as if) but maybe just cute? Do I dare try making a muslin to find out? Or should I just listen to that little voice telling me to turn around and step away from the shift dress pattern now, before someone gets hurt?

Have you received the March Burda yet? What do you think of this issue? What are your picks?

What's Going On

There hasn't been a whole lot of stitching or sewing around here during the past two weeks. I'm working nights again for a while and that always seems to put a damper on my productivity. I did, however, cut out a new project this past week. I haven't started assembling it, but it's cut out and that's one big step out of the way.
It's Butterick 4788, this cute little Maggie London knit dress. I'm making view A, the one on the right. The pattern is OOP, but still available on the Butterick website.

See? I really did cut it out. I'm using an ITY jersey print from Fabric.com, and I can't wait to see how it looks all made up. I'll be going on a business trip next month and I plan to stuff my suitcase with easy wear/easy care knit dresses, including this one.

In other news, Shepherd's Cottage is almost complete.

I don't have the Weeks Dye Works floss to finish the flowers in the border, but I plan to dig through my stash looking for an acceptable substitute before I resort to ordering. I also still need to check my bead stash for embellishments as well. Oh, and I guess I need to decide where to stitch the date and my initials. Maybe there's more left to do than I thought. But it's close.

I'm all excited to start my next needlework project, which will be a more traditional band sampler in an exciting colorway that I don't normally use. More on that later!