#sewinginstructions

BurdaStyle, May 2023

It is summer already in sewing patterns and sun dresses abound, but so do sleeved dresses for parties or every day. You see here strapped Dress 102 in a playful print while Dress 124 in stripes has sleeves, front banding, and a shirttail hemline. Both come in a range of sizes, including plus sizes, as do all of the women’s clothing. Dress 101, a variation on 102, is offered as a sewing lesson as well.

For more sophisticated looks which would work for more formal occasions, see Dress 123, in the black and green print, which takes the bodice of 124 and adds cuffed sleeves and a flared and ruffled skirt, and adds contrast piping as well. Dress 123 has a full sewing lesson included in this issue. For a barer look, try Dress 121 (which can also be a top) It offers a draped “corsage bodice” and uses boning and elastic to achieve it. You will be surprised how simple the garment pieces look; the complexity lies in the manipulation and sewing of a fabric with some body. If that seems a challenged, remember that even the simple, fitted shirt dress, see Dress 109, can become more formal when done in white lace, a reminder that sometimes the fabric can do most of the work for us.

There is also some work wear including Blazer 104 with a novel yoke and collar which they show with a matching Skirt 114B, both made in a smaller, grey plaid.  Blouse 113 shown in a blue and white stripe, has a peplum and smocking at the cuffs. And the latter is a feature you could borrow for other garments as well.

As you can see there are more dresses, more tops, some children’s fashions which could easily be made into party wear with the right fabrics, two fitted vests, and both wide and skinny legged pants. All of the patterns are printed on the master pattern sheets and need to be copied off of them. There are written instructions for all the patterns, then some sketches to explain various more complex techniques, such as inserting a zipper. So a lot of patterns, and instructions, but you do need to copy the pattern pieces.