Burda Style Wrap Band Trouser Pattern Review

Its been a long while since the last post.
Time to back track a little now as the holiday has come and gone.

There are a lot of stories about western Europe (its meant to be the better/developed side of Europe right??) and petty crime, and the worst part of a holiday is when you have just arrived in a new place, with your luggage, and trying to find your way to the hotel. Unless you have been to the destination before, you will inevitably look a bit lost sometimes. That's bad for you but great for the opportunists.

So at the last minute i decide i need to find a pair of pants that won't be so easy for pickpockets and i wouldn't have to worry so much about my pockets when i'm lugging luggage around in a foreign place (you will never regret travelling light =) ).
The shopping selection is pretty dismal in Sydney anyway so it would be impossible in the short amount of time so it was time to pull out the good ol' Burdas.

Thank goodness for Burda Style 10/2014 #119 'Trousers with Wrap Band'.
The pants are a loose style made in a lightweight fluid fabric and it has pockets and the wrap around tie covers the opening of the pockets. Perfect for the summer and paranoia.

Being a a craftster that sews (what would you want to call this... a sewer? a 'sew-er' but it readers like 'sue-er'... like the pipes that take waste water =P ), i hoard fabric so i just had to shop from my hoard. I picked out a lightweight cotton/silk blend with stars and spots woven into it.

This pattern was simple and fairly quick - i think i made these in a week <-- this is actually fast for me =P
The sizing was true to size and the pattern pieces matched up correctly.
But Burda is Burda and the only problem with the huge jumble of almost indistinguishable patterns printed on top of patterns on top of patterns on the pattern sheets. I was in such a hurry to trace out the right pattern, i accidently left out the front fly flap... and i didnt notice until i got up to the part of putting in the front zip. Quelle Horreur!!!
Yep.. that means i had already cut out the fabric pieces (and i had already bought the matching blue zip in the right length *sigh*).

Part of being crafty is to be crafty as well, right?

Here is the finished trousers...

Front - tied up as they did in Burda images

Front of pants without the bands tied - you can see the pleating and pockets that sit underneath

The band is quite long so you can tie it up into a bow

And the back... revealing my hack...

The loose silhouette makes the pants look stumpy on the hanger... =P

My quick fix solution was to just stitch up the front and install an invisible zip in the back due to lack from front fly flaps. Benefit i found with this is that i dont have to until the front every time i needed to go to the toilet. Bonus!
And yep, the zip is black... i had a stash of black invisible zips and had no time at all to go out and buy a matching blue one.

This is a great pattern. I had no issues with it, other than my eyes going crossed from tracing out the pattern.
I would definitely recommend and re-make (if i was ever inclined to).

Burda Style Godet Skirt Pattern Review

What happens when you cant find the right bottom to match an existing top your mother has and time is running out for an upcoming wedding?
(Yep, i had to play stylist and find dressy bottom that works with her top)
You whip out the good old Burda Styles and find a quick and easy skirt to make!

I sifted through all the Burdas in my ever growing "collection" (i hesitate to use the word collection as it implies there is an emotional connection or attachment to these items) over and over and finally decided on a #103 godet pencil skirt from Burda issue 02/2011.

The skirt isn't very clear in the magazine since the skirt is black and the setting is quite dark!

Good thing about this skirt is that its 'minimalist' (code for quick and simple) and has an understated detail of interest in the back that makes it slightly different. Loving the big diagonal darts in the center back.

I made this skirt up in a black medium weight de-lustered stretch satin (yep, didn't need to use the reverse side of shiny shiny satin, both sides of this fabric is reverse side). Unlined.
I found the pattern to be quick and easy and very close to the line drawing. Thumbs up!
The pattern pieces lined up quite well. I've ran into commercial patterns in the past where the pieces didn't really fit together! So another thumbs up for this pattern.

My only complaint is that the pattern runs large. Based on the body measurements, i had made this up in the size 38 - already a slightly smaller than the measurements i had taken.
The right size should have been one size smaller - the 36. I had to do some quick and dirty downsizing. Not too noticeable in the end but the shape of the skirt would be changed for all eternity =P

Oops! i lost the photo of the front =P not much to look at though, its just plain.
Outfit to come.. that will show the front.

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ETA:
Adding my hopeless outfit pics :)

Escada silk & lace bustier

Guiseppe Zanotti fish bone heels

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Something Blue...

So i picked up this small floral vintage print cotton fabric on clearance a few weeks back.
I only bought 2 metres, and it was just enough to make this pair of ankle length pants... because you know... most pants available in stores are boring.

The base trouser pattern comes from Burda Style issue 08/2010.
My current fav. pant pattern.
Slim leg and not tightly fitted, and has pockets!

At the last moment, i decided to add a small pleated peplum in sheer silk organza - cute o^.^v
A few year back, i made a pair of fitted pants with a small ruffled peplum with great success (and many double takes from passers-by), so i thought i'd make an updated version.

Upon seeing the complete pant, words that come to mind are "vintage" and "wedding/bridal"..   hmmm....

front

back with a loose butt! not so loose when its actually on.
pants never photgraph well ~.~;