Patterns have become an interesting topic, mostly because there's been a change going on for about 10 years or so. When I was first learning how to sew, and even back when I was first introduced to sewing, Vogue Patterns was the standard by which all the other patterns were judged. Nothing, domestic or international could compare. As I began to hone my sewing skills, Vogue Patterns grew with me, from beginner, intermediate, advanced to couture.
I even made these, even though some of them were considered high tailoring. But this is the sort of product that Vogue Patterns used to produce. So no wonder no one could touch them.
But eventually sales waned, home sewing waned, even while I was learning some advanced tailoring and dressmaking techniques, sewing was becoming passe. I think that's one of the things that was most appealing about it to me. While all my friends were shop-a-holics and spending 3 to 4 times what I was, I was making that very wardrobe myself, and much better I thought, cause it was in the color, style, and fabric that I liked and wanted so much.
For a long time, there was a void, and although I had known about Burda and Anna Burda, and what a fine company it was, it lived under the shadow of "no seam allowances" in the pattern and the horrid nightmare stories of cutting it out, not quite matching and being always too small. So there was a stand-off-ish-ness to Burda that followed.
It certainly wasn't the design that scared people away...these looks were totally in fashion and completely savvy at the time.
It was the seam allowances and it was as if someone had put a curse on Burda - or at least that's how I felt.
Then I finally just got to the point where I would draw up what I needed. This was mostly for my clients and there was hardly anything out there that was close to the pattern my clients generally wanted, so this is all I used.
Then for some reason, I decided to take the first Burda World of Fashion, and that was it. The first couple of issues were a little weird, but what I noticed is that I would go back to those and use them again and again. I'm still drawing from patterns in the late 90's - good classic style is timeless, and some of those patterns were and are timeless.
I kept thinking that Vogue, Butterick, McCalls would catch up. And even would look at New Look and some other art house patterns (Dianne Ericson, Linda Lee, Lois Hinse), but as I begin to look closer and closer at the BWOF, I was astounded at how well they were made, how well they were cut, how well they fit, how easy they were to alter (lots of cutting lines means lots of places to fit), and basically what great look they were.
In an effort to find another BWOF out there, I've started taking Knipmode. It's a bit more casual, not as many pattners, but certainly classic enough to last for a while. And frankly with just one issue, it's not really fair to compare. BurdaStyle (today's version of BWOF), is so far and above ahead of any other patterns, that it's going to be a hard act to follow.
In the February Knipmode
is this blouse, in another version (which I couldn't find immediately online) is the same line with a collar and without the ruffles, that looks interesting....
and this little gem...a new and interesting way to close a jacket, which I liked...
...then this jacket, which is hard to see, hard to photograph, and hard to see the lines with this picture, but take it from me, the lines look great and might be interesting to do.
But in the February issue of BurdaStyle, is this jacket:
This has gobs of style and I'm immediately taken to it. That seam in the middle is there for fit, and my bet has a nice bust dart in there, which you have those waist darts fitting the waist. I have the perfect fabric for this, as a matter of fact I was on the Burda site before the Feb. issue arrived and knew I wanted to do this up, and was wondering why my mailperson hadn't finished delivering all my mail, thankyouverymuch! So I've been waiting for this pattern.
Then there's a compliment of sorts
Again - with the cut....and the seam in the middle looks like it doesn't go all the way to the side seam - it does, again probably with a bust dart in there, but if it's not, I can sure add one.
Again with the "cut", the "line" the design....all of the BurdaStyle patterns have all of that, where as I feel the Knipmode is a little tricky, and Vogue is so far down the list now, that I hardly look at them. I received my current issue of Vogue Patterns and it just lays there. I hardly open it.
For me the difference between Burda and Knipmode for now, is that BurdaStyle has way more design detailing and good line and cut than does any other pattern. I'm going to give Knipmode a good shot, I have a subscription for a year, and if they don't do anything really fun and outstanding, then I won't renew (and considering it's almost twice as expensive as BurdaStyle, that will be a relief). But if they are good, then they will be worth the money.
Lastly, and I can't believe I actually have to say this about commercial patterns, but some patterns these days are "off". IOW, when you sew them up, correctly, as the pattern markings and directions say to do, they go together badly and there are a multitude of errors that may not even be undone or redone by a master, much less a newbie or even intermediate sewist.
This irks the heck out of me, and that's about as nicely as I can put it, cause it steams me up so badly so quickly, it's like lighting a match under Mt. Kilauea, and I blow. I think newbies and beyond have enough problems that they don't need any others by supposedly "professional" pattern companies (and this goes for poorly made sewing machines as well). It's so rewarding to sew for yourself in so many ways, but one of the main ones is that sewing is a constant state of problem solving, and to look at the end and see, feel, wear and garner all sorts of compliments, is the whole purpose, not to stumble through professional directions from a professionally made pattern or sewing machine.
So I suppose my #1 reason why I like Burda is that it goes together well, and you will have a well-cut garment where the pieces actually fit together well.
The #2 reason is because I may look at a pattern for the first couple of months, thinking, "What are they thinking?" Then go back to it, and think, "Ingenius!!!" It's actually long-lasting.
Hopefully that answers a little bit of why I like sewing with Burda so well. Knipmode, the jury is still out, but has a long way to go, and Vogue, Butterick and McCalls are not to be trusted, Simplicity has a lot more going for it, but still way behind Burda, and although the art-to-wear designers like Diane Ericson, Linda Lee and Lois Hinse are beautiful things, I think it's more fun to fit the body, than to just mask it. And Marci Tilton, Claire Shaeffer and Sandra Betzina do an excellent job of keeping up the old Vogue standard, it's just they can't do it all by themselves.
