I love books, and like many of us, I particularly love sewing books. What I don’t love about sewing books is that most of garment-focused sewing books that include patterns have the same problem that many commercial patterns have: a limited size range.
I was cautiously optimistic when I learned a while back that BurdaStyle was going to be publishing a book of plus sized patterns this summer. Historically, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with BurdaStyle’s Plus patterns: I love their drafting, sizing consistency, and occasional standout patterns, but I hate how frumpy and shapeless many of their magazine’s Plus patterns have been in recent years.
I was excited when Amy of Sew-Well offered to pass her promo copy of this book along to the CSC so that I could test out at least one of projects in this book and write a proper review. For this review, I made up the “Vintage Chic” shirtdress pattern that’s included in the book.
BurdaStyle Modern Sewing: Full-Figure Fashion
Book Overview
BurdaStyle Modern Sewing – Full-Figure Fashion contains 24 plus sized sewing patterns. Like BurdaStyle’s previous two books, the Plus book is a re-packaging of popular patterns from BurdaStyle Magazine and BurdaStyle.com. I can’t really fault Burda for that; if the non-plus books all contain archive patterns, I wouldn’t expect anything different from the Plus book.
However on top of the standard re-packaging, many of these patterns have also previously appeared in the pattern compilation “kits” that BurdaStyle sells. Additionally, at least two of the patterns are also available as envelope patterns. That’s an awful lot of re-packaging for one group of patterns and also explains why the patterns didn’t feel particularly fresh to me when I first paged through the book. Given that anyone who follows BurdaStyle’s Plus patterns has probably seen these patterns in several iterations before, it would have been nice for Burda to have thrown in at least one or two new “exclusive” patterns for the book.
Here are the basic facts about the book:
- All of the patterns in the book are available in Burda’s standard Plus range: sizes 44-52, which equates to 39 1/2″ (100cm) bust and 41 3/4″ (106cm) hip through a 48″ (122cm) bust and 50 1/2″ (128cm) hip.
- The book is spiral-bound and lies flat while open.
- Burda states up front that this is not a “teach you to sew” book. There’s a very basic section in the beginning about tracing and laying out your patterns, and then it dives into the individual patterns. If you need fitting and alterations help, you’ll need a separate book for that. I actually really liked this aspect; I feel like some books waste a ton of pages at the beginning rehashing beginning sewing info that can be found in many other books.
- The patterns are laid out in an overlapping “roadmap” style on double-sided sheets of sturdy paper that are stored in the book’s included sturdy envelope in back. Trace your patterns so that you can re-use the sheets. There are fewer patterns per sheet than the magazine patterns, so the sheets are less cluttered. I didn’t have any difficulty tracing my shirtdress pattern even though I have terrible eyesight.
- Seam allowances ARE included in these book patterns. (The magazine patterns and download patterns typically do not have seam allowances included.)
A Burda pattern “map” for tracing
Included Patterns
The patterns in this book all previously appeared in issues of BurdaStyle magazine between 2012 and early 2014. I am including links to the download version of each pattern as it appeared in the magazine. Some of the Curvy Sewing Collective Editors previously made some of the book patterns as part of their BurdaStyle Plus blog tour to publicize Burda’s plus sewing kits. I am including links to their individual pattern reviews where relevant. (I’d like to thank Amy for doing a lot of the legwork on this, which you can read about in her blog post about the book).
- Studio Style Satin Shirt (12-2012 #147B)
- Sailor Girl Cowl Neck Dress (07-2012 #139)
- Love Story Tie-Front Blouse (08-2013 #140)
- Dress for Success Long Jacket and Trousers (08-2012 #142A and 08-2012 #148B)
- Day to Night Surplice Dress (12-2012 #144, also sewn and reviewed by former CSC Editor Mary)
- On the Go Wool Coat (01-2013 #127, also sewn and reviewed by former CSC Editor Laurence)
- La Dolce Vita Summer Dress (04-2013 #131)
- Block Party Jersey Top and Skirt (02-2014 #137 and 02-2014 #139)
- Cutting Edge Vest and Skinny Leg Trousers (12-2012 #149 and 12-2012 #148)
- Bohemian Spring Voile Tunic (01-2013 #133A, B6972, and also sewn and reviewed by CSC Editor Tanya)
- Vintage Chic Polka Dot Dress (08-2013 #138 and B6896)
- Vagabond Silk Trousers (currently unavailable online)
- Swing Time Jersey Cardigan (01-2013 #129)
- Southwest Charm Challis Tunic (09-2013 #133)
- Retro Glam Wrap-Front Top and Pencil Skirt (07-2012 #136 and 07-2012 #135*)
- Cloud 9 Tank Top (05-2013 #137)
- Weekend in the Country Boatneck Top and Pencil Skirt (10-2012 #143 and 10-2012 #145)
- Cowl Girl Blouse and Infinity Scarf (12-2013 #132)
* The skirt portion of the “Retro Glam” outfit is actually the skirt portion of the “Dart Dress”. The dress view is not included in the book.
It’s a decent selection of patterns, but given that most of them are 2-3 years old, they do feel a bit like warmed-over leftovers. Also, out of 24 patterns, why isn’t there a single traditional jacket or coat pattern with any sort of closure? The two pant patterns are very similar as well, and there’s no traditional trouser pattern or any pattern with a fly front of any kind.
In some cases, I thought that the view that they included was sort of odd–like the skirt which is really part of a dress, but they didn’t include the rest of the dress. Or if you look on the BurdaStyle website, the Tie Front Blouse has a view with a very pretty and much more interesting dress on than the blouse on its own. I think I would have liked to have seen fewer patterns overall and a wider selection of pattern views, especially since some of the individual patterns are pretty repetitive.
Project Notes
To give a review of this book beyond, “Look at all of the pretty patterns! I bet that some of these will look nice when made up,” I made up the “Vintage Chic Shirtdress”. I made up this pattern because I liked the collar and neckline and also thought that if the pattern worked out, it would make a nice day dress that I could see myself making several times. I’m using my experience with this pattern to give context to my opinions about the book.
My “Vintage Chic” shirtdress pattern
Drafting
I found the drafting for this pattern to be accurate. I didn’t run into any issues with missing notches or seams not lining up. My dress ran true to its expected size.
Instructions
Having worked through one project in this book, I found the instructions to be slightly better than the magazine/download instructions typically are, but they felt quite a bit more sparse than the envelope pattern instructions. The shirtdress that I made is a simple enough garment that I didn’t have any trouble with construction, but the sparse and confusing instructions prevent me from being able to recommend this pattern or book to anyone who hasn’t previously made a garment with similar details.
For example, the buttons and buttonholes are applied to a self-faced opening. The instructions and accompanying diagram would lead you to believe that you fold over the self facing twice to the wrong side of the bodice, which will leave you with an unfinished seam allowance at the top. Instead, you’d want to turn the last fold to the right side of the bodice so that you can get a nicely finished seam allowance when you fold the facing back right-side-out. I found few other oddities, too–mostly to do with the order of construction jumping around a lot, so I just used my own order of construction.
Finished Dress
As far as my finished dress goes, it’s not flawless, but I’m quite happy with it. I wasn’t in love with the long sleeves and was also short on fabric, so I cut them to a short sleeve length (not included as a pattern view).
My take on the “Vintage Chic” shirtdress
The pattern fit as expected, and with the exception of some tweaks that I had to make for fitting and being short on fabric, it looks pretty close to the line drawing. I really like the collar and the neckline on this dress; they’re similar to the Colette Hawthorn, but probably scaled a bit better for a larger figure.
Book Rating and Final Thoughts
Size Range (1-5): 4 (Could be larger for plus sizes.)
Instructions (1-5): 2.5 (They’ll get you through the process, but there might be a better or less confusing way to do things.)
Selection of Patterns (1-5): 3 (It’s an oddball assortment of previously released patterns–some are very nice, some are “meh”.)
Pattern Drafting Quality (1-5): 5 (I have zero complaints about the drafting quality of the pattern that I tried–all of the notches and seams lined up, and the pattern fit as expected.)
Overall Rating (1-5) + Explanation: 3.625 (Average of all scores; Reflects that this book is a solid purchase…if you like the patterns and haven’t already acquired them elsewhere.)
This book was released to little fanfare in July–no blog tours were arranged around its release, and outside of Amy’s copy, I’m not aware of any promo copies that were sent out. The little bit of reaction that I’ve seen online has been mostly negative, largely centered around the fact that the patterns are all rehashes and that many of the shapes are boxy. I certainly understand the fatigue at seeing these same patterns over and over, although I do like a few of them. I also think that while most of the knit patterns are pretty boxy, they’ve included some really nice dress patterns with plenty of shaping. However, I would have loved to have been able to recommend this book based on improvements over the download/magazine pattern instructions, but I can’t do that since the improvements appear to be pretty marginal. Given that the book retails for ~$15 on Amazon, if you’re planning to make three or more patterns out of this book, it’s still a pretty good deal.
I do feel like there’s an unfulfilled niche out there for someone to put out a really great plus size-oriented sewing book with fun, stylish patterns and good instructions. This book isn’t doesn’t fill that niche.
In coming weeks, I’ll be taking a look at Tanya Whelan’s recently released Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time, which contains a pretty extensive size range for its patterns and provides an introduction to drafting details from a basic bodice and skirt pattern. I’m pretty excited about this book from flipping through it, but we’ll see how the drafting works out in the larger sizes.
Have you bought or are you contemplating buying the BurdaStyle Plus book? How do you feel about the book?
Thanks for the honest review. I hadn’t heard very much about this book, but after your review I’ve gone ahead and placed an order. My after 50 body has changed from an hourglass to an apple, and I think some boxy rectangles may be just the thing. And truthfully, my new work from home lifestyle needs some comfy, mostly casual clothing and I think some of these might benwhat I am looking for.
NOT a dig on Amy, at all, but how disappointing that they did not send a promo copy to PLUS sized bloggers; or even the CSC. I am sure they’re aware this space exists.
At any rate, I like your dress a lot. I do like several of the patterns included but agree that if they were putting together a book they probably would’ve done well to start with some solid bascis like, a pull-on pant, a fly-front pant, a blouse, a knit top, a knit dress, a woven dress, a relaxed jacket, a structured jacket, a couple of skirts and then fill in. The jacket, coat, cardigan and vest are too similar to each other and all kind of boring.
I really like that Block Party skirt though and a few of the tops.
I see darts and gathers, princess seams and wraps, waistlines and contours on most of these patterns. Where there are seams, there are fitting opportunities.
I find it odd that the front cover picture is of a lady who looks far from plus size! I think you look lovely in your dress, it is such a pretty colour. Thanks for such a comprehensive review. I have noticed that a lot of patterns are simply rehashed with a new picture on the envelope – even in non plus size. I look through the designs and see the same patterns that were there years ago. Thank goodness there are some new pattern makers out there.
That’s Burda Plus. If you follow them, they’re notorious for using cover/pattern models who don’t look anywhere near plus size. Sometimes it reflects negatively on the clothes–the models clearly don’t fill out the samples the way that a curvier woman would, so the samples don’t fit well. There’s also something to be said for the fact that some styles actually work better (IMO) on a curvier figure.
Well, I had no idea about this book, so thanks for the thorough review. Your dress turned out super cute, but I have the same complaints about Burda Plus as you do — boxy and blah. :/ I would maybe try the weekend in the country boatneck top, but i can throw sleeves on a rectangle without a book!
It’s disappointing that Burda didn’t try getting this book out there a bite more – is it because they don’t actually give two figs for the plus size market, haven’t taken the time to work out who is plus size blogging to a wide audience, maybe? Personally I am a big fan of Burda print patterns, which often run to a much wider size range, and have a heck of a lot more fitting and fashion chops. I really hope the lack of commitment to this book in general is not a sign of contempt of the target market.
I can’t understand why they didn’t make any effort to promote this book, either. I mean, I’m on BurdaStyle’s mailing list and get some sort of promo email from them at least once a day…but I don’t recall anything going out for this book. (To be fair, though, I don’t recall them doing much promo work for their non-plus books, either.)
I’m grateful you were completely honest about the book, it’s refreshing to read. I am still rather excited about this book. I’ve had my eye on a few of those patterns and have never gotten around to my purchase, so this is going to be a steal for all these patterns as well as the seam allowances. Also, I really like that the patterns are a bit more of a relaxed style, that is precisely what my wardrobe needs. I suppose it just matters what you need to sew at any given moment. Thank you for such a great and honest review.
It IS a great deal if you like even a handful of the patterns, and as I mentioned, the pattern sheets are a lot less crowded than the magazine patterns, so they’re much easier to find and trace. I’ve had my eye on the dress pattern that I made and on one of the tunic patterns for quite a while, so I’m pretty confident that I’ll get plenty of use out of the book.
I saw an ad for it, and found a copy at Barnes and Noble. I didn’t see a lot that I thought I would make, so I skipped the purchase. I do like your dress, too.
Great review-thanks! And a lovely dress, too! I ended up buying the book because of a) the seam allowances (yay!) and b) I was in love with a couple of the patterns (the cowl neck dress, the retro wrap top). I agree, though, that some of the patterns are just “meh.” Lots of boxy tops, elastic pants and cardigan coats. Patterns that are nice/useful to have, but certainly not exciting. I also think some of their styling choices in the book are a little kooky. And sometimes hard to see style lines the way the model is sitting/standing.
Agreed on all counts. And Burda does such a great pants draft…so why not include a couple of interesting pant patterns?
You did great on that dress. I have never attemepted to sew anything my Burda but Ilke the selection the have.
Nice review; I love that you hit the stuff we’d want to know (instruction level, seam allowances, and styles). I love tech drawings.
My sister is trying to get back into sewing, and this actually would work for someone with her skill set. The question I ask myself now about sewing books: does it make me want to sew RIGHT NOW, or sew better than I do?
And maybe the CSC needs a book deal. Just sayin’
Thank you for your kind words! I think it’s a great book for someone who hasn’t already seen the patterns over and over already and/or wants to purchase them as a package deal. And if she’s got you to help her with any confusing instructions, she should be fine.
Seeing the book cover reminded me of a discussion I’d seen on Tumblr a while ago. There’s an “acceptable” type for plus-size models and almost all of them fall into this type: busty, big butt, but also a flat stomach and no cellulite. In other words, plus-size models don’t represent the way real plus-size women look any more than thin models represent the way real thin women look.
Agree. Always suspect there’s tons of lycra-Spanx benearth those garments! And need I mention photoshopping?! Marked level of frustration level between actual (us) and ethereal (models). Frustrating doesn’t begin cover my feelings, or those of friends. Size 12 ‘Plus’ models? Pattern companies are craven. Only one indie designer I know used honest ‘Plus’ models: Fashion Patterns by Coni. (Hope this practice has spread.) Even Burda’s healthy-looking, full-bodied models are gone. So it’s up to us to be trendy, classic, casual, sophisticated, boho, sexy on our own. We’re the stars of our life. We can do what we want. We can alter-draft patterns to fit (FBA as mantra), we can upcycle, refashion or start from scratch. We can try on garments to determine fit, minutely examine construction details, make notes and then find patterns that duplicate the look. Selfish Sewing (love the name) is wholly about pleasing ourselves. Working Fabulous irregardless of size? Makies everything better!
Ottobre uses a variety of body shapes, sizes, and ages. they also provide the model’s size, or at least the size they are wearing in the image.
Colette has started using a larger variety of models in their images, especially for Seamwork. They’ve used a variety of body types, as well as older women and various races.
Hey Ladys!
A few days ago I bought the new Burda Plus magazine (I’m living in Germany.). Most of the book patterns are published in this paper.
It makes me feeling sad seeing such an old and known company going this “easy” way…
I subscribed to Burda Plus magazine for several years. They older magazines had (in my opinion) patterns that were more classic.
Retro Glam Wrap Top. Made in great-online-meh-in-person ITY. Boring fabric…but Lawdy, Hello 50s Hollywood Bombshell! Works without wrap; better with. Wore over jeans to get mail. Male neighbors stared, smiled, said Hi, more smiles. For a V-neck tee with long(ish) sleeves, that’s good return on an otherwise meh investment. Your summer dress is perfect. Hits work, shopping, lunches-dinners out and home movie nights. Another good return on a prettier investment. (Used pattern in a Burda Plus zine; eying another that appeared in CSC last year as part of Burda’s 2014 patterns for review giveaway.) Want fitted garments? Go back to 2008, 2009 and 2010. Old-school fitted sheaths with various neckline treatments. Finding their Plus zines is a challenge, but worth it.
There’s a really interesting-looking multi-seamed Plus dress in the September issue. I keep waiting for that collection to show up online because I’m definitely buying that pattern as a download.
I love the colour and the collar and neckline of your shirtdress, it looks marvellous on you!
I really appreciate your comments about the BurdaPlus Style book, I don’t plan on buying it because my size is much larger than any pattern in the book and I’m “tired” of constantly having to upsize patterns, I too am waiting for a really great Plus Size Style book!! I am also going to wish that this wonder book will have patterns for TALL plus sizes with long arms!!! 🙂
I’m with your on the tall plus sizes! Someone needs to get clued in that there are plenty of women willing to buy plus sized patterns at any price!
I do think that Burda drafts for a fairly tall figure. I had to shorten
the skirt portion of this dress by a whopping 4″ to get that
just-below-knee length. For reference, I’m 5’2″ and usually shorten
skirts or pants by 2-3″.
But I’m so with you on wanting a great Plus book from someone. The only other Plus-focused book with patterns is Kathleen Cheetham’s “Perfect Plus”, which is petite-focused. Now, I might be the target height for her book, but those patterns aren’t exactly my style.
Burda pattern envelopes are the ones to look out for, Sheila. They are All That. 🙂
Thank you, MrsC, I will look at them again. I used to use Burda for my children and they had the best fit 🙂
I am 5’9”, bust 57″, waist 58″ and hip 68″, big tummy, I require a LOT of adjustments!
I was in the States recently and found some Butterick patterns by Connie Crawford (on sale!) Whee, my sizes are actually on the size chart!! I got B6223, B6187 and B6222. I haven’t made them yet but I am hopeful that they won’t look like sacks 😀
Our stats are quite similar, Sheila, though I am an inch taller, and my waist a couple inches smaller. Kaliah Ali is also good – in both McCalls and SImplicity – I’ve made dresses in the McCalls 24 and the Simplicity 30 from her patterns and they are a great fit. In knits. It’s hard to find garments with a good shape to them that look smart on us Amazonians eh!
I haven’t sewn those particular Connies, but I have made several. I have noticed a difference in how she designs in the larger size range vs. the smaller range. She does remove some of the shaping in the larger sizes. I made an OOP skirt in both ranges, and the larger was an elastic waist, while the smaller had darts and a zip. Also an OOP top had darts (bust and front and back waist), the larger had bust darts only.
Good luck when you stitch them up!
Thank you, L’Anne!!
I was looking through some of this Burda book thing and checked the size charts in inches. I could not see a size for me with a waist of 35 1/2 and I am considered XL in purchased clothing. I know that patterns are not sized that way of course. So how can these be plus sized. I am trying to sew for my daughter and she is past the size 24 in commercial patterns. I just do not buy Burda because of the seam allowance thing. I guess because I am continually copying and adjusting patterns for the fam and grand children. Where do I get the chart for the larger sizes. Maybe I looked at it wrong. My daughter is also 5 ft 8 inches tall.
I love your site as it helps me a lot.
Burda commercial patterns have seam allowances. Have many. Love’em!
The envelope patterns not only have seam allowances, they have much better instructions than the magazine/download patterns.
The patterns in the book have seam allowances included, too. I did mention that in my review.
Non-Burda line, but worth a look-see: Amazing Fit by Simplicity. Original Khaliah Ali patterns (on ebay). I’m 6.0, wear a size 24 (RTW), so get ones I like in size 26-32 for my wide shoulders, Miz Ali is 5.8 too, reason enough to see how garments will drape-hang. Must add: MimiD’s latest is a semi-traditional great coat w/removeable cape. Said coats always look better on larger males. Obvious that size 16-up women will make it look better still. To a 24 (26?), princess lines, optional belt. On my list!
I recently made up an Amazing Fit pattern..according to the finished measurements…it was way to big on me, by at least 6 or 7 inches in the bust!! I normally do not have this problem. They also have cup sizes in this particular pattern and I made the D cup which is what I wear. I will have to redo the dress (I didn’t finish it) and try a different cup size and see if that makes much of a difference. I did like the fact that it had different cup sizes, figuring it would be more flattering if the pattern actually fit correctly.
About Amazing Fit patterns. Mary Danielson Perry’s review of a sheath pattern she made a year ago is somewhere in the CSC archive. She made a muslin, then discovered that she was right to do so. AF’s seam allowances are 1-inch, which provides (hopefully sufficient) ease as to allow for broad backs, wide shoulders, wide ribcages and cup sizes larger then a B. (So unrealistic, most pattern companies!) After a few fitting disasters long ago, muslins are a necessity. If you can, invite a trusted sewer to lunch as payment for helping you fit your dress. Between pinning, basting, muttering imprecations, your efforts will be rewarded. I’ve helped friends adjust dresses they cut too large in hopes of achieving a perfect fit. Takes a while, true. But it works and, during the process, there’s time to catch up. Don’t despair–your dress will look fabulous and garner countless compliments!
also important to note is that your bra cup size has nothing to do with your pattern cup size.