Tuesday, February 03, 2009

A Year of BWOF

I got the Feb '09 issue in the mail yesterday...that makes a full year of BWOF now residing in my little sewing cubicle.

And, out of that year's worth of monthly pattern magazines, I have made exactly one (1) pattern.

Um, that was a pretty expensive pattern...unless I get in gear and use more of them.

And there are more that I want to use. LOTS more. But...time!

I'm going to have to figure out a way to squeeze in a little fashion sewing amongst all the costuming that's looming. The problem w/BWOF is that I think I need to muslin just about everything I want to make and that takes, um, more time. And there are so many options I'm not sure where to start.

So...what are the BWOFs I want to make and haven't had a chance yet? Well, how about just one from each month:
From March '08, there's this cute wrap blouse, for starters.

I even have some black-and-white-stripe cotton/lycra fabric to make The Cover Jacket from April '08. I've not decided if I want to use hooks/eyes as a closure or whether I'll add some overlap at the center front and use buttons/buttonholes (what I'm leaning towards, actually). Need to make a muslin and see if the overlap would work....

I made This Dress from the May '08 issue, but there were some great dresses in there...I'm pining to make this one, too.

I'm not sure where or when I'd wear this cute trendy t shirt from June '08, but it has caught something in my imagination and I keep coming back to it.

The Cover Dress from July '08 caught my attention...not because I thought I'd wear a dress like this, but because I thought with some modification, in the right knit, this would make a great nightgown. That's one for the muslin trials, for sure!

From August '08 is the Deitrich pants that have been so popular on the boards. Classic, comfy, camouflaging... what more could a girl want? Oh, already traced and tested and ready to go would be nice...

I've been wanting to try this shortie jacket from Sept. '08, if only to compare it to Louise Cutting's Anything But Ordinary jacket. The similarities struck me the moment I looked at the line drawing.

I loved this twisted skirt dress from the Oct. '08 issue but I fear I am too, um, mature to pull it off. Perhaps I should make the dress for The Princess and just use the bodice portion for a nice top for myself.

The Cover Jacket on the November '08 issue talks to me, too, although some of that may be due to the appeal of that gorgeous fabric....

December 08 had me wishing I had an occasion to wear a drop dead formal dress. But, alas, I do not. However, the pleated ruffle blouse is definitely calling to me. Feminine without being frou-frou!

On first glance,this top from Jan '09 didn't grab my attention until I started seeing the reviews for it. Now, I think it's kinda cute and quirky and definitely worth a try...

And from the current issue(Feb '09), I'm liking the lines on this jacket bunches...in a different fabric/color, I think that'd be something fun to wear.

And of course there are issues that have two or three 'I want to make that!' patterns in it, but if I could just manage one from each issue I'd more than pay for the subscription.

I just need some time... ;)

6 comments:

  1. Lisa,
    Why do you think you have to muslin everything from BWOF? I've found that I need to do fewer 'fixes' to Burda patterns than any other brand. And the fixes are quite standard from pattern to pattern once you figure out what you need.

    If you know what size you should trace I think you should just trace a couple of those patterns right away and then you'll have them ready to go and it won't feel like such an enormous project!

    If I were you I'd just add the extra to the jacket center front as you cut - you can always go back to the original lines if you decide you don't like your changes.

    If you don't have fabric you can risk on a project, just holler! ;) I MIGHT have some extra around here somewhere...lol

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  2. Mostly the reason I feel like I need to muslin stuff is because I haven't done enough Burda patterns to know what size to trace; I've made a few of the 'envelope' patterns and found them snug; the one 'magazine' pattern I made I compared to a TNT pattern and found it to be a little large. So I'm still trial-and-erroring my way through it.

    When possible, I *will* compare to TNTs...that will make life a lot easier!

    And I've promised myself that the next time I'm tracing anything...for me, or for a costume project...I will trace at least one of the BWOF patterns so it will be ready to try at the first available opportunity! ;)

    Thanks for commenting!

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  3. Now why didn't *I* see all those patterns?? Funny how I never look twice at most of the Burda patterns until someone else says they are good ones.

    Thanks!

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  4. I just started my BWOF subscription after buying issues from an independent fabric store whenever I could locate them - and I was hesitant for the longest time to use them because I wasn't sure on my sizing. But, now that I've begun using the patterns from mag I'm hooked. Hope you'll get going on some of the ones that are still calling to you!

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  5. I just subscribed and while I haven't made any patterns from the magazines I've bought single issues of, I still think it's worthwhile because of what I learn just from reading through and looking at garment construction from the line drawings and stuff. So think of the value of that, and not just the per pattern price!

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  6. I've had my subscription for exactly the same time and haven't made one yet. I've decided not to resubscribe until I've used at least three patterns.

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