Burda 11-2008-130 Safari Dress Full Review

Pattern Description:

From Burda: (They are talking about the coat/dress combo) The pockets are subdued, the tabs and self-fabric belt narrow and the collars delicate; no wonder this dress and coat outfit is particularly suitable for petite women! It's equally important for both garments to be appropriately shaped and knee-length to form such a figure-flattering duet!

From me: pleated dress with waist-shaping darts (6 in front and 4 in back), inverted box pleat at hem, and invisible zipper in the front.

Pattern Sizing:17-21. This is a petite pattern. I made an 18 because the measurements correspond. I'm 5'5" so am not technically a petite size.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?Yes and no. I thought I wanted a safari-type dress to go with my fabric and made several mock-ups with different colors of contrasting pockets, tabs, and collar. In the end I decided not to use any of the extra embellishments. The overall shape of the dress looks just like the picture but I left off all the "extras".

Were the instructions easy to follow?Yes, they were very nicely written and I understood them for once. Of course, it is a pretty easy pattern. It has three dots and I'm not sure why. Even if you added all the extras, nothing on it is hard. The tabs and belt are easy to do. Maybe they made it three dots because it takes more time to add all those extras?

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?I really like how this turned out. I was apprehensive because this fabric was cute but I thought a little too cute, like Great-grandma Ethel cute. But, with this fitted dress, I really like it. I love the box pleat detail (from the inside, from the bottom). I love how they attach the facing to the sides of the pleat. I was worried when trying it on that the pleat would fall because it was so wide. Burda solved this by connecting the edges of the facing to it. The only thing I don't like is the back facing. I can never get those things to stay put and they always look like crap. Stupid facing.

Fabric Used:This is a twill cotton twill. It is thin enough to be nice for a hot day but not so thin you would have to line it. Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:Since this is a petite pattern, I wasn't sure how it would fit. I should have done a muslin but decided not to. It fits great though. I already do a shoulder to bust tuck on regular patterns so maybe my upper body is petite? I didn't un-petite this pattern by doing any alterations. The bust and waist are where they are supposed to be. I shortened the sleeves and made them cuffed. Would you sew it again?

Would you recommend it to others?I probably won't sew it again but you never know. It is cute.

Conclusion: Nice, simple dress pattern with nice fitted lines. That, and it's easy. The whole idea came about because of this review and this invisible zipper. Who can resist a baby blue invisible zipper?More pictures:Bodice, front, and back.