Minerva Crafts Blogger Network - Cosy Burda Dress

It seems ages ago that I made this dress, and in fact it was last year.  When I chose this fabric for my February Minerva Crafts Blogger Network project I was going to make a loose tunic top.  However, a few days before New Year’s Eve I suddenly decided I needed a new dress to wear and that this was the perfect fabric to use.

 

The fabric is lovely.  It’s stretch velour, which makes it both posh and comfortable.  Perfect for a dress to be worn to a New Year’s Eve do at a friend’s house, one of those occasions when some people turn up in sequins and some people turn up in jeans!

 

 

 

So I delved in my pattern stash and found Burda 7043, a vintage reprint.

 

I used view B as I love the boat neckline, and lengthened the sleeves to full length.  In truth, I could have lengthened them a tiny bit more, but they’re fine.

 

Unfortunately the large print on the fabric hides some of the lovely design lines on this pattern, but the curved under bust seam and darts make for a lovely shaped dress.

You can see the seaming better in this (rather overexposed) photo. 

  The dress went together pretty easily, the only thing that slowed me down a little was that the edges of the cut fabric tend to curl a little bit, but that’s not a problem in the long run. 

The bodice was lined with some black lightweight jersey I had left over from another project.   

The kit includes a reel of Metler Seraflock stretch thread in black.  It was the first time I’d used this thread, and I would totally recommend it for sewing stretch fabrics on a normal sewing machine.  As this fabric is not too stretchy, I was able to use a straight stitch throughout with this thread. 

 

If you have a need of (or just a desire for) a posh but comfortable dress, then you can buy a kit to make your own here.