Everyday I’m Shufflin: My first Burda Dress and the Shuffle Fabric Bundle Winner

Until this pattern I’ve never sewn anything for myself that wasn’t from a vintage pattern or self drafted….

…and I wasn’t sure how it would go.

For the Fabric Fest fashion show I really wanted to make one of my dresses from Riley Blake’s Shuffle fabric.  (It’s one of my very favorite fabrics right now.)  So I needed to find a dress that would showcase the fabric with a simple design.  Then one night I was browsing through Burda’s dress patterns and I came across this:

Burda Pearl Dress Pattern
And it was just what I was looking for!
Even the fabric that was used for the dress in the photo looked similar to the fabric I was dying to use…it was destiny!
(Plus, aside from the fact that I’m not tan, tall, and built like the model I still thought it would be a great dress for me.)So I bought the pattern and got to work that very night.

Most Burda patterns do not include seam allowances (which I like) so I was able to add my own…or none at all.  Because I am in between sizes on the Burda size chart I cut the larger size and then didn’t add in seam allowances…maybe not the most correct method for fitting but it totally worked.

Then I made just a few more minor changes:

Like choosing not to add the jewels around the neckline.
I really wanted to keep the dress clean so I could show off the fabric…

And then I added about 6 more inches to the bottom of the skirt:

Because I’m a mom and not a model.
And called it good.
And I was happy.

For the fashion show I wore the dress with a white cardigan, no necklace, and a neon pink belt…however when I took these pictures the white cardigan was dirty and the belt was on duty as a leash for one of Gracie’s stuffed animals (remember mom, not model) so this concoction was the best I could come up with.
So when you look at these kind of blurry photos (taken by Simon) you can picture that ensemble instead.  (And while your at it picture me all tan and sultry at an ocean side resort instead of standing against a blank wall in my house.  Yea, do that…that’s what I’m going to do…smell that salty sea air…)

Alright.
Now for the important part of this post:
The announcement of the winner of our Fat Quarter Bundle of Shuffle Fabric from Riley Blake Designs!

And the winner is….

Mary Ann who said:
“I recently sewed my finger to a onesie with my embroidery machine. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been but boy did it scare me!”

Congratulations Mary Ann we will be in touch with you soon!

(And to everyone else…watch for another giveaway soon…it’s something that Elizabeth and I started making together and that she is finishing up this very minute!)
-liZ