Burda WOF/BurdaStyle 5/12 #143 Girl's summer dress

Burda magazine pattern for girl's summer dress in Euro sizes 98-122. Link here - it's the red gingham dress in the photo. Dress is sleeveless with a functional cross-over button front, trimmed with a ruffle, and finished at the neckline and armholes with bias bands.

I made this dress in size 98 from a seersucker fabric. I did not make any alterations to the pattern except allowing for a slightly longer hem (7cm instead of recommended 4cm). I did have to get creative in my cutting, as I only had 1 meter of fabric, and the stated requirement is 1.35. Because of the print used (gingham/plaid), the pattern has you cutting the waistband pieces (6 in total) on the bias, but it isn't structurally necessary. You could also used purchased/contrasting bias tape for the neckband and arms (the armholes are finished with the bias tape on the inside, as facing).

I did not exactly follow the instructions, as I saw no need to sew the side seams and then finish the armholes in the round. So I sewed shoulder seams, finished the neckline and armholes, then sewed the side seams of the bodice. I also left the neckline ruffle exposed at the front corners, which means the buttons are not as much of a feature as they could be should you choose to sew that bit of ruffle into the waistband (see the photo in the linked pattern).

What instructions I did follow were easy enough. I liked that the waistband is faced on the inside, covering up the seams joining the bodice to the waist to the skirt. I did not like that the gathering instructions did not specify how much to gather (just "gather between asterisks"). The skirt needs to be gathered to fit the waistband, but this isn't spelled out clearly. A beginning seamstress would have to figure this out through trial and error during construction.

I will sew this again if I can get my kid to wear dresses, and I would definitely recommend the pattern to others.

SNS link is here.