I have a confession to make. This Burda pattern is the very first commercial sewing pattern I've used since... ummm, 1993? Yup! I've only ever drafted and used my own patterns but, now that I am designing patterns for you, I thought it was also time to tap other designers (I have an endless list of indies) and enrich my wardrobe with their sewing patterns. This Burda is style 6759.
Lets talk about this beautiful wrap dress. The pattern calls for stretch fabrics. Jersey to be exact. I broke the rules and used a very pretty stretch viscose crepe from Emma One Sock. I made the size 12 (I'm regularly a size 6) with a few minor adjustments.
At 5'4" I am also short waisted so I shortened the back and front waist length by 1". I also shortened the sleeves from 18" to 16" simply because of personal preference. I think a shorter sleeve makes the dress look younger and "fresher".
I lengthened the dress ties by 3" (wish I had added more to wrap the ties around my waist and not just to tie at side waist) and I added a single row of top stitching.
Because I was working with a crepe which has more body than a jersey does, I decided to add more weight to my hem and weigh the skirt down. My hem is 2" wide with 3/8" folded under and stitched for a cleaner look.
I also added clear swimsuit elastic to the neckline to prevent it from stretching out. The elastic should have been added before I finished the neckline but I didn't realize I had a problem until after it was finished.
I also took in the sweep of the hem 1" per side seam for a total of 4".
And that's it! This dress was super easy to sew and I think there will be several more additions to my closet.
Happy Sewing!
Joanna