I am making Burda designs from 20 years ago – one month at a time.

I have a large pattern collection. Part of it is the complete issues of BurdaStyle Magazines from 2006 up until 2020. I have recently been excited about Threadloop´s search engine, and found that I would love to use more of the patterns I already own. That´s why I have a new idea for my making, just for fun: make one pattern each month from the corresponding magazine from 20 years ago. So today, April 2026, I ´ll choose from the April issue, next month I will choose a pattern from the May issue etc. For the record: 20 years ago, the BurdaStyle Magazine was called Burda World of Fashion, and are searchable as that on Threadloop. Also, for the record, the magazines have notoriously badly written instructions, and for our modern eyes, an extremely limited size range. Just putting that out there.

The overview

All of the Burda Magazines have an overview so you can see all the technical drawings at a glance, the first thing I observe in this April issue is the plethora of details; buttons and other closings, lace up, side lace, asymmetric designs and fancy pockets. So much to choose from!

There ´s always an abundance of dress patterns in Burda, but if I think about what I actually could need in my wardrobe, it would be semi-chic coats and jackets for spring. I have some utility jackets, and a couple of blazers, but I think a little jacket would be perfect, either that or a simple coat.

Another limitation I ´d like to set for myself is to only use stash fabric. We will see how long that goes if I keep this up for two decades(!), but for now, stash busting is a part of my framework so that I can make a dent in the old stash.

Despite all the disadvantages of Burda, just or unjust, there are several advantages with Burda Patterns in my mind, and they are the reasonsI keep coming back to them:

• The Block. Because I have been sewing with Burda Patterns for 20 years, I am very familiar with the block, and which alterations I need to make in order for it to fit me. There is no excess of ease as in the Big Four, or any rookie design mistakes as with some of the indie patterns that keep popping up.
• There are no seam allowance included. This means the pattern are more tailor friendly as you can adjust the SA to your hearts content.
• The fabric amounts stated are accurate. So many indie patterns include way too much fabric in their info boxes which always leaves me with scraps of fabric that I don´t necessarily know what to do with.
• The fabric amounts stated are reasonable. There are many patterns in the magazines, particularly from the earlier days that are cut so that you don´t have to use an intense amount of fabric. This is an advantage if you are the least bit concerned about the environment – less fabric is a smaller footprint.
• Design details. The totality of my collection has such an insane amount of design details, it is hard to comprehend even for me. Just the few designs I have shown you from one issue might give you a clue to how it is. Again; particularly in the issues from the oughts. I can´t really tell you much about the later issues, but back then it seems like they didn´t shy away from more advanced techniques, and that the magazines were tailored (no pun intended) towards more seasoned sewists. So much of what is offered today is trying to reach the ever growing beginner market, which is great – I love that more and more people are sewing their own garments – but for me, the devil is in the details and Burda has a very adventurous catalogue.

My April project

Last May I took a trip to London, and, as a birthday gift from my parents, I got a gorgeous Japanese cotton fabric, that I have yet to use for anything. It is a pretty bold print, but would be excellent for a set, either coat and skirt/pants or jacket/dress. In this issue there are a few options for jackets, but I think I have settled for the either the coat or the jacket 101 or 102. For once I bought quite a lot of fabric, so I think I will have enough to make a set after all. I think I will make dress 105. Fun!