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Sewing Vintage Burda Pt 3: Making the toile garment.

This is part 3 of my quest to sew with a vintage Burda magazine. It is a part of my series on sewing with vintage sewing magazines called #sewvintageburda2020. You can read the related posts about the sewing goal here, check out the vintage July 1969 Burda issue browse through that I am sewing this project from and the Ultimate Guide to Tracing Vintage Burda Patterns here.

You may also enjoy my video project diary that I made for my Youtube channel. In it, I share all the steps I take to make a toile, how to add seam allowances and what to check for in terms of fit. I also show the Sew Different fabric that I will be using for my fashion garment.

Here is the dress pattern I selected for the my voyage into the days of sewing past. There is a feeling of time travelling when I am working on this project. Dipping into the sixties and seeing the adverts and the lifestyle sections all serve to build a world in my head – a simulation of sorts. Its fun.

Vintage Burda Pattern
Burda July 1969 Dress 8107 – Sewing Pattern information
Burda 6/1969 Retro Sewing
Burda July 1969 – Dress #8107 All traced out – ready for making a muslin.

Here is the toile garment – first go without any alterations. I wanted to see what the fit would be like and in particular the ease of the garment.

Burda 6/1969 Magazine  Dress
Burda 6/1969 Vintage Dress – the toile looks good – especially the front box pleat.

The armscye is notorious for showing up poor drafting. This is something I learned in Suzy Furrer’s excellent pattern drafting classes on Bluprint.  I learned that it is better to have a pattern with a high armscye because it is far easier to take fabric out than to add to it.

Vintage Burda sewing - armsyce fit
Burda 6/1969 – See how the arm can rotate freely with bust not being pulled.

I drafted my own bodice sloper based on the couture moulage principles that Suzy teaches in her bodice sloper drafting class. The entire process took about 2 months wherein I learned so much. One of which was the knowledge that my armscye is not symmetrical – I carry more weight in my back.

Burda 6/1969 – The armhole fit is near perfect for a sleeveless

This armscye drafting on this vintage Burda is excellent. It is on par with Marfy Italian boutique patterns that I rate very highly as well.

Retro sewing
Burda 1969 June – The side panel on the bodice.
Vintage Burda Sewing.
Burda 1969 Dress – The side view.

I am impressed with the fit – I feel like I do not need to make any more changes to the fit of the pattern. I will be sewing this dress up with Sew Different cotton linen mix fabric – Citrus Pebble. The citrus print looks very sixties and would suit this style.

Seew Different Citrus Pebble Cotton Linen Fabric
My chosen fabric for the project is from Sew Different’s new fabric range of cotton linen mix prints.
Retro sewing project with Burda
Vintage Burda Sewing!

More Burda sewing pattern reviews and projects


I hope you enjoyed this post on sewing a vintage Burda pattern from the magazine.

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Sewing Vintage Burda 6/1969 - Retro sewing