I’ve been silent here on the blog, but I haven’t been idle in real life! Last year I had a moment of major frustration with my knitting and sewing and needed a bit of a break. Instead I decided to concentrate on one project where I’d take it slow. Besides, I don’t need to craft clothes for everyday use since my wardrobe is full and well-rounded right now.

Stepping away from the dictate of functionality felt liberating! It reminded me of the reason I started sewing in the first place: my love for retro dresses that aren’t practical for everyday use. Eventually, I settled on sewing Burda 01/2018 No. 122, a long-sleeved sheath-dress with asymmetrical pleats on the right shoulder. I splurged on an eco-friendly sweat fabric by Albstoffe because I figured if I wanted to sew something special I might as well go all out!

My little helper watched like a hawk that I didn’t take any shortcuts to save time (or out of pure laziness, haha).

I stitched the top pieces together fairly quickly until I had to put in the sleeve gussets. Shaped like a rhomb, they’re added at the armpit to give the overcut sleeves extra form (I suppose).

It took me several attempts to set them in, and even now it’s a bit of a rough job as you can see.

One of my favourite part of the pattern are the slant pockets working double-duty as inlaid pleats instead of darts!

The skirt is lined with black rayon lining. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to sew the lining to the main fabric at the skirt placket as described in the magazine. I ended up just hand-stitching it because I figured it was better to wing it than leave it unfinished!

I’m happy I did that! There are some issues, obviously: I should have taken out some fabric at the back, and the inlay on the left front piece doesn’t lay flat when I move. Let’s just say it: I’m bad at adjusting patterns to my body! Buuuut this is the first bigger project I finished in months, and I think it’s beautiful! I feel like a million bucks when I wear it!