I bought this pattern after seeing Kate’s dress.  I rarely look through the Burda pattern catalogue, and I probably wouldn’t have picked this one out just looking at the pattern envelope.  But Kate’s dress looked terrific.  So to celebrate what were probably our last warm days last weekend I finished off my version – and wore it!

The fabric is voile from Anna Maria Horner’s latest range, Innocent Crush. I really do enjoy sewing with these voiles – they are a lovely garment weight. This has enough drape to make the dress flattering without the front gathers looking too maternity-ish. I made view B, pretty much as per the pattern. There are three lines for shortening on the pattern – I chose two. I shortened it about 3/4 of an inch between the shoulder and armhole, and another 3/4 of an inch below the bust but above the waist. I thought that I’d need to keep the length through the bust the same to cater for my C cup.

The dress is shaped with princess style seams that join the insets to the front and the back of the dress. It’s a nice touch! The ties at the back aren’t really necessary but I liked the way they looked. I did make pockets to go on the front, as per the pattern, but once I pinned them on and tried the dress on they looked silly, so I left them off.

I also left out the side zip, but decreased the side seam allowances to give me more wriggle room. I could have probably made it a larger size through the sides. Anyway, I love it! It was comfortable, I think it’s flattering, and the fabric wore and washed beautifully. I might even make the long sleeved version.