I really didn't miss either magazine during my year's hiatus. Then I got an email. A simple email started me down the road to ruin. The email showed this magazine...
...and I was intrigued...and then curious...and then before you know it I was on the GLP website ordering it. But it seemed kinda silly to only order this one magazine, so I signed for another year of Burda Plus. Figuring that since I no longer buy Burda Style every month, all the patterns would be new to me. A problem I was having with Burda Plus before...they were recycling the plus size patterns from the monthly issues.
Anyway, long story short, the magazine showed up this week and I was disappointed. Really and truly disappointed. The magazine says that it has styles in ALL sizes...yeah right. Two lousy loose pieces, $10 for two lousy pieces. Can you tell I'm annoyed? And this is after receiving the first issue of the Burda Plus, which was actually a great issue! See love/hate...
I'm thinking that after this second issue of Burda Plus arrives, I'm letting it go. Because I didn't really miss anything...my sewing is going in another direction...not in the way Burda is going. Y'know I love seeing garments other Burda lovers/sewists make. I love seeing how they brought the idea to fruition. But in all honesty, that's not me. Right now, I'm really enthralled with interpreting designer looks and making them in my size...or sewing up a wardrobe...a series of garments that work together and allow me to plan. That's my sewing right now...not Burda Style or Burda Plus.
So after this next issue I won't renew. I'm actually glad that I did this because it confirms that my original decision was correct and I won't be enticed again.
...as always more later!
It is sort of funny because I am kind of the opposite (I really like Burda because the patterns fit me well and I enjoy getting a magazine every month), but I also totally understand your point. I have to agree that if you have regular Burda there is no need for Burda Plus because they really are just reusing patterns from previous magazines. And I can understand how if you already have such a large collection there probably isn't too much new stuff that you could need.
ReplyDeleteI think part of it is that I really haven't been sewing all that long, and Burda has really helped me fill out my pattern stash quite a bit. I have been collecting a lot of the older issues, and I find that the more I collect, the less interesting the newer patterns are - since it seems like I have so many of them already. So, I can understand your point but I also have to say that I am at a different point in my sewing journey, so I am still quite obsessed with Burda and will probably continue to subscribe to it for a while yet.
Sorry the Burda special issue was so disappointing. I haven't bought it myself. I'm a big fan of the regular Burda but I think my addiction is patterns rather than fabric!
ReplyDeleteI think you are right that Burda Plus is just a bunch semi-annualised plus-sized fashions out of BurdaStyle. So it's silly to buy both.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't buy the magazine either, if none of it inspires you to sew. Better to save your money for Vogue magazines to inspire you. Especially since you have the skills to knock off the dresses without being spoon-fed the designs in a pre-made pattern all laied out for you. Which is what I still need!
I agree with you. My mother-in-law gave me the a subscription to the regular Burda (French edition) as a Christmas present and so I've been getting it every month this year. Its plus patterns are OK, some good, some make me go "huh?" The special plus issues and the other "hors series" are kind of a ripoff, I think, because they just recycle patterns and restyle them. On the other hand, I do enjoy seeing all the styling in the magazines, whatever the size. It's nice and it's usually more real than what you seen in a fashion magazine. I also really like the Ottobre magazine, which goes up to European size 52 and which uses very realistic looking models of all sizes. On the other hand, their outfits are definitely more down to earth and less "fashion forward" than Burda. But then again, so am I. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI have only a handful of Burdas and have used them quite a few times but I am finding the recent burdas not so good - the clothes seem less interesting and more shapeless so I will currently just keep on using my old ones - in fact I have almost completed a top from a 2006 issue.
ReplyDeleteI've been buying Burda for more than ten years and I find they seem to run in cycles. I'll get two or three issues in a row that are full of garments I love and I'll make lots of things from them then there will be a run of two or three issues filled with ugly, shapeless and stupid garments. Lately, to me at least, they seem to have lost touch with reality. Burda patterns fit me very well with almost no alteration, so I keep buying the magazine in the vain hope that there will be at least one garment in each issue. They cost about $17 in Australia, which is still cheaper than buying a pattern at the store.
ReplyDeleteI understand how you feel. I have a few years of Burda magazines and know I have made at least three garments using their patterns. I decided it was not worth the subscription.
ReplyDeleteI do buy Burda patterns from JoAnn's and have downloaded some free and paid for patterns from Burda Style website. There are just so many choices I think these days with indie patterns as well as the BMV, plus Burda, New Look and KS that I have not missed not getting one more magazine in the mail.
I have not purchased a Burda magazine in quite sometime. I have bought a few more Burda patterns, but do not miss the magazine at all.
ReplyDeleteugh, i was ultimately un-in-love with the BS mags. eventually you notice the styles are just regurgitated, with a new seamline or two. what you're doing is SO much more interesting!!! can i say lace panel dress?!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely am in love with your new cardi. You know how every once in awhile you see something you gotta have, damned the price? Your cardi is it!
ReplyDeleteBurda Mag? Yes, several years ago I waffled for about a year on ordering a subscription (had purchased a few from news stands). I found that the patterns in the magazines were not much to my taste and I never used any of them. The DUH moment hit finally...why would I order a sub to a magazine that I would not use. Takes me awhile sometimes!
I've only ever bought a few issues, but I do feel that they really recyle the same patterns over and over again. Could not agree with you more there - then again, I see that happening with the Big 4 too, so its all good right?!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on interpreting designer looks with TNT's and a little pattern drafting. I think its much more creative, satisfying and ultimately fulfilling. I was on a roll with sewing pattern addiction in years past and this year, its been so liberating to try out just using what I have and what I know works. And you! You are so inspirational in this category/way! I love seeing what you come up with! Props Girl!
xoxo, Sunni
Yes, you are going in another direction. Analyzing the designers and reinterpreting them for yourself. I was researching Mid-century textile design influences such as Marimekko, Vera Neumann, the "mod" and even psychedelic designs of the 1960's recently. It struck me that I saw Marrimeko-like influences in Erdem's work. Especially a scalloped edge orange lace design by Googling "Marimekko fabric 1960's".
ReplyDeleteI still love, Burda Magazine, but it's a complicated love. I used to subscribe to both Burda and Burda Plus back when Burda Plus did not re-run patterns. I let my Burda Pus subscription end. I find many of the plus size BMV and Simplicity patterns are variations on a theme. Which should suit me because most of my sewing is variations on a theme. But I like having the options of "new and different" offered in some BS magazines. I admit, I absolutely hate some of the garment. But there are many that I love.
ReplyDeleteI'm into my second - or is it third? - year of Burda. My girls love the styling, although I'm starting to see the recycling of patterns that other bloggers have been mentioning for years. I, too, bought the Classics issue, and was a little disappointed in how few patterns actually were included, but inspired by all the different styles/looks they were able to get out of those few patterns. I also own one Burda from 2007, I think, and am amazed at the difference in "recycling". Maybe I just need to buy one per year? Decade? It's lost it's charm for me at this point. And you are going in another direction, which is wonderful, which does make Burda a moot item in your pattern stash. BTW, thanks for your encouragement about my SWAP. I am in AWE of your 13 piece wardrobe. Keep sewing and posting! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! I had a subscription with Burda and never renewed because I was bored with what they offered. That's to bad that you were enticed again, but at least you REALLY know now that you want nothing more to do with those magazines! Lesson learned, right?
ReplyDeleteSell those old magazines on ebay and watch Erdem's new Spring/Summer 2013 collection shown at London Fashion Week on 17 Sept. http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/designers.aspx I find the pyradimal cutouts very intriquing. I have been snapping up the 60's and 70's patterns for 25 cents at yard sales and thrift stores and think they will be quite sufficient for my use.
ReplyDeleteI was really disappointed with the Burda Classics special. And I am a Burda enthusiast (good fit on me, styles I like and it arrives at my door...). But for $10 I thought there were WAY TOO FEW PATTERNS! Then again, classic is not what I look to Burda for. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI want to liker Burda- I get Burda plus now, but I seem to be more of a collector than a doer. Those pattern pieces are hard to navigate and I don't like how unfitted the pluswear is.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a subscription to BWOF; I bought my magazines from people who were looking to get rid of theirs. I like the older issues far better than the newer ones; the styles are more in line with what I like.
ReplyDeleteBurda - i just don't get it. The range of patterns in each magazine seem quite repetitive, and if I am going to make a few then for the price of the magazine I can buy some Vogues and NOT have to trace. their photos don't really show the garments and they mostly seem very basic. Not my thing although I am always interested to see what people make. I think they have a bit more room in the bust and that is why they fit more people, just a theory. In any case I love seeing your designer reinterpretations, personally one of my top reasons for sewing.
ReplyDeleteI've never subscribed to Burda. Used to be able to buy the patterns from a fabric store, in Illinois -- at which time I adored their toddler and little girl's patterns. Now I can peruse the catalogs at Hancock Fabrics (alas, one of only two sewing stores left in my city. I have an unreasoning dislike of Joann Fabrics.) Cuts and styles seem to suit my saggy old body better than the Big 4, anymore. I look to Threads magazine for sewing inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, girl! For all your reasons, plus the insanity of tracing the patterns! Why can't they just put a CD in each one, with printout and good registration marks? No more Burda for me! I've kicked the habit.
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm glad the GLP website didn't allow my payment to go through for the Special Edition Magazine.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I still LOVE getting my Burdas every month in the mail, even if I don't sew a thing. It's actually my only magazine subscription but I love looking in it like a fashion magazine. I am starting to finally use the patterns after years of subscribing, LOL.
I have a few issues of Burda, but I've never subscribed. The tracing is not worth is to me, especially not with the new, extra crowded sheets. And now they offer most of the patterns for download, so if I wanted one I would just buy it that way (I am actually planning to do that soon.) They do seem to recycle a lot, and the instructions are nonsense.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've been hot and cold with Burda for a long time. However, I am finding some of their on-line downloadable patterns interesting...have you checked there for plus size? I really do wonder if eventually they all end up either downloadable or in the pattern book?
ReplyDelete