Search Results for: manequim may 2013

Manequim May 2013

Leading on from the amazing April issue, you’d be forgiven for expecting May’s to be a bit sub-par. But oh no no! Manequim have produced another really good issue with at least one “absolutely WILL make” for me, and if you’re Plus-sized, just drop everything and go buy this issue on eBay now.

The first pattern that stood out to me is this amazing Plus-sized biker jacket with gathered sleeves and diagonal zipper! (Also the dress is rather nice, too)

The cover star’s pleated dress has definite potential, but I prefer this sheath dress with piped, angular seams that she wears later in the same feature, even though it’s got an extremely short hem! (which is easy enough to fix, thankfully.)

I adore this blouse!! It’s made with panels of silk chiffon and silk satin, but I personally would instead make it all from silk satin and just alternate the shiny vs matte sides to create texture instead. This means it’s both easier and cheaper to source fabric, and you don’t unintentionally reveal anything in the chiffon sections!

Manequim magazine November 2014

Manequim magazine have had the unique tradition of offering two November issues each year – some sort of weird reasoning like “there’s too much summer to be contained in one issue!”, but this year for some reason there’s only one November issue (yes, I double checked the numbering with October and December’s issues to make sure it just wasn’t lost in the post!).

It may appear at first glance that I’ve not pulled out many garments here, but the ones I’ve chosen are amazing and therefore this cranks my overall rating of this issue up a notch!

The Plus sized garments this issue are all cocktail dresses, and they are fantastic! Look at the lace seaming on the right-hand blue dress in particular (sorry the tech drawing is blurry)! That hem! Those curved seams! Luscious.

The designer inspiration feature this month is in the style of Costume National, a brand I’ve heard of but am not particularly familiar with, if I’m being honest. The woven tee on the right is also offered as a pattern, but I was just blown away by the monochrome seamed dress! That’s not a printed fabric – the white and black crepes are cut separately. I’m a bit disappointed that the back is so plain – they should’ve really carried the seaming around to the back IMHO. However, the glory of patterns without seam allowances is that it’s easy to just draw your own new seaming on and split it up yourself.

Manequim magazine December 2013

Brazil may be on opposite seasons for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, but there’s a lot to love in this issue, and importantly, lots of separates that can be layered and thus worn nearly all year round! Let’s take a look at my highlights, shall we?

First up is a group of Plus-sized patterns, all made up in white. The dress and shorts are alright, and the trousers have some interesting pleated godets at the hems, but ooh, look! It’s that jacket I loved from the first November issue (seen here on the right), but graded up to size 48!

The designer style this month is Emanuel Ungaro, and when I first looked at these two, I thought the one on the left was a skirt pattern, and the one on the right was a dress, but they’re actually the other way around!

Burda magazine December 2013

I had high hopes for this issue after the stellar November issue and the sneak peek at the back of that, but when I saw the line drawings it became apparent this could’ve just been entitled “The Dolman Issue” for the number of dolman sleeved garments in it! I’m not sure if someone at Burda HQ gave down the commandment that set-in or raglan sleeves weren’t beginner friendly or what, but there sure are an awful lot of fabric-guzzling designs in here, but it’s not all bad…

First up, no surprises for guessing – it’s a dolman sleeve tee! Actually this design isn’t so bad, it’s a nice twist on a casual, long sleeved tee, and the narrow sleeve cuffs help control some of the volume in the underarm/side seam area.

Since this is the holiday issue, the crafts are spread throughout the magazine and are way better than Burda’s usual “stick some glitter on twigs and call it interior design” school of crafts. For instance, these box bags are actually really nice little gifts, and a great way to use up scraps of nice, hefty home dec or other fabrics. There’s also a pattern for little moccasin slippers that uses wool and thick fleece that might be worth making as gifts too.

Now you’d think that, because this is a cowl dress, I’d be all over it, but I’m actually lukewarm. There’s something about that long pleat running into the cowl that just looks messy and haphazard, and from the cutting diagram I can see that the front is cut entirely as one (including the kimono sleeves, which have a gusset thrown in so you can actually lower your arms!), and then the pleat is just folded over. I know fabric is cheap these days, but the layout just makes me wince at the amount wasted to make a dress that way!

There are a few good trench coat patterns in this issue, but I particularly like this one because it shows that you can make a nice boucle coat without it being the same, ugly, tired, Chanel-alike design.

Again with the cowl neck and (nearly) dolman sleeves! This one looks like it’s just asking for a wardrobe mishap, along with showing off every little lump and bump in that fabric, but the top version of this doesn’t seem much better.

Burda magazine November 2013

Woo! I knew if I waded through enough mediocre issues we’d get to a good one again! This November issue is the Fall fashion spectacular I’ve been waiting for, and it’s so good I’m even lusting over half the Plus pattern…

First to catch my eye was these foldover trousers, sized for Tall ladies. They really remind me of my KnipMode foldover trousers, which I still wear every winter and still get compliments on!

I love this biker jacket with its off-centre zipper and dramatic collar! It simultaneously reminds me of both my purple MyImage coat and that designer Manequim leather jacket (which I still want to make!), though this is designed for ponte knits in the body, and stretch leather in the sleeves. On closer inspection of the instructions, I noticed it’s unlined (apart from the sleeves) so that big collar is only just one layer of jersey. Also, I think the collar looks way more wearable in the catwalk comparison photo than on the model!

Here’s an example where it pays to really have line drawings and photos of a pattern – I initially loved the tech drawing, but when I saw it on a live model, I realised those pleats right over the hips would probably not be the most flattering…

From the Little Black Dress feature, I really like this sheath dress for stretch wovens – the slim, zippered sleeves are a particularly nice detail, and a great way to show off some short, posh zippers (hello Riri!). The vertical skirt seams might be a touch overkill though, but they don’t appear to be for shaping anyway so could be eliminated I imagine.

Manequim July 2013

It may be the heat of summer here in London, but in Brazil they’re in the depths of winter and oh my have they got some great patterns in store for us this month!

First up, in the Plus section, there’s a fantastic knit crossover top and a knit dress that looks like it’d be super flattering for both large busts and curvy shapes.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw this doggy jacket (complete with fur-trimmed collar) and jumpsuit – how did they know I’d just made my first dog clothing for a friend’s Boston Terrier puppy?!

From the cover photoshoot, I really like this boxy blouse (though it seems awfully familiar) and panelled skirt paired with it looks really wearable, too. Bonus points for spotting the dog model in her bag!

The designer style this month is Alexander Wang, and I love this dress with the stand-out pockets, which also happens to be in my size!

Burda magazine June 2013

I’m a tad late with my review of the latest Burda magazine (or as it’s known these days “Burda Style” – but that just makes it too confusing with the other zillion things they do with the same name), but a) it arrived in the midst of my World tour, b) it’s competing with both the April and May Manequim magazines, and c) well, I have made something from it already so I think I’ve earned a pass!

In any case, this is a surprisingly good issue, despite being a summer one!

First up is this sheath dress with angled side panels and hand-stitched details. On first glance it appears quite vintage-inspired, but the sharp seaming in the line drawing actually shows it’s a pretty modern draft!

I chose this next image not really for the batiste skater skirt (which isn’t really my style), but because OMG is this the first black model Burda have ever used?? And I realise this is the “street style” section so she’s not really a model per say, but seriously, I cannot believe how white Burda’s models are, even when they’re showcasing African or Moroccan or Asian inspired patterns they still use white models!*


A bit of an aside, but as I was travelling the other week I saw a massive advert for the German Wings budget airline with three cabin crew ladies: a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead. To which I chuckled to myself “oh, it’s German diversity!”

Next up is a nice figure-hugging knit dress with a cowl neck and gathered side seams. It’s also available as a top, which I think would be an excellent summer basic, or even for layering under jackets.

Manequim April 2013 (Oscar dress pattern party!)

I’ve been subscribed to Manequim (direct with their publishers) for going on three years now, and I’ve only had 3 issues go missing in that time, which isn’t too shabby considering the distance. But I’ve never opened up my envelope before to find, uhh, some other random Brazilian magazine!

As it turns out, loads of other people also got the same “Mundo Estranho” (“Strange World”) magazine instead of Manequim, and the publisher said ours would be sent out, but then May arrived with no hint of April. So I have to thank Isidore for alerting me to this review on a Brazilian site showing that April’s issue was not only the annual Oscar special (which I must own!) but it also contained a ton of fantastic blouses! So I grudgingly went and bought it on eBay just so I wouldn’t miss it (that “luma1985” eBay seller was fantastic, btw, and I’d definitely recommend her if you want any one-off issues)!

And you know what? I’m totally glad I did, because IMHO it’s one of the best issues for ages, which you can tell just by the number of scans I took from it here!

Nevermind the photos are of a Kardashian – the top and the curved yoke skirt here are fabulous and Plus-sized!

I really like the idea of using a necklace as an integral part of this top design. It’s a backless bodysuit (therefore, not for everyone!) but I really like the ingenuity and glamour of it here.

The embroidery around the neckline of this sheath dress is just stunning! It’s almost like a motif, but the pattern has you do the design yourself from some chiffon yardage. It’d be a lot of work, but in my experience, things like this are great for long car journeys!

Manequim magazine March 2013

Greetings readers! I’m still away on holiday, meeting cool people, (hopefully) photoshooting my new Easter makes, and eating my bodyweight in crab cakes, but here’s something to tide you over til I’m back… the latest issue of the Brazilian pattern magazine Manequim!

I think this sleeveless blouse with neck tie looks like a really classy blouse for the office, and it’d be great paired with a skirt and nice jacket, though it’d be a shame to hide that back yoke. I only wish this one was in my size!

Here’s another look at that lace dress from the cover – it’s almost a skater style with that short, full skirt, and a nice surprise V neck in the back.

oh my god, you guys – this cropped trench coat is so me! And it’s in my size!

Burda magazine February 2013

Thanks very much for all your kind get well wishes on my shingles and compliments on my lingerie set! I’m finally starting to feel a little bit better today, plus I’ve been a lingerie sewing whirlwind while ill so I’ve got lots more to show you, including some using the purple lace I bought at Kantje Boord in October!

In the meantime though, I want to show you my picks from the latest Burda magazine, because this one is a real keeper!

I LOVE this teeshirt with gathers on the raglan seams (front and back). There’s also a short sleeved version, too – I am totally making this!

Burda have a new feature in this issue (maybe it makes up for the lack of vintage pattern?) where they compare a bunch of their patterns with the latest catwalk trends…