Burda Sewing Patterns

Introduction

For many, the Burda sewing patterns are relatively new on the scene. However, the Burda name has been around for an entire century. What is now known as Hubert Burda Media began when Franz Burda started a publishing enterprise in Baden, Germany before the First World War.

His daughter-in-law, Aenne, was known as ‘Germany’s secret fashion queen,’ and it was she who spearheaded the creation of Burda’s fashion magazine empire, and built it into the largest in the world. 

In her hometown of Offenburg, Germany, Aenne Burda established Burda, a printing and publishing business for fashion magazines. In 1950, she launched the Burda Moden magazine, which had a 100,000-copy circulation. After 1952, when it started to include clothing patterns, it started to acquire popularity.

The most popular brand of sewing patterns in Europe is Burda. Burda will have the ideal item for regular apparel for adults, women, and kids. Every skill level can use burda patterns, which are evaluated on a scale of 1-4 for difficulty. Level 1 patterns are appropriate for beginning sewers, while level 4 patterns are appropriate for more seasoned needleworkers. Dresses, skirts, shirts, jackets, vintage clothing, and many other garments are available as Burda sewing designs.

Today, Aenne’s classic fashion magazine, Burda Moden, is available in 90 countries worldwide and is published in 28 languages.

The Evolution of the Burda Sewing Pattern

I discovered Burda Style, a fashion magazine that had pattern sheets tucked inside, on a downtown New York newsstand in the early 1990s. The fashions were cutting edge, nothing at all like the patterns available in the fabric stores or catalogs I was accustomed to.

The patterns, however, were a challenge. All measurements were metric, forcing me to go back to my old school books to convert my familiar inches to centimeters.

The next challenge was to determine which pattern line was the right one for me. Rather than clearly identified patterns and markings, each folded newsprint sheet in my Burda magazine had at least six patterns superimposed on each other.

They were identified by multi colored straight, squiggly and dotted lines. The key was to determine the line shape and color for the pattern matching the photographed item I selected.

My next step was to pull out the tracing paper and pencil and trace the pattern. These pattern pieces did not include seam allowances. Therefore, if I neglected to add seam allowances before cutting, my finished item was too small.

Thankfully, I never forgot this very important detail. I traced the pattern pieces and immediately added seam allowances before going any farther. This eliminated a lot of headaches and grief. My biggest fear was that I would do all this work and then end up with a pattern that yielded a garment that was ill fitting.

The good news is of all the Burda clothes I made using these ‘spaghetti’ patterns, only one pair of slacks came out too tight… and once I made that one adjustment to accommodate my body dimensions, all of the garments that I made using Burda ‘spaghetti’ patterns were absolutely perfect fits.

Thankfully, Burda’s staff realized that many of their customers found these intricate patterns and the numerous steps necessary to use them challenging, so they began publishing patterns that were more in line with the patterns that the average home sewer was already familiar with.

Burda Sewing Patterns Today

As time went on and use of the internet increased, Burda expanded its online presence to include downloadable patterns along with their traditional patterns for sale. These patterns are drafted and authenticated by Burda staff, assuring the quality and accuracy that Burda is known for.

In addition, visitors to the Burda website, have an opportunity to join the Burda community. As members, home sewing enthusiasts can share tips, ideas and even their own creations in the form of downloadable patterns.

Many of the downloadable patterns on the Burda Style website are free of charge. Most of the free patterns are submitted by members and tested by Burda staff to verify proportions, and fit.

I have downloaded a few of these patterns, and found them to be much easier to work with than the Burda patterns I purchased inside the magazines back in the 1990s. With the downloadable patterns, you get only one pattern that must be adjusted to fit your particular size.

The designs for the free patterns offered by Burda are for the most part simple, easy to understand and easy to follow. The proportions are good and the instructions clear, concise and easy to follow.

I’ve had good luck using Burda’s downloadable patterns, whether I used one of the staff-created patterns or one of the members-only free patterns. My only challenge has been to put the larger pattern pieces together.

The pattern pieces are designed to be printed on an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper. When printing a pattern for a dress, skirt or pair of pants, the pattern pieces come out of the printer and must then be pieced together like a puzzle.

My finished Burda’s pattern

I found that patterns are easier to use and keep if I first tape them together, make all of the necessary adjustments to assure proper fit, then trace each pattern piece onto tracing paper. My finished patterns are then stored in individual 9 x 5 envelopes with either a written description or photograph on the front.

No doubt, this is a lot of work when it is still possible to purchase excellent patterns online and at local fabric stores. I do not recommend Burda patterns for the novice. Nor do I recommend them for the impatient.

If, on the other hand, you have the time and patience to go through all the steps described above, you will be quite pleased with the end results. I look at working with Burda patterns much the same way I approach working with a Vogue Couture pattern.

You know before you start that it will take a little more time to get the job done, but it is well worth the additional time, extra effort and increased energy because of the superior quality of the finished garment.

Although the website clearly states that Burda patterns are suitable for beginners, I hesitate to recommend their use by any one below the advanced or expert skill level.

All of the measuring, adjusting, tracing and putting pattern pieces together can be intimidating and even frustrating for someone who is still trying to learn the basic skills of properly pinning a pattern to fabric, cutting and assembling a simple garment.

Even a home sewer who has mastered all of the basics, but is still perfecting their skills could be easily frustrated by all of the preliminary steps they must take before even pinning the pattern to the fabric.

When I started tracing Burda patterns, my sewing buddies told me they think I’m a little bit crazy for doing all that is required to get a Burda traceable pattern to the sewing machine. Perhaps they’re right.

I happen to enjoy the challenge. Besides, once the patterns are finished, I use them repeatedly, especially my customized Burda patterns for skirts and slacks.

Popular Picks from Burda Sewing Patterns

Women’s dresses

• Party dresses

Burda Ladies Easy Sewing Pattern 6628 Simple Dresses

Burda Ladies Sewing Pattern 6866 Floor Length Evening Dresses

Burda Ladies Easy Sewing Pattern 6680 Panelled Dresses

• V-Neck dresses

Burda Ladies Easy Sewing Pattern 6615 Pin Tuck V-Neck Blouses

Burda Style Sewing Pattern B6442 – Misses’ V-Neck Evening Dresses

• High-Neck dresses

Burda Ladies Sewing Pattern 6452 High-Neck Collar Dresses

• Blouses

Burda Ladies Sewing Pattern 7136 Smart Fitted Shirts & Blouses

Burda Sewing pattern 6849 Burda style tops, shirts, and blouses

• Coats and Jackets

Burda Ladies Sewing Pattern 6461 Coat & Jacket

Burda Ladies Sewing Pattern 6465 Collarless Jackets

Burda Style Sewing Pattern B6378 – Misses’ Wrap Coats

Burda Ladies Sewing Pattern 7769 Smart Button Up Waistcoats

• Cape

Burda Women’s Sewing Pattern 7313 Cape

• Historical and Renaissance Costumes

Burda Ladies Sewing Pattern 7880 Historical 1888 Bustle Fancy Dress Costumes

7171 Burda Style Women’s Renaissance Costume Sewing Pattern

Burda Women’s Sewing Pattern 2493 Josephine Renaissance Costume

Burda Women’s Sewing pattern 7057 Folklore Dress

• T-Shirts and Tops

Burda Ladies Plus Size Easy Sewing Pattern 6786 Panelled Tunic Tops

Burda Ladies Easy Sewing Pattern 6611 T-Shirts & Long Sleeve Tops

Burda Style Sewing Pattern B6446 – Women’s Sleeve Variation Top

Burda Ladies Easy Sewing Pattern 6838 Stretch Knit Mock Wrap Tops

Burda Ladies Easy Sewing Pattern 6910 Figure Hugging Tops & Dress

Burda Ladies & Mens Easy Sewing Pattern 6602 T-Shirts, Tops & Hoodies

Burda Ladies Easy Plus Size Sewing Pattern 6552 Blouse Tops

• Skirts and Pants

Burda Ladies Easy Sewing Pattern 6573 High Waist Wide Leg Trousers

Burda Style Sewing Pattern 6316 – Misses’ Harem Pant

Burda Ladies Easy Sewing Pattern 6544 Wide Leg Pants

Burda Ladies Easy Sewing Pencil Skirt Pattern

• Aprons

Burda Ladies Sewing Pattern 7443 Dirndl Dress with Apron

Men’s dresses

• Coats and Jackets

Burda Mens Sewing Pattern 6932 Classic Coats & Jackets

Burda Style Pattern 7142 Men’s Coat & Jacket

• Suits

Burda Style 6871 Steampunk Men’s Suit and Vest Sewing Pattern

BURDA STYLE 7046 MEN’S SUIT – JACKET, SHORTS & PANTS SEWING PATTERN

• Shirts

Burda Style Sewing Pattern 6349 – Men’s Shirt with Collar

Burda Mens Sewing Pattern 6874 Smart Shirts in 3 Variations

• Pants

Burda Men’s Sewing Pattern 6933 – Trousers Pants

• Hoodies

Burda Mens Easy Sewing Pattern 6718 Hoodie & Sweater Top

• Historical Costumes

Burda 2767 sewing pattern Mens 19th century Historical Costume

Burda Style Sewing Pattern B6399 – Men’s Renaissance Shirt & Waistcoat

Generic Men/Women Pants

Burda Ladies & Mens Easy Sewing Pattern 7230 Casual Sweat Pants

Children’s dresses

• Boys Suits

Burda Childrens Sewing Pattern 9433 Boys 3 Piece Smart Suit

Burda Childrens Sewing Pattern 9443 Trouser, Jacket & Waistcoat Suit

• Girls Dresses

Burda Children’s Sewing Pattern 9509 – Dirndl Dress

Burda Girls Easy Sewing Pattern 9379 Simple Dresses & Belt

Burda Style Sewing Pattern 9309 – Children’s Dresses, Buttons at Front, with Trim and Pocket Variations

Burda Style Sewing Pattern 9310 – Children’s Dress, Pull-On with Partially Pleated Skirt or Feature Pockets

• Jeans

Burda Children’s Jeans Sewing Pattern 9406

Infants dresses

Burda Baby & Toddlers Easy Sewing Pattern 9358 Dress, Top & Panties

Burda Baby Easy Sewing Pattern 9479 Sleeping Bag & Nursery Accessories

Burda Baby & Toddler Easy Sewing Pattern 9422 Dress, Jackets & Trousers

Burda Style Sewing Pattern 9315 – Babies’ Coordinates Wardrobe, Top, Pants, Hat and Bootees

Burda Baby Easy Sewing Pattern 9348 Loose Dress, Top & Trousers

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