I went into Spotlight last week specifically to purchase a pattern for me as they were on special for $5.99 and I wanted to test and fit myself with a Burda. I went shopping with one of my daughters, Madeleine. I never found anything I liked but she did so I bought Burda 8042 for her.
My friend Janine gave her a nice piece of teal fleecy which will make her 2 of these Jackets. My eldest daughter Constanze has also requested one of these jackets in black. The 3 of us have very similar measurements so I will start with the size 36 pattern for us all just altering for sleeve length and body width in the waist and hips where appropriate.
For one of my sons, Connor, at a previous pattern sale I had purchased Burda 9860.
I will make this pattern in a denim for the pants and a very dark purple for the jacket. This pattern goes up to a size 14 so I might be able to use it for another son Aaron as well.
As for the my pattern contest of Patternreview.com I didn't get my coat finished on time and I am still working on it. The design took me a while to decide on and I'm currently working on drafting the pattern. The back and front drafts are completed and I still have to draft the sleeves, Collar, pockets, lining and interfacing pieces.
My 12yr old has just had her yr6 graduation. Above is a picture that she gave me and then emailed me addressed to Mummy of the outfit that she wanted to wear to her graduation. Maddie is very creative. Her art, crafting and cooking skills are terrific. You can hand her any recipe and it always turns out yummy. She actually cooks dinner for the 9 of us some nights and always does a terrific meal for us. I couldn't change her mind about this outfit as I didn't like this outfit. I wanted her to wear a pretty dress but this is what she wanted to wear and she has very definate ideas about what she will wear and she can be very stubborn. Maddie is my 7th child and I only have two daughters. 
She insisted on choosing her fabric so we went to spotlight to see what we could find. She found some Disco micro dot in lots of different colors. She chose a black, pink, purple and blue in the fabric as there was nothing printed already. I cut out just over 100 12cm squares out of the fabrics. I started sewing them together on my overlocker but it decided to start playing up again after recently being serviced so I just used a small zig zag stitch on the sewing machine. The overlocker is about 20yrs old so its probably time to replace it as its worked pretty hard all these years and untill recently always been reliable.
I drafted the pattern rather quickly as it is just a straight shift with no shaping. I used a satin fabric as a lining which was a mistake as I feel a knit lining would have been a better choice. I have had a lot of work lately and being short of time I didn't think the project through properly. Its amazing how I will look at a project and see all my mistakes and yet Maddie was very happy with her dress and even more happy when at her graduation all her friends complemented her on what she was wearing as she was different to everyone else. The dress was worn with 2 tops and bike shorts that actually came down to her knees. She changed her mind on the leg warmers and the shoes to just wear thongs.
Now getting her to stand straight, still and pose for a photo without doing something silly was an effort that cannot be imagined. I must have taken a dozen photos.
I started by tracing the size 12 of this pattern. I shortened the pattern accross the front and the back by 1cm just under the arms. I added 1cm on back and front sideseams at the hip and the waist and tapered to nothing just under the arms.
I then made a toile and realised that I had forgotten to do a sway back adjustment of 12ml, which I then did to the pattern. I also felt that the 1cm that I had originally added to the front and back side seams at the hip and waist was to much and I adjusted it to 4ml on each of the seams. 
I lined this dress with a stretch knit lining and centred a zipper in the back. I think the dress turned out rather nice and its comfortable and cool. This fabric does crease easily but that doesn't matter too much.
For now I wont make this pattern again but I have kept it for possible future use. The brown dress is still to be hemmed but is otherwise finished.
Hopefully next week will see my coat well underway and some time in the garden catching up.
I started with a size 10 pattern in the jacket for the chest and tapered out to a 12 on the waist and hips. I shortened the sleeves a little as well. On the pants I started with the 12 at the waist and drew out on the hip to where a size 14 would be down to the hem. In most patterns there is a lot of ease and a 12 is a good fit but this pattern is a very close fit so I had to add the extra. I also had to shorten the legs by about 4cm. When cutting the jacket I cut the hood lining in some leftover lining fabric I had kept. I have made the jacket in a navy blue fleecy that was left over from school clothes made for the children and I have started to make this pattern in brown fleecy that my sister gave me. Out of the brown fleecy I was able to cut 1 jacket and 2 of the pants. I also embroidered a design on the brown jacket.
Shows the stabilized shoulder (stay tape) and the back of the embroidery. Also the stretch tape I used to cover the stitching on the neck joining the hood. The lining is leftover from another project and its sunsilky. On the second pair of pants I also embroidered some of the designs on the lower half of the right leg.
I started the draft by drafting a basic skirt draft with no ease at the waist and 4cm ease included in the hip measurement. I made the draft to a length of 60cm which is at the bottom of my knee (I'm only short, about 159cm) and made the side seams straight. On the centre back of the draft 22cm above the hem I made a mark and on the princess seam 19cm above the hem I made another mark which I joined to the 22cm mark with a slight curve. This piece I then cut away and I slashed and flared it as in the diagram. 
