Dirndl - Burda Young #7037

It's that time of year when Oktoberfest and New York Comic Con are upon us. They may seem like very different types of celebrations, but when you are a geek like me, there's always a way to mash them up. Enter, my dirndl.

My dirndl at NYCC 2017.

This dirndl was made using the Burda Young pattern, which I had seen on a few other sewing blogs. I was afraid it might be too "young" given the name, but it turned out just fine! One note, the cream shirt under the dress is not one that I made. I couldn't finish it in time for my trip to Germany, so I bought one there and just used that!

There are basically three pieces to the dirndl. The shirt, as I mentioned, which I started but did not have time to finish before my trip to Germany. The parts I did finish were the apron and the dress. The most surprising thing to me was how much fabric this pattern needed - it was more than most other dresses - close to 10 yards all in - mostly for the skirt. 

Back of the dirndl.

I don't have many pictures of the dress in progress. I guess I wasn't too sure this would be worth sharing. However, it has turned out to be one of the better things I have made!  I love the colors and fabrics put together, and I appreciate that someone really has to know Doctor Who to know that this is Exploding TARDIS fabric.

Once I selected the fabric to be used, I then had to figure out HOW to use them. This is not a strength for me - I have a hard time visualizing what things will look like until they are nearly done. However, I am proud of how this turned out. I love how the apron and top in the TARDIS pattern break up the blueness of the skirt.  Even the stripe on the bottom of the apron and the apron ties help to break up all the yellow in the Doctor Who fabric.

Front view of the completed apron and the main part of the dress.

One thing I wish I had done throughout was to finish my raw edges better, especially on the apron strings. I didn't realize they were going to be unlined and left with the seams out, so I should have folded the edges under twice. This is true for the apron and skirt hem as well.

Finished dress with the trim and lacing added