Dirndl mit Fledermäuse

I initially started writing this post on my phone while on a train from Frankfurt, and I finished it on my computer, so I apologize for any weird layout issues.

I used Burda 7057 as the pattern for my dirndl.  Burda is a German pattern company, though they're owned by Simplicity.  A couple of other pattern companies had dirndls, but they weren't nearly as good.  I wasn't really concerned about being perfectly authentic since I was using bat fabric, but I didn't want it be poorly fitted and look like a cheap costume.  Burda actually has their dirndl patterns with the regular dresses, since it's perfectly acceptable to wear them to weddings and such things in Bavaria (sort of like a kilt).

This pattern is labelled "young", which I'm guessing means it's marketed towards juniors, though it seems to use standard adult sizing.  I checked and double checked the measurements to make sure they were comparable.

The first things I made were the blouse and apron.  I had only two yards of fabric and the pattern calls for nearly 4.  I mostly made it work, though the ties for the apron aren't solid pieces.  I started off making the pieces perfectly matched, but I was using three or four pieces per tie.  So by the end, I didn't care as long as they were the same grain (and I can't guarantee they were).

I didn't alter the blouse except to add the bat lace around the end of the sleeves.  It had been sitting in the stash for years.  Seemed like a perfect occasion to use it.  I only changed the apron by adding lace and pockets.  I should have made them a bit deeper (I have a GIANT cell phone), but they did the job.

I didn't bother with my usual alterations on the dress (shorten the straps and lengthen the skirt).  This was mostly due to indifference on my part.  No alterations were made here, except that my hooks weren't too traditional.  It was a bit snug in my apparently voluminous rib cage (a problem I have experienced more than once), but I expected this and didn't sew in the lining until I'd checked the fit, to give me room to let out the seams, if need be.  The bodice was supposed to be interfaced, but I skipped it, due to not needing more bulk on my middle; I would have under-stitched the lining, but this was when I had reached the indifference phase of the sewing.  And of course, this didn't fit on the dummy.

The crowning piece here is the shawl.  I've been crocheting on and off for about six years.  I've never been very good, and mostly made the little amigurumi toys for my niblings and friends' kids, but most of them are past the age where such things are appealing.  In the past year, I've spent a lot of the time I would have been sewing doing crochet instead.  It was hard to motivate myself to get off the couch, but having my crochet bag sitting right next to the couch meant I didn't have to.  So I wrapped myself in a blanket, put on some Netflix, and got to work.  By my count, I've made five scarves in the last year, one of which was fifteen feet long (it was a Tom Baker scarf).

Anyway, not a very good crocheter.  I started this shawl in March, before we had even seriously discussed going to Germany.  I wanted to try my hand a filet crochet and had a pattern for a bat curtain in my crochet book (The Happy Hooker).  I kind of threw the shawl pattern together without really knowing what I was doing, but it worked.  It took me five months to finish the damn thing, but I spent two of those months with my arm in a cast, and it is over six feet long.

In Germany, I ended up buying the traditional thick knit socks to wear with it, which came with a cute little stein on a ribbon.  It got lost at Oktoberfest, so I plan on redoing it with leftover ribbon from the lacing on the dirndl and a bat charm.

So how was the pattern?  Burda's intended audience is people who know what they're doing, not beginners.  A lot of the instructions are given in one step, with no picture, whereas it would be three or four steps in Simplicity, each with an illustration.  I've only ever done one Burda patern before, and that was a tuxedo, and likely far beyond my skill set at the time.  This pattern is rated at 2 out of 4, and I would agree with the caveat that if you aren't accustomed to reading Burda patterns, you're going to spend a lot of time figuring out what to do.  So it isn't hard, it just takes some time to learn how to read the pattern.

I should probably mention how Oktoberfest was.  It pains me to say it, but it wasn't so fun.  I wouldn't go back.  The people who worked at our hotel in Munich said that it has become all for tourists in the last few years, and more of a frat party than a celebration of Bavarian culture.  Additionally, apparently my dirndl wasn't seen as fun and quirky, but confusing and weird in a bad way.

Overall, I did have a great time in Germany and would be happy to go back when it isn't Oktoberfest.  Would my readers be interested in my vacation pictures?