Doctor T Designs

First off – I must apologize for the late posting of this review.  I was studying for an important exam, and then I was out of town the week that a bunch of new patterns dropped.  It’s been a long few weeks with little sleep and a fair bit of stress, so the blog had to go on the back burner.  I’ve got Burda, Vogue, and New Look releases to catch up on, not to mention an actual sewing project I need to post a pattern review for.  The next month is looking to be pretty busy, but hopefully I can get it caught up with the posting before too long.

Anyway, getting to the point – February Burda!  Since last year was so great, I was a bit dubious that Burda would keep the streak going this year, but I’ve managed to find at least a few (well, one) pattern in this issue that I’m pretty excited about adding to the stash.  On the whole, though, this might not be the most exciting BurdaStyle in recent memory.

As is predictable for me, my favorite items in this issue are the coats and jackets:

Yup, I love it.  The faux belt creates a beautiful nipped-in waist, but the soft gathers give a more casual appearance to this coat.

A short safari-style version of the coat above.

Not as excited about this in the vest version – feels a bit bulky as top, unlike the longer coat.

Burda’s given us quite a few of these French jacket inspired patterns, but they can keep coming as far as I’m concerned!  The seam lines should make it pretty easy to fit.

Next up, the dresses:

Pretty sure we’ve had very similar patterns in the past.  I still like this silhouette, but it definitely isn’t anything new, different, or exciting.

Similar silhouette as above, but with a halter neckline instead of the double V-neckline.

Love this dress – it looks a bit wrinkly in the photo, but the garment photo looks pretty sharp.

In a complete 180, this super causal knit dress isn’t anything exciting, but it does look really comfy and easy to sew.

Not overly excited by the shape of this dress, but I do like the use of the boarder print fabric.

Not much to excite with these boxy dresses; very similar to Burda patterns of the past.

A close derivative of many of the dresses, next up are the tops:

I’s be a bit concerned with the depth of the neckline, and with the top staying in place.

I’m a bit more excited by this style as a top than as a dress, but, again, I’d be a bit concerned about the depth of the neckline.

The oversized sweatshirt has been a feature in the past few issues – I’m still rather interested in making one, and the pockets in the diagonal seam is a cool feature.

These elastic ruffle tops are a bit much.  Though I will grant that the extra large ruffle top does seem to be a trend with most of the major pattern companies at the moment.

There aren’t a lot of pants, but I do like the options presented:

Normally I’m not excited by pants with pleats at the waist, but I do like the shape that these pants and shorts create, especially with the slightly drapier fabrics.

There are similarly few skirt options:

The diagonal pockets add a nice detail to this otherwise simple skirt.

Nothing really special here, but who doesn’t love a good circle skirt?

These curved pockets offer an interesting opportunity for color blocking, but I’m a bit unexcited by this skirt otherwise.

The Burda Plus section of this issue is a bit uninspired:

Ok, I actually rather like this dress, but I don’t think this is the most innovative design.  The gathers look pretty cool in the print fabric though.

The ruffle top makes another appearance in the plus section!  Again, I will give Burda a pass because this seems to be a really popular style at the moment, but I’m not exactly excited by any of these patterns.

I think I’d like this pattern if it was slightly less boxy.  Looks pretty simple to sew though.

Ok, I think I’d be sort of excited to wear these pants – they look swooshy!

I don’t normally post the kids patterns, but there are some nice dresses and suits this month:

 

And that’s about it!  On the whole, a pretty hum drum month.  Which actually makes it pretty easy to choose the Best of BS pattern for February. It should be no surprise that I’m giving the Best of BS to:

The coat!  Love the mix of tailoring and soft draping.  It looks like a great coat for spring – lightweight, casual, with just a bit of interest with the waist detail.  Definitely going onto my to-sew list.

The BWTF award was a bit more difficult to pick.  There isn’t anything truly bad, but there is a whole lot of uninteresting in this issue.  In the end I’ve decided to give it to:

The ruffle crop top!  Mostly it gets called out for being at the bottom of the heap because it is impractical (can you life your arms?) and not terribly wearable (who’s got abs like that after all the holiday goodies?), not to mention cold! Yes, I’m aware it’s summer somewhere, but it’s hard to fathom when its been so wet, cold, and rainy where I am.

So, what do you all think?  See anything brilliant in this issue that I’m missing?  Or is this a totally passable issue for the most part?  Anyone else crushing on the long coat or is it just me?  Feel free to discuss in the comments!