As has become tradition here at Doctor T Designs, it is time to look at another full year of BurdaStyle Magazine, and take a moment to appreciate all of the patterns and inspiration we’ve gotten in 2019! This year started off great – I think the designs in the January-June issues were great adds to the stash. Things dropped off a bit for me over the summer and fall months, but there are some great designs in the late fall/early winter issues as well. I think most people have been disappointed that the Burda Plus and Burda Easy magazines have resorted to using reprints from the catalog or regular monthly issues, but on the whole I think this has been a rather positive year for Burda releases. In case you need a quick refresher, here are the links to all of my Burda Reviews from 2019:
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
- Burda Easy – Spring
- Burda Easy – Summer
- Burda Easy – Fall
- Burda Easy – Winter
- Burda Plus – Spring/Summer
- Burda Plus – Fall/Winter
- Burda Catalog – Spring/Summer
- Burda Catalog – Fall/Winter
As a recap, here were my top picks for patterns from the year, in order from January-December:
And these were my bottom picks from the monthly issues in 2019:
I figured we should get the less awesome stuff out of the way first, so here are my picks for the 2019 BWTF Awards:
2nd – December 
1st – June 
3rd – February
In 3rd Place, we have the Burda Plus Anorak from February, in 2nd Place the massive sweater dress from December, and winner of BWTF for 2019 goes to the lacy romper from June!
Now, moving on to the good stuff, here are my picks for the best Burda Patterns of 2019:
2nd – November 
1st – March 
3rd – April
In 3rd place, we have the stunning sheath dress from April, in 2nd the awesome bouclé jacket from November, and in 1st the cool moto jacket from March! All of these have innovative design features, and would result in some really stunning garments.
And with the individual pattern awards declared, let’s look at which issues provide the most versatility to the stash:
Let’s start with my picks for the least exciting issues of 2019:
2nd – June 
1st – July 
3rd – February
Overall this has been a pretty decent year. I don’t think it has packed quite the punch that 2017 or 2018 did (we had some pretty fantastic issues the past few years), but there wasn’t anything that was a total dud either. February ranks in the bottom three because most commenters felt that while it had an excellent range of “wardrobe staple” type patterns, there wasn’t anything extra special about the patterns included in this issue. June and July rank as the bottom 2 issues much for the same reason – there just isn’t as much that feels special or exciting in these issues. June faired slightly better, with some cute dresses and skirts, but July feels incredibly generic, and thus earns the bottom sport in 2019.
And, finally it is time to announce the Best Burda Magazines of 2019:
2nd – August 
1st – November 
3rd – January
In 3rd we have January, 2nd place goes to August, and the Best issue of 2019 goes to November! January gave us an interesting mix of party looks and relaxing casual options for a lazy New Years Day. There was also the fabulous designer pattern, and a lot of great coat options for the winter months. August comes in second because it offers such a wide range of silhouettes and styles – I feel like it has something for everyone! And, of course, November has taken my top spot for this year. I think it is a truly fantastic issue – it has some incredible designs with lots of yummy details, a nice mix of styles, and of course our fabulous silver-haired, super stylish model! I think this issue has a lot to offer and I expect I will be pulling patterns from it for years to come.
And that’s is! Another year of Burda has passed, and another new year is underway. Personally, I think 2019 has been a pretty decent year as patterns go, and I’m really excited to have added some of these designs to the stash. But what do you all think? What were your best and worst pattern picks for the year? Your top and bottom issues? Feel free to discuss it all in the comments!
Doctor T Designs 
I can’t find burdastyle anywhere. Do you have a subscription address?
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You can contact Roltek if you are looking for subscriptions in the US and Canada (https://roltek.com/) or order from UK Newsstand if you prefer to order online instead of over the phone (https://www.newsstand.co.uk/247-Knitting-and-Crochet-Magazines/1995-Subscribe-to-BURDA-STYLE-Magazine-Subscription.aspx).
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Thank you for a year of entertaining and informative roundups!!!
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Had to go back and look at May, completely forgot about it, and loved several of the patterns! Both when it was released and now. For me as European it’s not a problem if they mix in envelope patterns every now and then, since I really don’t buy envelope patterns that often, I see it as additional photos and inspiration instead 😀 thank you for your time and effort on this blog and I hope you enjoy your holidays!
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I’ve sewn 2 items from 2019 issues and both were April! I think this just wasn’t my year of Burda 🙂 But it’s Burda and in a year or so I’ll be salivating over these patterns, I’m sure!
Thanks for the roundups!
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I think April was my 5
4th place issue! I had a lot of trouble picking between January and April for 3rd place, but those were both great issues.
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That shiny, ruffled suit is peak Burda!
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I just went to one of the larger Barnes & Noble stores in my area today and bought the November issue. I’m so excited to actually be able to buy one and this was my favorite issue of the year after reading through all your reviews. I love the jacket on the cover. I also found a blog called smfabric (for Sew Much Fabric) based one Texas that sells individual issues, so maybe there is hope for us Americans who want to get our hands on individual magazines. It has been so much fun to read through all of your reviews of magazines and pattern releases. Thanks for doing this.
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Agree it’s been an okay year with some useful basic patterns. I was surprised to discover I’d actually bought 7 out of the 12 issues. I agree that January was a highlight but unlike you, I did like June’s too and am drafting the wide trouser pattern from that issue as we speak. Looking forward to seeing what next year brings from Burda and your ever informative and interesting take on the issues 🙂
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I really appreciate your reviews! For me it is like having someone actually to discuss with my favorite mag since people in my closest circle are not in to sewing at all. And your reviews are definitely enriching since I have a chance to learn a different approach, different take on thing. And in some cases it is eye opening. All the best and happy sewing!
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It is so fun to see a discussion of patterns and sewing. My mother and I used to go to the store and sit for a couple of hours and discuss the merits of the latest patterns but when she was diagnosed with diabetes a couple years ago she became really depressed and gave it all up and doesn’t want to talk about it now. We’d been doing that my whole life. I have one friend who used to own a bridal store but doesn’t sew anymore and a neighbor who quilts. One daughter sews occasionally but doesn’t like to drool over patterns like me so reading your blog has been my sewing community fix for a while😍
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Thank you so much for another year of Burda magazines review! Like others have said your blog is a great place for discussing sewing patterns and personal style. For my part I think 2019 has been a good year for Burda. Great dresses and jackets but a bit repetitive for tops and trousers. I would say that so far the September issue has been the most “used”, as I’ve already made a skirt, a dress and a top from it…Wishing you all the best for 2020!
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Thanks! Happy New Year!
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I just got my January issue and on the back cover under “New for 2020” it seems to imply that there will be 6 issues of Burda Easy per year. It will be interesting to see if and how they do that.
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Interesting!
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the June romper suit I actually made, to try out some new skills and to have a laugh as me and the model have very little in common. I actually quite like it and it is really handy for beach days to put over a bikini. I did use a geometric designed material and my smocking was, well, very wonky. I did wonder if I would get any funny looks at the beach but no one batted an eyelid 😀
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Hi, Great post! I’ve decided to nominate you for the Sunshine Blogger award! Take a look at my post for my details! https://sewhyggelig.wordpress.com/2020/01/10/sunshine-blogger-award/
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Thank you! I will post about this soon!
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I think this was a brilliant year and not just because the patterns were good. There have been some small changes to the instructions (more details! More pictures!) and the diversity of the models has increased. I’m delighted the designer patterns are back consistently, and the newish ‘Trend pattern’ feature always catches my eye. Glad they restored the cutting layouts too.
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Yes! Those are all good things!
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One more thought – a while ago you asked about what type of posts people would be interested in for Kibbe. Don’t know if you’re interested in ideas for Burda posts too, but I’d be interested to hear about your process for writing the monthly and yearly reviews if you ever fancied doing that. Thanks for another great year of blogging!
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