Doctor T Designs

I hadn’t planned on doing any extra blog posts this month because I’m super busy, but my July Burda came in the mail today (yes; I’m still subscribed… but a more detailed post and thoughts on that another day) and there was an interesting advertisement that caught my eye and I thought warranted a bit of a discussion because I hadn’t seen much about it elsewhere in the sewing sphere: Burda Curvy English.

I was aware that Burda Style had moved away from publishing the Burda Plus segment in their monthly issues and had gone towards producing a German version of Burda Plus (apparently now called Burda Curvy). However, as far as I could tell, there was not an English version available which is why the inner-cover ad on the most recent issue of Burda Style magazine caught my eye. There are several interesting statements on this ad, including the assertion that Burda Curvy was available in English, but only digitally, which as far as I know has not been Burda’s modus operandi up to this point. Granted, they’ve had digital patterns for a long time (I would argue even leading the charge on that somewhat with the old OG English site), but they’ve resisted having digital magazines for quite some time. So, naturally, I was curious and needed to investigate. However, someone screwed up the QR code because scanning it from the magazine took me to a page full of confused unicorns:

However, a quick Google Search later quickly led me to the correct website, which has links not just to the summer edition but also the spring edition of the magazine.

Naturally, I had to go through the process of setting up a (new) Burda English account (RIP OG Burda Style website from ye olde days of the sewing blogs of yore) and download the PDF magazines. You know, for science. Anyway, each digital magazine PDF is 53 pages long, which feels decently sized for a plus sized fashion/sewing magazine. I also appreciate the colorful layout of the line drawings and finished garments.

Here are the spring patterns:

And these are the summer patterns:

I know that a lot of these designs are similar to those that exist in the Burda archives, but I have to point out this summer coat as being a standout in the second issue of the magazine:

I definitely have some thoughts on this development, especially because I’ve also been using the Patrones app as well. I’m trying to restrain myself from doing my usual thing of writing far too much because (see my first point in this post) I don’t have the time right now, so I’ll deliver it in bullet point fashion as rapidly as I can.

First, the likes:

• I am a fan of the digital magazines; the colors and fashion photos look great on the screen, and I love being able to pinch and zoom into an image.
• I like that the digital format is PDF. This makes it easy to store and read in your preferred digital media organizer app of choice.
• I like that the downloadable PDF is free. It’s a great way to look through patterns before deciding if you want to buy any.
• I like how easy it is to go from the PDF magazine page to the pattern web page to purchase. That is super slick.
• I like that the Burda Plus size range has expanded in Burda Curvy (sizes range from 44-60).
• I like that the patterns in the issue make a nice capsule wardrobe. Having a variety of tops, bottoms, dresses, and toppers is a nice variety and provide lots of inspiration.
• I appreciate the variety of the styles, some being more fitted and some looser, most being casual but some being a bit more elevated.
• I genuinely like a lot of the designs. I’m now pretty squarely in this Burda size range (at least for bottoms) and I’d happily make and wear a lot of these designs.
• I like that the magazine includes many of the features of the standard issues, including styling ideas and mix-n-match options.
• I am a big fan of the models. There is much more diversity in the models in these issues than had been the case in the traditional magazines (which had been a common complaint), and it’s clear that they didn’t restrict themselves to models at the low end of the size range. Granted, they are all still models so perhaps not as many body types are featured as, for example, other brands like Cashmerette, but I see the effort from Burda in this area so I’m going to acknowledge it.

Now, for the dislikes:

• I am not a fan of needing to purchase each pattern individually. Granted, I appreciate that if you only want to make one pattern it’s not a big deal because you’d basically be paying for the one pattern any way you did it. And you do get a discount if you purchase multiple patterns from the same issue, which is nice. However, when compared to the price of the paper magazine it is still far more expensive to buy the PDF patterns individually. This is one area where Patrones has a leg up – I really like that you can just buy the digital magazine in the app for a reasonable price (it bounces between $3.99 and $4.99 per issue, probably based on the dollar/euro conversion) and have access to download any of the patterns in the magazine. And for the cost of a single issue I don’t really care if I only want to make one pattern because it’s so reasonably priced. However, Patrones doens’t let you see the patterns before purchasing the issue, so there’s that point in Burda’s favor. I do wish Burda at least offered a bundle option, where you could buy all of the PDF patterns from an issue and have it be somewhat comparable to the cost of a full magazine though.
• I don’t like that there is not in a consistent size range for all of the patterns. Burda has always had some patterns in weird sizes (short, tall, slightly smaller or slightly larger on their size scales) but since this is specifically a Curvy/Plus size range, it would be nice if everything went up to a size 60. However, most of the patterns are 44-52, with only a few being 46-56 or 46-60. So, as much as I am going to applaud them expanding sizes up to 60, I’m also going to say it’s not quite “there” yet in terms of what we would hope for being more size inclusive since they are primarily staying in their traditional sizing range.

So much for rapid.

Anyway, generally speaking, the positives far outweigh the negatives, except, perhaps, for the pricing model or if you were looking for more options in the 54-60 size ranges. I am intrigued to follow the development of this digital magazine though because I think it has some interesting implications for the future of Burda magazine. I’m not sure that Burda will go fully digital, but it is an interesting business model for them to pursue, especially considering the disruptions to the printing industries over the past few years with the paper shortages. I think many people have been asking why they haven’t pursued the app option like Patrones, but Burda is also a larger sewing empire, with magazines in multiple languages, websites, YouTube channels, paper patterns distributed by Simplicity, etc. I feel like if they did go the direction of the app, there would be a lot of potential for really interesting applications of these existing assets; for example, imagine if in-app instructions linked to video tutorials for some basic sewing tasks like inserting fly front zips, attaching bindings, or making buttonholes. Featured patterns could have full sew-along style tutorials. Patterns could be accessed or purchased directly in the app. Granted, I do think the general PDF option does make this magazine accessible to more people, but there’s no reason making it accessible through both an app and their website couldn’t be possible.

At this point I think I have rambled long enough about the new Burda Curvy and what I do and don’t like about the direction Burda is going. But it’s been a long time since I posted about a pattern brand so I’m curious to see how everyone else is feeling about this. What’s your take on Burda Curvy? Would you be interested in Digital Burda Magazines? Or would you only subscribe if they made Burda Curvy available in paper in English? Which do you think is more worth the value – having a free magazine with a pay per pattern model or paying sight unseen for a paper subscription but getting all the patterns included to use at your whim? If Burda ever did go to having an app, would you use it? There’s a lot to discuss on this one so have at it in the comments!