How to Read a Burda Sewing Pattern

Burda sewing patterns are notorious for being different and difficult to work with. The instructions are often shorter and more confusing, and the pattern pieces tend to have fewer markings added on. Even the pattern envelope is missing many of the elements that you’ll find on other sewing pattern brands.

I’ll be honest, I don’t recommend starting with Burda sewing patterns. They tend to be more confusing than other pattern brands. I’ve also found that the sizes of Burda patterns tend to run smaller than other patterns giving you less room for error. So if this is your very first pattern, you might want to put it down until you’ve had some time to practice. 

But I’m the kind of person who likes to jump off and start swimming in the deep end. The 6th piece of clothing I made was a Burda pattern and it turned out decent. So don’t let me discourage you if it’s something you really want to make.

• Learn more about how to use a sewing pattern for the first time

Reading a Burda sewing pattern envelope

Burda patterns are a little bit different than most other well-known brands. The front of the pattern is fairly standard, but the back can be confusing if you’re used to looking at Simplicity or McCalls.

The front of the Burda envelope contains:

1. Pictures of the design
2. Line art for the front and back of the design
3. The number of the pattern
4. A rating of how easy the pattern is
5. The sizes included in the pattern

A special note: modern Burda pattern envelopes have this line on the front of their patterns: “All patterns with seam and hem allowance.”

This is because vintage Burda patterns did not include these. Sewists needed to add the seam and hem allowance on their own before cutting the fabric. Keep this in mind if you’re ever working with a vintage Burda pattern.

The back of the Burda pattern envelope is a bit simpler than other brands. You may like this or hate it, but hopefully, this will help you understand it:

1. Amount of fabric needed for 45” and 55” fabric in meters and yards
2. Recommended types of fabric
3. Pictures of the notions you need
   1. Buttons
   2. Elastic
   3. Interfacing
   4. Double-needle (used for hemming stretch fabric)
   5. cording
4. Finished length (and sometimes circumference) of the final garment

What’s missing from Burda envelopes

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, but there are some bits of information that are not included on the Burda pattern envelopes that should be there (in my opinion).

Body measurements

If you pick up a modern Burda pattern, you’ll notice that there is no body measurement size guide on the envelope. It’s not even on the paper instruction sheet, meaning there is no way to easily reference the sizes when looking at the envelope.

Instead, the size guide is printed on the tissue paper with the pattern pieces. Honestly, I have no idea why they chose to do it this way since it’s the most unhelpful place to put it. If you want to reference your size to decide how much fabric to get, you have to unfold all the tissue paper and find the size guide first.

To save you that trouble, you can find Burda’s standard size chart here

What to expect from Burda sizes

Now that you know where to find the recommended size, I’m now going to tell you to be cautious of those. I frequently find that I need to size up Burda patterns after I check the bust/waist/hip measurements for myself. 

While most standard sewing patterns tend to be slightly on the too-large side (I frequently have to size them down for other pattern brands), Burda patterns tend to be either exactly as they say or slightly small.

So, before you cut your fabric, I recommend measuring the pattern pieces for yourself or making a mockup to make sure it will fit correctly.

The stretch guide, where is it?

Do you have a ‘just for knits’ pattern from Burda? I have a couple of those, and guess what I realized after purchasing them? There is no stretch guide to be found. This is the guide on the envelope of every other pattern brand that tells you how far your fabric needs to stretch for it to work with the pattern. With Burda,  I have absolutely no idea how stretchy my fabric needs to be.

At first, I thought the stretch guide must be on the tissue paper or instructions. But I have never found a stretch guide despite searching for it. All I can say is, the stretch guide doesn’t exist and we have no choice but to guess what fabric to use.

Burda sewing pattern instruction sheet

A lot of the parts that are typically included in the pattern instruction booklet are instead added to the tissue paper of Burda patterns. 

1 The pattern pieces

Burda pattern instruction sheets do not have pictures of the pattern pieces. Instead, they have a list of the pattern number and their description. Next to the description, it says which version the piece is used for. At the end of the line, it even tells you how many pieces you need to cut out (I wish other patterns included that part!)

Where is the fabric layout guide?

If you’re used to working with Simplicity or McCalls, you may notice that the fabric layout guides are missing from the Burda instructions. Instead, these are placed on the tissue paper. If you want to reference the layouts, you can see them when you unfold all that tissue paper. 

2 Check for seam allowance

Most Burda patterns will have a ⅝ inch or 1.5cm seam allowance. But it’s always best to check your specific pattern to be sure. This information can be found in the lower left hand of the instruction sheet along with some other basic instructions for cutting out the pattern pieces.

3 Interfacing guide

Burda patterns also have an interfacing guide. It tells you which pieces are going to need interfacing before the instructions start so you don’t forget about the interfacing.

4 Size adjustments for Burda patterns

Burda instructions also include a section explaining the pattern is made for someone who is 5’6” (for women’s patterns), and give you basic instructions for how to shorten or lengthen the pattern if you need to.

5 Burda instructions

The step-by-step instructions for Burda patterns tend to be very similar to other patterns. They do tend to skip those intermediary steps. The instructions will sometimes skip steps like staystitching, clipping curves, understitching, top stitching, and seam pressing since the pattern might assume you already know you’re supposed to do those steps.

Burda cutting and markings guide

Burda patterns also decided that they want to be unique with many of their cutting and sewing marks and notations. The key for the notations is included on the tissue paper alongside the pattern pieces, not in the pattern instruction booklet.

Here is a quick guide for all the symbols you’ll find on Burda pattern pieces:

1. Lines for pattern sizes (on a multi-size pattern)
2. The numbered pattern piece (so you know which ones to trace and cut)
3. Number of pieces to cut (lets you know the number of this piece to cut from your fabric)
4. Which style uses this pattern piece (do you need this for A, B, etc.)
5. Waistline (lets you know where your natural waist should be. Lengthen or shorten the pattern if it’s not lining up with your actual waist)
6. Dart lines (same as any other pattern)
7. Cut on the fold (it’s usually just written in words, so don’t miss it)
8. Notch marks for lining up pieces
9. Stretch grain (for knit pattern pieces, it lets you know which say needs to stretch)
10.  Fold line (for pieces that are folded in half, like waistbands)
11. Seam attachment point (lets you know where the seams need to meet up)
12. Stitch line (if there is shirring or stitching in the center of a pattern piece, not for seam allowance stitch line)
13.  Numbered notations for matching pattern pieces (this helps you line up the pattern pieces on the right sides, useful to make sure you don’t sew facings upside down)
14. Gathering notations (tells you where to gather your fabric)
15. Sleeve easing notations (you should ease the sleeve head between these points)
16. Pleat lines and folding direction 
17. Slash line (if you need to cut into the fabric inside the pattern piece. For example, a welt pocket)
18. Vent mark (lets you know the start or stop a slash in a skirt or something similar)
19. Button marks
20. Grain of fabric (if there is no grainline, check to see if it’s cut on the fold. If so, the fold is your grainline)
21. Shorten and lengthen lines (these are the same as any other pattern)
22. Final hip and waist measurements (this lets you know what the final measurements should be)