The January edition of Burda magazine is always a low point because they devote a section to costumes for Carnival – a holiday in Germany where you dress up like Halloween, I guess? This month there was also a maternity wear section with a bunch of dresses that didn’t really interest me, so double disappointment. There were still a few good patterns to be had though…

Let’s start with the coat on the cover photo. I like it exactly as is, with the high contrast binding. They made it up in a floral fabric which also looks like a lovely spring coat. This is a great basic pattern if you have a really thick coating fabric which couldn’t handle the bulk of of a more complicated lapel with a back collar. I have a reversible Pendleton wool and some matching binding I bought recently from Elfriede’s and I was looking for a simple coat pattern that would show off the fabric… I might be making a muslin of this soon!

Next up is this awesome jacket and legging combo. I love superfluous seamlines and color blocking so I’m a sucker for these types of patterns. The version on the left is a little too much color blocking even for me though. I like the jacket or the leggings, but it’s a little overwhelming together. The solid version on the right shows that the pattern also works really well in a heavier fabric. As for the leggings, I’d be afraid that the color blocking at the knees would make me look even shorter, but you could do the pieces in the same color and topstitch to make the seam lines stand out a little. The pieces on the hip however are great for color blocking in a darker color to shave a bit off the appearance of your hips. I’m imagining a dark gray pair with black at the hips.

This wrap skirt with a hi-low hem reminds me a lot of the Megan Nielsen Cascade skirt pattern (shown on the right). I’ve made the Megan Nielsen version in a drapey fabric and it moves great which makes it fun to wear.

I’m not sure if this is a blouse or a jacket (the description says jacket, but anything with sheer sleeves reads as a blouse to me). Either way, I like it! And it’s a petite pattern, so no shortening required for me. Picking fabrics of weights that will pair well is key here. The description says they used wool crepe and “knit tulle”, whatever that is. If you went with a blouse weight fabric for the bottom you could use poly chiffon for the sleeves which would be easier to find.

I have mixed feelings about this top. The look of the tucks in that metallic panne silk velvet is pretty cool. But, I don’t have any fabric that looks like that, and the way the hemline rides up in the line drawing makes me wonder if this is shown tucked in for a reason. I think I’ll leave this one to someone more daring than myself.

I personally am not crazy about A-line skirts, but if that silhouette looks good on you, this is a cute little number.

In the plus size section there were a bunch of tops revolving around this pointed asymmetric hemline. I think I like the one with the overlay on the right the best, but I wish she was wearing contrasting pants so I could see it better. The tank is made from a woven and the top on the right is made from a wool knit (yum).

I’m not sure about the weird sparkly bits on this long coat, but it’s a solid pattern and it seems like we don’t get enough tailored patterns in the plus section.

There was a whole craft section on different ways to use this applique pattern of koi fish. I’m not crazy about what they did with it, but for once I actually like the applique itself. This would look great on a kimono, but I think I’ve made enough kimonos recently.

If you were curious about the costumes, here are a couple examples. A kid dressed as a box of french fries, and a woman dressed as a weather balloon. Wait, you say that’s a jacket pattern from the plus size section? Yeesh… I’m going to just keep pretending otherwise.