My second project for this fall was a shimmery black batwing dress, just in time for Halloween. I love a good 80s influence, and when I saw Burda 6074, I knew I had to make it.

Looking at some of the black fabrics on offer, I found this “Dazzling Black” evening fabric, a poly knit with printed sequins. A print is so much easier to sew than real sequins! In fact, this fabric was very easy to handle. It’s lightweight with fairly minimal stretch, and it behaved nicely when sewing. I used a stretch needle as this fabric was both thin and tough at the same time. This worked really well.

The Burda pattern is a quick and easy sew, as promised on the pattern envelope. There are essentially 3 pieces; front & back, sleeve, and collar. Because this fabric is so lightweight, I interfaced half the collar with some light knit interfacing. You won’t need that if you have more heft in your fabric, or if you’d prefer it to be more squishy and cowl-like, as designed.

I only changed the pattern slightly, shortening it by 1/2″ above the waist and adding the 1/2″ back at the hem. I wanted my version to be knee-length so I didn’t shorten it at all (I am only barely 5’2″).  I made my usual Burda sizing of 42 at the shoulder and 44 at the hip, although I also added a bit extra at the hip when cutting it out, probably 1/4″ on each side.

It’s a very fun pattern, with a great silhouette. In this fabric it does look very Halloween-appropriate, a little shiny for everyday wear, but a pair of cat ears will make it into an easy costume!  I can definitely see myself using this pattern again for other projects in more work-friendly materials 🙂 This was a quick and enjoyable one to sew!