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I am going to attempt my second Burda Style magazine skirt.  It will be from the September 2010 issue.  Here is the pattern number and technical drawing.  I will be using a dark olive green sateen. 

I wanted to share a couple of things I "discovered" while attempting to trace the pattern.  These discoveries may not be new to you, especially if you've made a lot of Burda magazine patterns, but since this is only my second, they were new to me.  First, take a look at the pattern.  I need the black ones marked with numbers 21 to 26.   "What?" You can't see them.  My thoughts exactly.  

   

The first time I traced a Burda pattern, I did not notice the reference numbers at the edge of the pattern sheet.  I was staring at the above pattern sheet, trying my best to find the pieces I needed, and not really seeing them.  So I thought maybe I should look for the color coded numbers instead.  Those stuck out a little better, and I was able to locate about 4 of my pieces.  By the time I was looking for my fifth piece, I noticed the numbers on the edge of the pattern sheet.  I realized that by following them up from the edge, I would find the number on the sheet.  I had an "Aha" moment.  Did you all know about the reference numbers on the side?  Here is a close-up of what I am talking about.  I can't believe I didn't notice this the first time I traced one out and more than half-way through tracing this one out!

So if you are using the "green" pattern and you need to find piece number "3", just follow it up from the edge until you locate it on the sheet.  Ok, so that made seeking out the pieces a whole lot easier. 

Once I found the pieces, I traced them with a highlighter. I don't know how many times you could do this on one sheet without making it a worse jumbled mess.  But if you are only tracing one or two patterns, I think the integrity of the sheet will not be ruined.  Highlighting made it easier for me to see the lines as I traced. 

Finally, I tried someone else's tip of using my sewing machine to baste 5/8" around my pattern edges to add my seam allowances.  My machine didn't really pull the tissue paper in easily, so I just used my seam gauge to mark the allowances.  It took about the same amount of time.  Anyway, I actually feel better about tracing out future patterns.  My biggest issue was finding the pieces and now that I've discovered how to do that quickly I am not as reluctant to try more in the future.  

On a completely different note, we had our first swell of the season on the North Shore.  The surfers were delighted and with it came a wonderfully, cloudy, rainy, day.  Ahhh!  The season is changing!