Wow, is this new? Burda’s got an issue just for kids patterns! I don’t remember seeing such an issue before, at least not in recent years:
I, um, really don’t care. But I thought maybe you might, so I’m letting you know.
As far as I can tell, the issue is a compilation of kids patterns from recent regular BurdaMag issues. So if you’ve got a subscription, don’t bother.
But while we’re on the subject, what the f is this??
The Selfish Seamstress is no prude when it comes to showing skin, but even she can’t help but notice that they put that little girl in an awfully trampy bikini top. Seriously, Burda. I can’t tell how old the models are, but they look like they’re beyond the running-around-the-beach-naked age. That little tie-around thingy almost distracted me to the point that I didn’t notice the boy is wearing some sort of wrap-around skirt/gaucho pants combo. I’m guessing the photo was snapped a few minutes before he got beat up by some other kids yelling, “Dumb Pants! Hey, Dumb Pants!”
Anyway, there you go. Lots of Burda patterns for those who fail to heed the message of the Selfish Seamstress and stubbornly insist upon sewing for their children. Pfft. Love, schmove.
The Selfish Seamstress 
23 comments
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May 14, 2010 at 7:41 am
Christy
Did they actually include the trampy bikini top as a “pattern”?? It just looks like a strip of fabric tied around her boobies.
One benefit to sewing for children…you get a lot of “oohs” and “aahs” from others and you didn’t really have to use very much fabric, leaving the bulk of your sewing budget for you. So, you get the credit for sewing for your children (appearing to be a wonderful Mama) but you can still put most of your time into you.
May 14, 2010 at 8:08 am
thelandofka
Those appear to be Thai fisherman pants for the kids. Really?? Mine can’t even tie their shoes (the velcro generation), so how are they supposed to tie themselves back up after they go to the bathroom?? Clearly someone that doesn’t actually have children designed them. And yeah…I would never put my son in those pants.
Don’t even get me started on the top for the girl. That would be the reason why I make all my girls’ swimsuits. The ones in the store are pretty trampy…and apparently in Burda, as well.
I do agree with Christy, too. I get plenty of compliments on my kids’ clothes, so just the ego bump makes me want to sew for them. ;-)
May 14, 2010 at 8:10 am
Hoosiermama
Tangently-related Burda: the website is announcing that patterns from the magazine will henceforth be available at the website (for $5.40 each)! I had let my subscription expire and have been pondering whether to resubscribe, buy now I don’t need to.
May 14, 2010 at 8:18 am
Lisa
His pants were the first thing I gagged at, then her top!
Kids clothing really has gone down hill. If a 5 year old is wearing that – what is she going to be wearing at 16?
May 14, 2010 at 8:25 am
selfishseamstress
Probably she’ll be wearing the Burda bikini top from 1981, as seen at the bottom of this post:
https://selfishseamstress.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/burda-5-2010-vs-burda-1981-part-ii/
Once a Burda girl, always a Burda girl? :D
May 14, 2010 at 9:08 am
Uta
Well, I am a Burda girl when sewing for myself (ok, maybe not bikinis…), but Burda can’t compete with Ottobre when it comes to cute children’s patterns. At all. (Though I have a couple of Burda children’s issues from the 90’s that have nice, classic stuff. But in recent issues, not so much in my opinion.) They had interesting designer patterns for children for a while, but that was after the old and before the new kids issue. As to the selfishness of sewing for children: it’s fun, at least while they’re little, you have so much more creative license!
May 14, 2010 at 9:15 am
kathleen
Clearly these kids hate those dopey pants and are attempting to hide under the giant piece of gauze
May 14, 2010 at 9:54 am
CGCouture
I have the issue those pants/bikini tops were featured in (I think it was last July?) and yes, they have the pattern for the bikini. I totally agree on the dorky pants too, they were rather sad. I’d be interested to see what else they have in there for kids though, maybe they have some cute pants for the little man. :-)
Sewing for kids? It’s cool because you can practice all those techniques you are scared to do on your own hard work. ;-) Does that make me a bit selfish that I am willing to give my kid the “not-so-perfect” stuff so that I can hone my skills for myself? ;-)
May 14, 2010 at 10:00 am
Katie
It looks like a rehash of the kids patterns from the last year. Blah! I’m with Uta – I subscribe to Ottobre for my kids and Burda for myself. I’ve never made a Burda kids pattern.
I remember that picture as well. Those are indeed Thai fisherman pants for kids, but the “top” is just a tied square (no pattern for it). There is a kids bikini in the issue though. It is a mini version of the adult bikini from the same issue. A bit trampy either way…
May 14, 2010 at 10:08 am
Sophie
The little boy looks to me to be about 8 or 9. And yeah, totally trampy bikini there. Besides, anyone who’s ever spent a day on a beach with a little girl knows anything without elastic would fall off in two seconds anyway. :P
Sophie
filasewphie.blogspot.com
May 14, 2010 at 10:14 am
Aura
One thing I will say about the trampy top is that for many European kids that age, they both – boys and girls – go topless at the beach. No boobies = no top – no problem. So that strip of fabric may have been a concession when otherwise the kid would be topless, period. Which I think is actually way less sexualizing, oddly enough (rather than putting girls in grown-up bikini styles or ridiculous dance costumes… I digress!)
May 14, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Beangirl
I agree about the topless thing as being more standard in Europe and personally I think topless for a prepubescent child is way less sexualizing than covering up stuff that doesn’t really need covering up. This is an argument my (English) husband and I get into a lot. He thinks kids over the age of about four should be covered, whereas I think it’s silly if the kid in question doesn’t care. Around here (Texas) most people freak out if a two year old isn’t fully covered at all times. I find this creepy, weird and disturbing, but apparently they don’t.
So of course the moral of the story is, everyone should be just like me! ;-)
May 14, 2010 at 10:52 am
lin3arossa
I agree with Aura, Uta and CGcouture. I subscribe to Ottobre myself. The only magazine that coulad maybe (stress on maybe) compete with them is Knippie. I saw this at the Berlin Hauptbanhof yesterday and quickly put it down.
May 14, 2010 at 10:59 am
Anonymous
Looking at the shape of that ‘gauze’ their playing with, I though it was an advert for preventatives at first.
May 14, 2010 at 11:23 am
Betsy
Oh my gosh I almost fell out of my chair laughing at your comments – dumb pants! You are 100% on the mark. I’m a parent of two girls – let’s see, how many ways can I say NO, NADA, NOT HAPPENING!
May 14, 2010 at 11:51 am
Beangirl
Sure, I stubbonrly insist on sewing for my children, but I do try to sew them, you know, actual clothing. Not bandana that I then try to trick them into thinking are bikini tops.
Although, they are six. They might fall for that. Hmmm…. I may have just cut my sewing time in half.
May 14, 2010 at 11:55 am
HollyS
That is so funny! A friend of mine just told me that she bought a pair of wrap pants in silk that she loves, but hates the print. I am going to be teaching her how to sew and since I have never seen “wrap pants”, I asked her to bring them next time she is in town and we can recreate them in another fabric.
I actually LIKE these. Not for kids (especially little boys), but for myself. Can you tell me where to get this pattern (maybe a download) that I can grade for myself? I tried the site, but translating every bit of german is getting to be a bit of a pain. Thanks!
May 14, 2010 at 1:11 pm
selfishseamstress
Well, hmmm. A lot of folks here seem to be commenting that the pants are Thai fisherman pants, but I have never seen Thai fisherman pants in which the pant leg itself wraps like that (i.e. the pant leg itself doesn’t form a closed tube). The Thai fisherman pants I’ve seen get a sort of pleat as a result of lots of ease in the waist and hip being wrapped taut around the body. There *are* plenty of free patterns for Thai fisherman pants (just google on “Thai fisherman pants pattern), but they’re not like the ones on the kids.
Perhaps something more like this?
http://community.livejournal.com/craftgrrl/10571744.html
or this?
http://laupre.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/easy-breezy-wrap-pants-tutorial/
May 14, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Steph
As Aura mentioned, I think the girl’s “top” is a Euro thing. I went to a German beach (20 years ago.. I was a bashful 17) and about half of the people of ALL ages were totally nakkey. And even those that wore suits changed from their street clothes into their suits right there on the beach. Modesty wasn’t really an issue at the seaside.
May 14, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Nikole
The only place i’ve ever seen those pants was a craft/souvenir store for tourists on my island and they were a beach cover up for adults. But hey, I guess with the steamy adult issue they have coming out they had to do something to grab the attention of adults to the kids issue or maybe this was just to even it out…*in a commentators voice* Burda-the skin issues; adults vs kids… who do you think wore it better?
May 14, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Laura
I am completely unimpressed with Burda’s idea of kids’ clothing. Since ATM, I am making pretty much only toddler and baby clothes, I think I can say that these stink. And yes, I do have a swimsuit pattern for toddlers, and even the two-piece one is a tankini, because babies should look like babies and not hookers. And I will continue to modernize vintage dress patterns for my nieces, simply because little girls dresses haven’t changed much in forever, and a dress made from a 1951 pattern can look modern if you lengthen it and get a modern print….
There are always detractors, though. I was at the grocery store with my toddler today, and a lady complimented the outfit she was wearing, which I made in a couple of hours. When I said thank you and told her that I made it, the response was, “Oh it’s homemade,” with an ugly sneer. Made me want to smack her. At least my kid (I have permission from her parents to claim her ;) ) wasn’t dressed in mass produced crap!
And you might care one day, Selfish. Congrats, BTW. Some time in the near future, you might want to sew your child some clothes because you can use up leftover fabric, get lots of compliments for your skill, and make yourself look like the best Mommy in the universe!
May 16, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Miss Celie
I miss the old ‘Easy’ and ‘Dress’ or ‘Pants’ and ‘Tops’ compilations. That’s actually how I first really started getting in to Burda.
July 20, 2010 at 6:15 am
Dina
To HollyS
Thay fisherman pants can be found here, a $2,5 download pattern from burda
http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns/thai-fishermen-s-pants