Linen Burda 6815 – Pattern Review

BurdaStyle 6815, or simply Burda 6815, is a slim-fit chino style pant with a Bermuda shorts option. I made these for my dad for Father’s Day since it was on his list.

Yes, I MADE PANTS! And not just ANY pants. BURDA PANTS! With a ZIPPER! And WELT POCKETS!

That’s like a total 3 levels up in sewing. I’m like Super Mario now and the Princess is in the VERY NEXT castle.

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BurdaStyle patterns are infamous for having notoriously bad brief instructions and being plain difficult to understand. They’re less hand-holdy than my personal nemesis Style Arc. Even though their paper patterns are distributed by Simplicity Creative Group in the US, they are not considered part of the “Big 4” commercial company. They’re a German company that has a magazine, online PDFs, and paper patterns. The magazine and PDFs are linked, but you cannot find the paper patterns on the US version of the site. No matter which version you get, however, the directions are woefully short.

Burda 6815

I was lucky enough to find the pattern at Joann’s for $6.99 way back when it was on El Hubo’s #menswearmakenine list. Funny how I never got to it back then…

Anyway.

Simplicity still has the paper version of Burda 6815 listed on their website for US $6.57 but it is currently unavailable. The German BurdaStyle site has it for 9,90 €, which is roughly $11. I’m not sure if they ship to the US, but check out this handy ad!

In case you can’t see it, that’s an Amazon ad for the Burda 6815 pattern for the current price of $12.95.

Size Chart

Sizing is fun on this particular pattern. The range is given on the front of the envelope: EUR 44-54 and US 34-44. On the tissue paper, you’re given a chart that explains how to choose sizes. For trousers, it’s “according to seat width.”

It turns out that my dad is a pretty straight size 40 in both shirts and pants, so that put him smack in the middle of the range. Yay.

Fabric

I used oatmeal-colored linen in my stash that I still have a good 10 yards of leftover. I knew he would want to take the pants to Puerto Rico. And as I made known in this post, breathable fabrics are what you want in the tropics in the summer!

Pattern Instructions & Tips

We’ve already covered the brevity of the instructions. What I found interesting is that the line drawings do not necessarily line up neatly with the instructions. Watch out for that.

Also, the instructions come in English, French, AND Spanish. Unlike the Big 4, all languages run parallel to each other so no extra paper is added at the end. Nice.

One thing that is different from other Burda patterns is that seam allowance IS included in the paper patterns. Not only that, but it’s a very generous 5/8″, which I found very surprising. European patterns tend to stick to 1 cm, or 3/8″ instead. Maybe it’s because this is a slim-fitting pants pattern and it allows for seams to be let out?

The zipper and welt pockets were best left to Google to understand. Professor Pincushion has a great tutorial for the welt pockets on YouTube. Mine weren’t perfect but done is better than good!

Also, I found that the pocket bags were a little short. I’ve been asked to extend them about 2″ both in the front AND back. Keep that in mind, especially if you have a larger phone or wallet you like to keep in either pocket.

As for the zipper, I used my favorite method which is to rely on the True Bias Lander zip fly expansion pack instructions. That requires adding an extension, which I probably didn’t need to do since it offsets the waistband some, but oh well. I really didn’t understand the part about the underlap, so I just did it the way I had in the past. That was easier.

Oh, about the waistband. I didn’t bother trying to do that pointy end thing. When I tried it on one of the muslins, it just looked like crap so I opted for a straight edge and that went on much easier.

Pattern Notions

These are clearly stated on the back of the pattern envelope:

• interfacing (36×12″ or 90×30 cm)
• 6″ (14 cm) zipper
• a button

I used a 5/8″ (1.5 cm) jeans button.

Pattern Adjustments

My dad is 5’9″ but unlike his short-waisted daughter, he has a long torso. This means his legs are relatively shorter. Burda 6815 has 2 lengthen/shorten lines to accommodate changes like this. I took out a total of 2.75″ divided evenly between the two lines.

I probably could have done more adjustments for a slightly better fit. The wonderfully generous gentlemen in the Sew “Manly” group gave me much advice about fork points and whatnot. But in the end, my dad was happy with his fit.

That’s all that matters.

Pattern Difficulty Rating: x/5

Burda 6815 is itself rated a 3 out of 4 stars on Burda’s own site, and a 2 out of 3 spools on the envelope. So it’s not a pattern for a newbie. On a 5 point scale, I’d definitely give this a 4.5. That zipper insertion is weird. So is the pointy waistband.

Plus, it’s pants. Pants are advanced patterns, period. Throw in zippers and welt pockets, and you’re in another level deep.

Final Thoughts

I like the slimmer profile of this pattern. Now that I’ve made it once, and a little time has passed, I think I can safely return to it and try to make it again for my husband. He really needs a pair of slim-fit pants that actually fit his booty, which his RTW pants and jeans do not.

I would definitely not recommend Burda 6815 as a first pants pattern for anyone except the most adventurous of sewists. I’d made shorts and had a few zipper insertions under my belt before proceeding with it—which is why I waited 18 months after buying it to finally dive in!

My dad loves these pants. He has repeatedly told me so! And he wouldn’t wear them if he didn’t, this much I know. He really loves pairing them with the lavender linen McCall’s shirt I made him last year.

Linen on linen, perfect for summer!