My first Cheongsam

First of all, let me explain few things and give you few facts about myself.
I'm not Chinese, but I used to study in Chinese school, from kindergarten right until high school.
I still can speak mandarin - more of a mix of Sabahan dusun mandarin. Sampur-sampur lah.
I spoke in mandarin with my husband, when we first dated (since his Sabahan sounds weird and funny for me, but he's getting better now. 🤗) btw he's Sarawakian.
My husband speaks better Mandarin than me.
Okay, let's continue with this post.


Initially my plan was to use the Burda 6830 pattern, but I end up not using it, because the button placement is wrong and I prefer the slits on the side skirt.

I only bought the pattern for the step-by-step instructions anyway 😁, it was easier to follow the instructions than trying to figure it out by myself. Without it, I wouldn't know that I have to start with the zipper before attaching the collar. 😉



The pattern was easy to draft - princess seam dress; but the mandarin collar was a little tricky to sew. I made the mandarin collar a little shorter, since I have shorter neck.

Usually they have piping on the collar down to the right side (where the button was sewn), but I decided to skip the piping part (I failed at it and I think I still need to practice more).



Lighter shade of pink Chinese knot button, hand-sewn on the upper right. I bought the button without knowing what shade of red fabric I had (I forgot the colour 😂), but thankfully they matched perfectly.



I looked up at Pinterest and found a lot of beautiful designs, but this time I went for a classic silhouette - short fitted dress with slits on both sides. Next time, I think I'm going to make a modern circle dress style cheongsam.





It's my first BIG 2018 me-made projects and I think I did a great job with it. What do you think?

Sewing Summary :

Pattern: Drafted the pattern on my own and use the step-by-step instructions from Burda 6830.
Fabric: From my fabric stash, floral cotton.
Notions: Thread, Chinese knot button and interfacing.
Alterations: Nothing.
Difficulty: It's easy since I use the step-by-step instructions from Burda 6830, but the collar part is a bit tricky.
Make another one: Yes, in a modern style dress - with circle skirt.
Notes: Pay attention on the collar part.