Oh Peony you look so sweet and innocent!

The Colette Peony, what can I say, it looks so sweet, it sounds so innocent....then on further examination of those dreaded bust darts, it hits you, this dress has an evil streak.  Evil bust darts that mock you in their complexity, and you know that if you lived in 1950 those darts would have been standard on everything and you would have instinctively known where they should go on ye old bust...but being that it is 2014 you have no idea where they should sit.  You make not two, but five muslins of the top before you realize you should go down a size (I know sometimes the old brain just gets there slower than it used to).  Then when you're proud you've fixed the front, you turn around and realize that this dress has not one evil streak, but two.  All this to say that if you make a dress that is tailored and fitted, naturally it's going to take some time to get that fit right.  I think I came about as close as I can to getting it right (thank you to my husband for doing his best at pinning the back alterations).  My critical eye still sees small tweaks that need to be done but at this point I'm calling it good.

I'm a little unsure of my fabric choice.  My wearable muslin was in linen and I think I may like the feel of that dress more than this one made of cotton lawn.  The lawn, as opposed to the linen, makes the bust darts crisper sooooo, "pointier" than the linen which behaves more like a lady.  The lawn is from Hancock fabrics and is really nice to the touch.  It puts me in the mind of a Liberty of London print and has that rich shade of royal blue that I love.  But I think the pattern may be way too busy...opinions out there?    

I am glad I took this dress on, I'm really fond of it and it taught me a lot about bust darts and back alterations.  If you do decide to make this dress I think there are some really helpful tutorials out there that are worth reading.  This one talks about positioning the bust darts in relationship to one another in the correct way.  While this one speaks to the shape of the darts and how to streamline them for a better fit.  Some of the other alterations I made were to the back width, neckline darts and to the back length (next time will pinch out even more in this area).  All those alterations also led to tweaking the skirt a bit to be in line with the altered back and front.  If you decide to make this dress just know that a fitted dress is bound to require more, well, fitting and might result in some frustrations because it's not likely to be a quick make until you get those fittings right.  The overall construction of the dress is easy its just the fitting that is time consuming.

  If you read all of this post, thanks, because I'm feelin' kinda wordy.  I'm blabbing on because I figure if you're like me, I like to hear other sewist's opinions so that I'm better aware of what I'm getting into when I start a project.  So when making the sweet little Peony you can know that she is indeed sweet, but she's got a little devil in her too!

Ode to the Macaron Dress

A few weeks ago I decided that Colette Patterns Macaron Dress was the One True Dress for me.  I dreamed about it. I gushed about it to my friends and family-- it was stylish, classy, and I was sure it would be a perfect fit.  It would flatter me (and who doesn't like a little flattery?).   I had to have it.

And so I bought the pattern, and made the dress....and it was true love.  Or something like that. 

Really, though, I do like this pattern.  A lot.  Although I had previously spent too much time admiring Colette's patterns online, this was the first one I had ever purchased.  Their patterns have such a tailored, stylish look that I think they always came across as a little intimidating.  And while this was was certainly time-consuming, it wasn't all that difficult.  I even installed my first invisible zipper (without an invisible-zipper foot), to much success.  So let me introduce you:

 Flattering, a good fit, and the best part....

It has pockets!

I would rate this as an intermediate pattern.  Not too difficult, but due to lots of darts, pleats, and pieces it does take some time to put together.  It could probably use a little bit of alteration for me to achieve a perfect fit, but I can live with this for now.  Both the main and the contrasting fabrics are linen from Joann's, and it creates a nice drape and comfortable feel.



Now if it would just get warm enough to actually wear it outside!