Thursday, April 12, 2012

Colette Pastille

Dress completed, but it's one of those 'not 100% happy' projects :(
The fabric, a black silky cotton fabric with little olive, white and pink dots, is from Cottonholic on Etsy. While the fabric is lovely, it feels more like a rayon which I don't think suits this dress.  The pattern calls for a crisp fabric and this wasn't one. The weave also means the dots aren't straight and that kinda bugs me. I wish I'd have made a blouse with it! Blah - fabric regrets!
While I really like the sweet heart neckline and little cap sleeves, the fit of the dress is a little off. You can see in these photos that there is a little too much ease in the bodice. It shouldn't be too hard to fix as the zipper is in the back, but I'm not sure I love it enough to try.
I made a straight size two, but maybe I should have made an 0 - this sizing thing is a constant struggle, just like clothes shopping. The only changes that I made to the pattern was a SBA and I re shaped the sleeves a little, tapering the shoulder seam down to accommodate my small shoulders. I also didn't mark all of the tucks along the bottom of the skirt, but rather fudged them up at the end. They look fine though. The dress is a little longer than pictured. I think the angle of my camera makes it look shorter.
Anyway, it's a little too cool to wear this dress now. Maybe I'll pull it out again later and see how I feel wearing it with a belt and tights.

Pattern: Colette Pastille from the Colette Sewing Handbook. Used before. = free
Fabric: 1.5m Wide Silky Cotton from Cottonholic inc part shipping = $21.00
Zipper: $3
Thread: from stash
Total: $24.00
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7 comments:

  1. i have that book and i like the dress, but i've read that many people have had big fitting issues with it. maybe one of these days i'll give it a try.

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  2. I know well that "meh" feeling---although the dress looks really cute. I think a belt might help, though---give it a try. For what it's worth, it looks quite cute in the photos. :)

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  3. It looks alright but if you're concerned about the way it drapes on your figure try wearing it with an A-line slip inside, those can make a big difference even with lined dresses...

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  4. I think it's a lovely dress Chris - you are too harsh on yourself my friend :-) CNDI xx

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  5. Hi, there's a sew-along in progress for the Colette Handbook and the reason I mention it, is that there were lots of tips to get the bodice fitting just right. It was really tricky for me, I spent countless hours on 3 muslins. Here is the link to Flickr if you are interested:
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/sewcolettesewalong/

    I think you're right in that the fabric choice is key to getting a good result. I used linen and it worked beautifully....

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  6. It looks fine in these photos, but I do know what you mean about when you feel "meh" - and it is how you feel wearing something that counts. I haven't made any of the dresses from the Colette Handbook yet - I'm not sure how they will work on my shape (same thing with the new patterns - very pretty but probably not me). I suspect that once you let this dress "age" a little bit you'll pull it out again and love it!

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  7. I'm not a huge fan of the colette dresses, but her other patterns look cute. This looks a little on the big side for you. I hope you don't mind me saying that. I think that may be why you are meh about it. I believe she designs for a c cup if I'm correct. It might be the wrong block for you.

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