Saturday, June 30, 2012

Colette Macaron

"I feel pretty Oh so pretty I feel pretty and witty and gay And I pity Any girl who isn't me today I feel charming Oh so charming It's alarming how charming I feel" Westside Story.

Isn't it great, that my 16 yo will probably never read my sewing blog! I made this dress for her for a vocal contest, which she sadly did not win. But she bounces back really quick because she just wants to be a stage diva instead of an opera singer.

Back to business:  This is the Colette Macaron pattern.  Colette patterns seem to be well drafted and thoughtful.  I really like how she angles some of the pattern corners so that when matching up they fit in the corner of the other piece so well.   This is a really easy pattern.  As any pattern for wovens, you will most likely be doing some fitting.  Also, Colette drafts for a C cup.  I made a muslin of just the top portions in a cotton and mostly took up the circumference of the ribcage and bust area.  I also shortened the distance from the shoulders to the bust. These are typical fitting issues for my daughter. 
I should have made a muslin with similar fabric to what the dress was going to made from.  The dress in the pic is cotton sateen and a sheer poly knit.  When I made this dress up, the knit portion was too long because I did not take into consideration the stretch going downward.  I just tightened the sides more and deepened the shoulder seem.  To relieve some of the bagginess in the back from the same issue, I just added some darts at the shoulder blade. 
She is not standing straight, so it is hard to judge the fit.  This is all the tweaking I could do with the vocal contest the next day. 
Lastly, I did not do the sleeves and I used fold over black elastic instead of binding for the neck and sleeve edges. Under her arms, I could have done a better job tightening the elastic. Oh well, she thinks that she wants many, many dresses with this pattern in various and sundry colors and fabrics. whew!
Carry on.....

14 comments:

  1. Oh, I like this with the sheer top. Nicely done!

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  2. What a wonderful LBD for your daughter's wardrobe!

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    1. Thanks Roz! I may have to trace myself one of these too.

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  3. Your beautiful daughter looks sensational in this very chic dress that you created!

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  4. Oh, it's beautiful! Lucky girl...and talented, too! BTW, LOVING the SA Curve! Not sure how I lived without it...simply brilliant!

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    1. Thanks! So glad you like the ruler!! I pet mine regularly (ha).

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  5. This is gorgeous, even though you had to whip it together quickly. I have this pattern, but can't decide on a fabric combination, plus I'm procrastinating on the downgrade-the-bust-size bit.

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    1. Thanks, she was really happy about the dress. Downgrading the bust: The next one I make my daughter, I am definitely working the kinks out of that area.

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  6. I love this dress! Very pretty, and very stylish. I'm glad to know that the Colette patterns are drafted for c cups. Very helpful post, thank you.

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    1. Thanks Ruth!I plan on doing some more fitting on this pattern since it was a little bit of a rush job for her singing.

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  7. I really want to add mesh to a dress I'm making at the top and I'm curious how you hemmed the arm holes and neckline.

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  8. I love your version of the Macaron -- very elegant. You have convinced me to buy the pattern and sew one up. I think that will be far easier than baking a batch of macarons :)

    Nice blog!

    Katrina

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