Colette

All because the lady loves….

~ Rhiannon ~ 3 Comments

Cadbury Moneta

I’ll be upfront. I’m not about to hand over a box of Milk Tray to every reader. However, don’t you agree that my new dress is very Cadbury purple? Particularly as, for reasons beyond my ken, the camera appears to have over exposed in the background.

I digress…

What is it?

A lovely swingy swooshy jersey dress

Is it blue?

No, Cadbury purple (which I guess could be argued at blue if you get that far round the spectrum?)

What’s the fabric?

Purple jersey that I picked up during SewBrum

What’s the pattern?

Moneta by Colette, using the 3/4 sleeves option

Where’s the fabric from?

The infamous Rag Market in Birmingham

What was good about making this?

How quickly it came together! I sat down at 3pm on Saturday and by 5:30pm I had a dress that was ready to wear out to dinner with friends (if we ignore the fact that I was lazy and didn’t hem the skirt until the Sunday….).

What was bad about making this?

Although I’ve made the Moneta before, this is the first time I’ve done it on my own machine and also the first time I’ve sewn jersey on my machine. It was fine for the most, but there were a couple of ‘oh yes, that’s how you do it’ with the shirred waistband as well as a ‘why won’t you work?!’ when using the twin needles on the hem (along with a note to self to read the instruction manual before doing twin needle sewing again….)

Would you make it again?

Yup, I’ve already got the fabric to make it up for my dress for New Year’s Eve. I think that next time I’ll add the collar back in as I’ve realised I really like the collar, although I might use one of the add-on hacks you get when buying the pattern (let’s not kid ourselves, it’s going to be the Peter Pan collar because I’m a sucker for a PPC).

So yes, all in all a delightful quick project, which was especially welcome as it feels like a long time since I’ve actually made anything! Now I just need to tackle a slightly longer-than-I-have-time-for list of things to complete before Christmas…. Wish me luck!

x

 

First jersey dress

~ Rhiannon ~ 1 Comment

whoopsWhat is it?

A sleeveless jersey knit dress with narrow round collar

Is it blue?

No. Well it depends on whether you consider teal to be blue or green. I just think it’s teal

What’s the fabric?

Jersey knit. Possibly viscose?

What’s the pattern?

The Moneta dress by Colette Patterns.

Where’s the fabric from?

Guthrie & Ghani in Birmingham

What was good about making this?

I made this dress as part of a class at Guthrie & Ghani that focused on learning to use an overlocker. I decided to go on it as 1) I’d never really understood what an overlocker was useful for and 2) I’d never sewn with jersey before and figured this would give me some hints. The dress came together really quickly, the instructions were lovely and clear and the dress fits fantastically. It also helped having a wonderful tutor who’s approach was much more relaxed than I’ve been in the past and made me realise that you can bodge more  than you’d think when you’re sewing.

What was bad about making this?

It made me want to buy an overlocker!

Would you make it again?

Absolutely, although I might begrude having to do it on my sewing machine with a jersey needle rather than a whizzy overlocker (can you tell I was sold on the benefits of them?!)

Floral dress

~ Rhiannon ~ Leave a comment

Floral dres

What is it?

A bateau neck sheath dress I made use a floral fabric to wear to a friend’s wedding

Is it blue?

No!

What’s the fabric?

EMMIE ROS cotton, a medium weight interior fabric

What’s the pattern?

Colette Pattern’s Peony dress

Where’s the fabric from?

IKEA! (I think the name probably gave it away)

What was good about making this?

It came together pretty quickly, I was impressed with how clear the Colette instructions were, I liked the boat neckline

What was bad about making this?

I’ve since learnt that Colette model their bodice on a c-cup. I am not a c-cup. This explains why I had the usual issue of the dress being way too big on the bust, even though I graded this pattern before starting. However, as I wore it with a belt, this hid quite a lot of sins! Also, setting sleeves was quite a big learning curve!

Would you make it again?

Yes, but I’d use a fabric with more drape and I’d also learn how to do a SBA