As you may know my sewing buddy Pearl and I have been working for quite some time on our Crepe dresses. And they are finally finished. Not perfect but finished.
I really like the concept of this pattern and I love supporting Colette Patterns. But I have to say I am a little bit disappointed in the pattern and the dress. I am super jealous of Patty over at the Snug Bug because she made this dress and it fit perfect with no changes. I won't bore you with a re-telling of all our struggles, you can go back and check out the previous sewing buddies posts.
The sleeves are a really weird shape to sew. Pearl used the facings and had a really hard time getting them to stay in and not flop out all wonky. We ended up tacking them down to the inside of the dress. I lined my dress which I think solved this particular issue.
I had trouble with the back, I did not put interfacing in mine because I did not want to add stiffness to my soft silky dress. Sadly the down side to this is that the back flops open a little or has to be pulled super tight.
I also had trouble with the belt really holding the dress shut. I think it is because my belt is also silk and is a little slippy. I added a button to the inside of the dress to hold it shut. I know the whole point of this dress is no closures and such but it just needed to be done.
The top of my dress is a wee bit baggy I made a few alterations and made the back of the bodice shorter so I think the end result is blousey rather than baggy.
When I first tried on the dress it looked really frumpy. Fortunately Pearl was there and helped me realize that it was way too long. Once we figured that out I chopped about four inches off and magically the frump melted away.
I am still in love with this fabric. It is silk charmeuese the color is amazing and I think looks really nice on me. This is my first effort with silk which may have added to my difficulties with this dress. For the hem I serged the bottom and then rolled the hem by hand.
Because of the alterations I ended up making to the top the skirt hangs a little wonky, which made the hem a little wonky as well. But I have decided that no one will notice unless I point it out, right?
Also this picture was taken before I finished hemming the whole thing so it really does look better than this now. But I really need to figure out if there is a way to get the belt not to roll up and get all skinny like it did here.
All in all it is a great dress in concept but I am not sure it is the right dress for me? If I make it again I think that I will make it in cotton and edge the entire thing in bias tape to avoid the facings or a lining. Also I think I would cut the dress at least one size smaller (I cut and 18). I think that it looks nice enough on me to wear to a wedding in NYC in June. The ceremony is in a cathedral and the reception is the the Central Park boat house. I am assuming this is an appropriate dress, any thoughts?
There is less of a chance that Pearl will ever try and make this dress again. However I think hers turned out nicely. Again the top is loose on her too, but I think it is loose on her in a flattering way and she is not really a tight clothes sort of gal.
The red looks really pretty on her and the floral belt softens it just enough. All it needs is a good pressing and no one will ever know that she had so much trouble with this dress.
The back of her dress fits nicely and the belt is working better for her as well. She is leaving for graduate school in August and I hope this dress is something she can wear when she has somewhere fun to go.
It was for sure a fun and interesting project. We both got to learn a lot about the construction of a dress and each other. If she did make it again I think she can go down a size to a 2, I advised her to cut a 4. I am pretty sure that if she cut a 2 and used cotton it would be a lot easier and fit better.
Monday we are meeting again to start our next project. We are making super easy peasant blouses. I love them and they take no time at all to get a really fun and flattering shirt. But first we must shop for fabric!
Hope you are having a great weekend! See you soon,
Peace Out!
C
The sleeves are a really weird shape to sew. Pearl used the facings and had a really hard time getting them to stay in and not flop out all wonky. We ended up tacking them down to the inside of the dress. I lined my dress which I think solved this particular issue.
I had trouble with the back, I did not put interfacing in mine because I did not want to add stiffness to my soft silky dress. Sadly the down side to this is that the back flops open a little or has to be pulled super tight.
I also had trouble with the belt really holding the dress shut. I think it is because my belt is also silk and is a little slippy. I added a button to the inside of the dress to hold it shut. I know the whole point of this dress is no closures and such but it just needed to be done.
When I first tried on the dress it looked really frumpy. Fortunately Pearl was there and helped me realize that it was way too long. Once we figured that out I chopped about four inches off and magically the frump melted away.
I am still in love with this fabric. It is silk charmeuese the color is amazing and I think looks really nice on me. This is my first effort with silk which may have added to my difficulties with this dress. For the hem I serged the bottom and then rolled the hem by hand.
Also this picture was taken before I finished hemming the whole thing so it really does look better than this now. But I really need to figure out if there is a way to get the belt not to roll up and get all skinny like it did here.
All in all it is a great dress in concept but I am not sure it is the right dress for me? If I make it again I think that I will make it in cotton and edge the entire thing in bias tape to avoid the facings or a lining. Also I think I would cut the dress at least one size smaller (I cut and 18). I think that it looks nice enough on me to wear to a wedding in NYC in June. The ceremony is in a cathedral and the reception is the the Central Park boat house. I am assuming this is an appropriate dress, any thoughts?
The red looks really pretty on her and the floral belt softens it just enough. All it needs is a good pressing and no one will ever know that she had so much trouble with this dress.
The back of her dress fits nicely and the belt is working better for her as well. She is leaving for graduate school in August and I hope this dress is something she can wear when she has somewhere fun to go.
Monday we are meeting again to start our next project. We are making super easy peasant blouses. I love them and they take no time at all to get a really fun and flattering shirt. But first we must shop for fabric!
Hope you are having a great weekend! See you soon,
Peace Out!
C
Really nice dresses. How wonderful that you have a sewing buddy! I wish I knew someone near me that enjoyed fashion sewing as much as I do!
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