Ceylon Sew-Along Day 1 Complete

Hey everyone, so I hope your darts and gathers are coming along nicely. I have finished mine and have a few photos to show you but I must warn you: they are terrible! I couldn't beat the clock and get everything finished before sun down but I really wanted to show as much progress as possible for this project, so I was forced to take pictures using god-awful ceiling light. I hope you can forgive me!

They are nearly invisible, but here are the sewn darts at the Back Yoke D and Midriff Back F.

Here are the gathers at the Bodice Back B.

Here we have the gathers on both Bodice Front A pieces.

Here is one Skirt Front G piece with gathers complete.

So we have finished the first part of the Ceylon Sew-Along. Our next tasks are going to be:

• Attaching the Midriff Front E to the Bodice Front A
• Attaching the Midriff Back F to the Bodice Back B
• Stitch Back Skirt H together at center seam
• Join Skirt Front
• Join Skirt Back

I know this list is a little heftier than day one but I know we can do it! So good luck and happy sewing and I will see you back here soon with updates on day two!

Ceylon Sew-Along

So because time is slipping away this month, I thought this would be a great excuse to do a Sew-Along, spacing out the components of the Ceylon over the course of a couple weeks. I have cut my pieces but have done nothing else, so I'd like to start the sew-along by getting all those interested in joining in to gather their supplies, trace their pattern, make their muslin and cut their fabric! We will start sewing the finished dress on Monday. This gives you about four days to complete the above To Do list. I'm excited to share with you more pictures of my progress and hope it will be helpful to you when constructing your Ceylon as well.

Although I fear I may only complete two projects this month (EEK), I'm confident I will make up for lost time in the remaining months and that this little Sew-Along is fun way to make up for it!

So go gather and I will see you back here Monday for the first ever Complete Colette Sew-Along! See you soon!

Guess What I Got

Today I got the rest of the Colette Patterns collection that I had ordered. Now I have the Complete Colette!

Yippee!

Week Two - Finished Meringue

I have completed my second project today by finishing up my Meringue. This was a breeze to make, I really enjoyed it and I think the finished skirt looks great. I think I got the scallops near perfect and the fit is great!

I made it from a really silky grey linen so there are some wrinkles in it that just won't come out, but I think it adds to it. I decided to add a small bow at the waist to give the skirt one more point of interest. All I did to create this was sew a tube about 12 inches long by 1.5 inches wide, turned it right side out and pressed the seam to the center. Then I tied a knot at both ends and attached it to the skirt with a straight stitch down the center of the tie. Tie it into a bow and I'm done!

This was the first time I had sewn a catchstitch by hand to complete a hem. I love it! I know it is a very simple thing to do but I love the results and found it to be nearly invisible and very relaxing.

Nobody was around to take a photo of me in my new skirt today, so this picture will have to do for now until later in the week, but you get the idea. This is my new favorite pattern and my new favorite skirt!

I also wanted to let you know that I have decided to sew Pastille this month instead of Taffy. I was at the thrift store this weekend and came across this beautiful, silky green cotton that would be just perfect and I really want to use it for the holidays. So my plan for next week has changed from Taffy and Licorice to Pastille and Licorice, I will do Taffy at a later date.

That's it for now, on to Truffle! See you soon!

A Colette Patterns Sewing Challenge

My name is Dominique and I love to sew. I am self taught, which is to say I was taught by the talented and generous people on the internet and in books. Until recently I had a small business sewing men's bow ties and accessories under the name O'Darlin. I also had a blog of the same name where I would showcase my products and write about them. I made a decision to leave the handmade business world in pursuit of a professional career in visual merchandising, and spend my free time at home sewing beautiful clothes for myself to wear. I am immensely happy I made that choice, for I find I only enjoy sewing when it is just for fun and just for me.

However, now that I am no longer in business, I have nothing really to blog about over at O'Darlin. Everyone who visits the site sees it attached to bow ties and my business. I have tried to turn it into a blog about my personal sewing projects, but it doesn't quite fit. So I have decided to take a page out of the books of Julie Powell and Gretchen "Gertie" Hirsch and give myself a challenge to blog about.

Recently I bought The Colette Sewing Handbook online and I love it. Initially I bought it for the free patterns, but after opening it and reading the intro I was so inspired that I can't believe I didn't buy it the second it came out. Sarai Mitnick obviously loves sewing very much and it really comes through in the pages. She has made me fall back inlove with a hobby that I had begun to resent, and has breathed new life back into my passion. I have been an adorer of Colette Patterns for a while now but have never actually bought one. After buying the book, I bought my first one, the Violet blouse. I haven't used it yet, nor have I used any of the patterns from the book. Which brings me to challenge.

I am going to undertake the task of sewing my way through the complete collection of Colette Patterns, every single one, and blog about it. I will take you into my sewing space and share with you every project, my trials and tribulations, and of course the finished garments using the handbook's five fundamentals as a guide. And of course throughout all of this sewing madness, I urge you to pick up some Colette patterns for yourself and sew along with me. I am on a quest to freshen my closet and sharpen my skills one pattern at a time.

So, there are twenty five patterns at the Colette Patterns Shop and five in the book, which gives me a total of 30 projects to complete. I am really excited for the Violet blouse and the Ceylon dress, and I'm a little intimidated to work up to the Juniper pants and the Lady Grey coat. I have also decided to make this challenge one with a time restraint to force me to see it through. Initially I was thinking twelve months, which works out to about 2 -3 projects a month, but that's too easy. Also winter is sewing season, what else is there to do but stay inside and sew up a storm. So I've decided to give myself six months instead, now that's a challenge. October is almost over so I'm going begin my challenge in November, starting with the Violet blouse as my first project. I now have about two weeks to get ready - prep my sewing space, make my personalized croquis and start gathering inspiration, but once November 1st hits - I'm off to the races.

So there it is - 30 patterns, 6 months and 1 handsome new wardrobe. I honestly cannot wait!