Finished Anise

It is the end of November and I have finished my first six Colette sewing patterns, finishing with the tailored jacket Anise. So without further ado, here it  is, my Anise complete with bound buttonholes, welt pockets, sleeveheads and shoulder pads!

 I must admit, I was incredibly intimidated by this one at first, I was worried I wouldn't get the fit right or some of the details would be difficult to construct, I was very nervous. There also was a lot of prep work involved, A LOT of pattern cutting, but once I got down to the sewing - it was a breeze! This pattern is amazing and I love the professional results. Details like the bound buttonholes, which seemed difficult, were surprisingly straightforward, they just require a few extra steps. The part I found to be the trickiest was attaching the armhole lining to the jacket lining, took many pins and a bit of cursing but I got there and with a little practice I'll be a pro. I definitely give this pattern an A+!

So that does it for November, only five more months to go. I am going to be away for a couple days celebrating the holidays with my family early this year, but I will be back on the fourth ready to fill you in on all my plans for December's sewing projects. Have a great weekend everyone!

Anise Progress

Man was I on fire yesterday. I managed to get everything done on my checklist AND:

• Make the collar
• Attach the facing to the jacket
• Make the welt pockets
• Make and set in one sleeve

 This makes my life today much easier, for all I have left to do is:

• Make and set in the other sleeve
• Put in the shoulder pads
• Hem the Jacket
• Attach the lining
• Attach the buttons

I'm hoping I have a little of that fire left today so I may just be able to finish it up and have photos posted earlier than expected. 

Week Three - Finished Licorice

So it ended up taking four cups of black mint tea to get through my Licorice dress. The fabric I chose was a viscose, which is really soft and nice to work with, it has horizontal textured stripes that took some time to match up but all and all it was pretty smooth.

I didn't end up using any elastic for the sleeves, I thought they looked nice without it, I ended up using bias tape to finish the sleeves and I love the way it works.

I do like the way the dress turned out however next time I make this dress, I'm going to use a more youthful fabric, with the long sleeves and collar, it's easy for it to come across as matronly. I'm going to be at the One Of A Kind show next Thursday and I think it's the perfect occasion to bust out the new dress.

So I have completed five out of my six projects for the month of November, I have one left, the big kahuna - Anise. I haven't even picked a fabric, traced the pattern or created a plan for it yet, so I'd better leave it there and get to work!

Week One - Finished Violet

I am not accustomed to making muslins, I only ever thought they were used for things like coats and wedding dresses, and not for everyday garments like skirts and Violet blouses. I think you know where I am going with this. I made my black silk blouse with lace collar and side pleats only to discover after finishing it that my shoulders are too narrow. Unfortunately for me that was all the silk I had so my new Violet blouse will be graciously donated to a friend of mine with slightly broader shoulders. I still really like it though and think it will look great on her.

However, I wasn't going to let this put a damper on my first project, after all this is a learning process and I've learned my lesson - make muslins.

As I see it, this was really a great excuse to make myself another one in this great maroon, mini polka dot cotton I had lying around. I made a muslin and found my shoulders to be 1.5cm narrower. So, using the slash and pivot technique, I re-traced my pattern and using this helpful video, I narrowed the shoulders of the front and back shirt pieces by 1.5 cm.

The finished Violet is a thousand times better! I love it! I decided with the remake that I would keep it simple with the plain collar and no tucks and now that I have the pattern altered to fit my shape, I can start experimenting with different variations.

The best part of Violet is that is only takes a few hours to make so whenever you have an evening free, it's easy to whip one up for the next morning. All and all, it is a pretty great pattern with lots of room to experiment. I'm already thinking of the fabrics and details to make for my nest one!