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. 

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!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody! This is our last day and a half before The Complete Colette sewing challenge officially begins. Now is the time to get any last minute supplies, give our sewing machines a clean and oil, and sketch out any final plans.

Hope everyone has a spooky and safe Halloween, and I'll see you back here on Thursday for Violet!

Getting Started

There are a few things I need to do before I can begin sewing my garments. I need to make my personalized croquis using the tutorial in the sewing handbook, I'd like to fill in any gaps in my tools, and create some inspiration boards to get me thinking about the kind of looks I want to create.

The first thing I've done is make my croquis. I took a photo of myself, traced my silhouette and lightened the lines on Photoshop. It turned out great! The photo I used was a pretty stiff, straight on shot, I think I might make another one using a slight pose or something to add life to the sketch. My fashion drawing skills are a little bit rusty so I think this sewing project and personalized croquis are going to help sharpen my skills. Here's what my first ever personalized croquis looks like, yes that is the Pastille dress from the front of the handbook.

Next I went through all my sewing tools to see if there was anything I am missing. I am pretty well stocked except for a few (very basic) things I am ashamed to not own already.eek. My pressing tools consist only of an iron and ironing board, so wanted to bulk that up a bit with some tailors hams and sleeve roll. Thankfully I found a great tutorial over on Chance Of Rain, the wonderful, Australian sewing blog. Her tutorial even included free downloadable patterns to print out at home. Anyone wishing to make their own can visit the tutorials here. Last night I ended up making the sleeve roll, small ham and kidney ham. I'm excited to use them.

I also made myself another set of pressing tools from a tutorial over at one of everyone's favorite sewing blogs Tilly and the Buttons. This ham and sausage are a little meatier, pun intended, they have darts to round them off a bit and I altered the free downloadable pattern a bit to make them bigger. If you'd like to check out this tutorial as well, head over to Tilly and the Buttons.

I made a shopping list for some of the other tools I'll be needing to get as well.

• Invisible zipper foot (I only have a regular zipper foot)
• Bias tape maker ( Not necessary, I just really want one) 
• Chalk wheel or chalk pen (I use marking pencils and they never seem to work)
• Small snippers

I am heading to the fabric stores on Wednesday to gather up supplies, I'll do a haul post we I return to show you what I got.

I think as far as tools go, with my new pressing tools and my small shopping list, I think I'm well stocked to start my project.

Lastly, it's all about gathering inspiration and thinking about how I am going to turn these Colette patterns into something that is totally me. I had a hard time trying to articulate exactly what it is that I love to wear, so I spend the morning trawling the internet for things I like hoping I would find a pattern.

I put together a couple of inspiration boards from the things that I found, and upon looking at them I realized that it's pretty easy to explain. I like dresses with full skirts that highlight the waist, and printed cardigans. It took me all morning to find this out.  

Another thing that I notice upon looking at this board of dresses is that while the silhouettes are relatively the same, all the necklines are different. I also obviously like solid colored dresses or dresses with micro-patterns.

I really love cardigans, I swear by them. They are the perfect addition to any cute outfit. I am not an accessory person. I don't wear jewelry or own lots of shoes or purses, but cardigans are my way of adding color or pattern to myself. I could mix and match those nine cardigans with those dresses forever.

So now that I have to tools and the inspiration, I can go ahead and start making a plan of attack, which is the next thing on my To Do List. In the next couple of days, I hope to have a weekly break down of the Colette projects. I will use this break down as a guide and motivator for myself, as well as a tool for you to follow along with or plan your projects as well so check back soon!

Full Steam Ahead!!

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!