Holiday Report

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas spending time with family, eating great food and hopefully opening a few great gifts. I have been busy playing with all the new toys I got - I'm coming to you live from a new computer and I've also been reading non stop with a new Ereader. Santa was definitely good to me this year. There has been a lot of lounging and relaxing and not enough sewing so it's time to get back into the swing of things.

I want to do something different today. One of my favourite Christmas presents this year was a gift certificate to a fabric store. I've already been o use it and I wanted to show you guys what I got. The gift certificate was for $50 and as you can see that went a long way.

I couldn't help but get a couple quirky prints. I'm thinking the star satin blend for the Sencha Blouse and maybe the knit flowers in a Renfrew Top from Sewaholic.

I love the coral/orangey color of these fabrics. The first one, a polka dot chiffon I thought would be perfect for an intimate take on Cinnamon. The stripe cotton I thought would make a great Ginger.

Lastly, another polka dot. This is a very delicate and sheer cotton but I thought, with a lining, it will make the perfect Peony.

So now that we've had our holiday rest we have to snap back into our regular routines and for me, that's sewing. I hope you've all been enjoying the Ceylon Sew-Along and have made good progress with your dresses. There will be a new post with pictures and a new to-do list in the days to come.

Finally I wanted to ask a question to any reader who has made the Lady Grey coat. I had what I think was a brilliant idea the other day for my coat when I go to sew it, I want to use a vintage Hudson's Bay blanket I have as the fabric. My blanket has  couple of small holes in it but it is a King size and I think it would make a great Lady Grey.

My question is, is the fabric of the blanket too thick to use? I know the pattern calls for a more medium weight wool but I have my heart set on this idea now. If any of you have any advice please let me know!

That's all I have for this Boxin Day, see you soon everybody!

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!

December Projects

December is here and it's time for me to start working on my next round of sewing projects. I got a great response the first round and I want to say thank you to everyone who has been commenting and following along at whatever pace!

Since my Anise brought me right up to the very last day of November, and I was away this past weekend, I feel a bit behind on my planning, I really need to sit down and figure out what and when exactly I am going to do everything. However, I can give you a rough idea of what I am going to be doing.

Beignet, Negroni, Cinnamon and Ceylon. I'm only going to be doing four patterns this month because of Christmas and New Years, but I think they're all challenging enough to keep me busy. I'll keep you posted on my fabric choices etc when I get closer to a concrete plan.

I also have to mention Peony. I originally wanted to start with Peony this month but when I bought all my patterns, it was only available in digital form. One of my early Christmas presents was a gift certificate to Colette so I've decided to use to buy the only hard copy Colette pattern I don't have. Since I don't have it yet, I'll do Peony to next month. 

My plan for today is to develop my plan in further detail and maybe begin tracing my Ceylon pattern.Well that's all I have for you right now, see you soon!

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. 

Anise Jacket Day Two

I have cut all my pieces and applied all my interfacing. I have formed my under collar around the neck of my dress formed, steamed it and left it over night. I've got to have a big breakfast today, because I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I am going to follow along with the Anise Companion's schedule, adding a couple steps to each day to fit it all into these next four days. Here is my checklist for today:

• Attach the underlining pieces
• Create bound buttonholes
• Stitch the darts
• Sew the back pieces together
• Sew the front and back together at the shoulders
• Create the facing

Better get started!

Project Six - Anise

I've been leading up to Anise for a week now and there's only 5 days left in November to get it done. I ended up making two muslins, one in a smaller size than I normally sew (which turned out to be to small) and one in the usual size and no pattern adjustments, that one worked out ok so I'm sticking with that for the project.

Originally, I was going to be boring, or classic depending on how you look at it, and buy black wool for the jacket. I want something that will go with everything. Then I got out my winter hats and neither of them go with black, so then I thought navy.

 I went to the fabric store and all I could find was this $35 a yard navy cashmere that was beautiful but way out of my price range. Tut. Just as I was leaving, I saw this choppy hounds tooth wool in navy and white for only $12 a yard, I thought it was perfect. I hadn't left the store for more than two minutes when I realised "what was I thinking?", this is going to go with nothing, nothing except my hats. Oh well, it's a great fabric and I think it will look great in an Anise, I'll find stuff to wear with it.

I am a bit further back than I'd like to be at this point, but we all know what the weeks surrounding the holidays can be like. I have my pattern rearing to go and my plan of attack for today is to prep my fabric and cut my pieces. If I finish at a reasonable time, I may also sew the darts and shoulder seams on the outer shell.  An easy enough day. Tomorrow is the hard one, but more on that then.

Getting The Right Fit

I have had a lot of emails and comments from readers with great advice on getting my garments to fit better. I  have sewn five patterns so far and with each one I am getting closer and closer to finding the perfect fit, and the proper alterations to get there. None however, have been the exact right fit.

Where the garments seem to fit oddly is in the torso; the shoulders are too narrow, the armholes are too big and the darts sit to high which throws the bust off. I decided, with the help of some fellow sewists, to start with one size down, and work from there. Then I got thinking, the Meringue skirt fit perfectly no pattern at all  so I can't go down completely one size, I may have to grade from the smaller size at the bodice to the larger size at the skirt. This would make me pear shaped, especially considering another fit issue I haven't gotten to yet - my legs. I have always had bigger thighs than my pant size would allow. Things like skinny jeans are lost on me for it's either, thighs that fit and a waist that's too big, or vice versa. So I may have to grade even further to a larger size at the thighs when it comes to making patterns like Juniper and Clover, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

I found a couple hours here and there this weekend and traced up a new, smaller pattern for Violet - my first project. I started with my master pattern and traced one size down from my previous Violet. I still narrowed the shoulders and shortened the armhole by 1 cm, and the fit is a lot better but it's not perfect. It still feels big in some places and now the bust is too small.

I am about to start my most difficult project to date, the tailored jacket Anise, and a level of frustration has hit me for the first time in this challenge. I NEED to get the fit right before I can continue to spend time and money on these projects.

I have ten days to complete Anise which is plenty of time if I can figure this all out. I am spending this entire week just on making muslins and getting fit down before I even buy my fabric. Today my plan is to trace my pattern and cut my first muslin. I have decided to start out by trying the smaller size with no adjustments and see how that works. Wish me luck!

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 Three - Finished Pastille

I had the best day yesterday, I literally sat in front of my sewing machine or work table, puttering away all day. I also finished my Pastille and it turned out great!

There were some areas on this dress that I erred a bit, the waist seam and tie belt didn't exactly line up once the zipper was in, the facings had to be tacked down in more places because they kept popping out, and the fit of the sleeves still feels and eensy bit off, but I had fun and love the dress anyways. (It's not about being perfect! Says a recent blog post over on Coletterie.)

The only changes I made to the pattern, aside from fit adjustments, were adding an invisible zipper instead of a centered one and adding the cute bow detail as a belt tie around the waist instead of at the neckline.


*To do this, I cut 2 equal strips 25" by 1.5", folded right sides together and stitched a 1/4" seam lengthwise. I turned the ties right side out and pressed the seam to the center. I attached one of the ends of each to the waist seam BEFORE adding the zipper and continued on constructing the dress as instructed. When finishing my garment, I threaded a gold metal bead with a large hole on the other ends of both the ties and knotted the ends to keep the bead in place. Voila, bow tie!


All and all, I'm really happy with this dress, the fabric is really nice and soft, and the picture really doesn't do this dress justice. I think when I make this dress again however, I am going to fully line the bodice instead of using facings, this way it will feel a little more polished. I can't wait to wear this at Christmas!

I also wanted to show you a picture of the Meringue skirt on, which I never did but promised to. I don't know how I managed to get almost the exact same picture as Pastille, but here it is. This is definitely the favorite pattern so far over on the Flickr page.

So there's another project down, only 26 to go! Today I am working on my muslin for the Licorice dress , but I will post more about that tomorrow! Happy Tuesday everyone!

Week Three - Pastille

Good morning everyone, I'm really happy it's Monday and I get to sew again. Today I am working on Pastille.

I got a jump start at the end of last week making my muslin and cutting my fabric. I am going to use a nice green cotton fabric with a hint of sheen that I recently thrifted, I think it will make a great holiday dress.

I had to make 2 muslins, the first one was made with no adjustments to the pattern and the shoulders were too wide and the sleeves were way to big. Since taking down the shoulder seam worked so well for me while making Truffle, I thought I would apply the same alteration here. I pinched, pinned and eventually sewed a new seam on my muslin to determine how far to take it down (5/8 of an inch). I sewed wrong sides together and left the old seam intact so you could see exactly what I did. I transferred the changes onto the pattern and cut a new muslin. I also rounded the outer edge of the cap sleeve down an additional 1/2 inch.

 The second muslin fits very nicely and I'm excited to start sewing the real dress. This is another simple, unlined dress so I expect to be finished by the end of the day today or by tomorrow afternoon.

After a busy and stressful weekend I am really looking forward to sitting in front of my sewing machine undisturbed today! See you back here soon for an update!

Inspiration - Marie Antoinette

I love, love, LOVE Sofia Coppola movies, the few that there are. Visually, they are so soft and feminine and filled with pretty pastels. I took a break from sewing yesterday and watched my favorite Sofia Coppola movie, Marie Antoinette. This one takes the cake, quite literally, as the most lavish and decadently rich in color. From the amazing costumes, hair and make-up, to the incredible, over the top mix of pattern, texture and color of the decor, it's really hard not to get inspired by this film.

Being half way through my first month of sewing projects, I have already started to plan out my next round of patterns based on what's been inspiring me. I obviously haven't finalized anything yet for we are still a few weeks away, but I am thinking it is going to be full of pretty dresses in colors and patterns inspired by Marie Antoinette. I can tell you for sure that I will be doing Ceylon, Peony and Cinnamon, and hopefully I will find some great, feminine fabrics to make them with.

So that's all I have for now, just wanted to share a little of my excitement with you. Please feel free to share what inspires you or any ideas you may have about the way the project is going, the feedback that I have been getting is great, keep it coming. Have a great weekend everyone and I will see you back here Monday for Pastille!

Week Two - Finished Truffle

Ok, so this time I was super good and made a muslin of the bodice and discovered that of course it was to big in the shoulders and armholes. This was the same problem I had with Violet for which I used the pivot method to alter the pattern. I didn't want to go this route this time because the shoulder seams are already pretty narrow and I didn't want to loose any more width to them. Instead, I pinched and pinned about an inch and a quarter down from the shoulder to make a new shoulder seam, I then transferred these changes onto the paper pattern and cut the real dress. This pulled up the armhole and the waist and fixed the fit problem. This was a very simple alteration and resulted in a much better fit for me.

You'll have to forgive my tired eyes and messy hair in this picture, I had just come home from my morning dog walking shift at the Humane Society. I also bought a new camera today and haven't quite worked out all the settings yet, but there will be more pictures to come when I do.

My sewing machine HATED this fabric, I used some sort of poly-blend I got from the thrift store, it has a very slippery and clingy texture. I used the right needle and thread tension but for some reason my stitches kept getting skipped. Most of my seams had to be done twice just to be safe, but that was the only annoying part of the whole project. I also sewed it a bit differently than the pattern instructions, I attached the lining to the bodice and pulled it right side out BEFORE attaching the skirt. I just found this to be a little easier with less fabric to pull through.

I really liked this pattern, I can see this as being a classic dress pattern to build off of. I've already thought of sewing it with different necklines and drapes, establishments and with full linings. The possibilities are really endless with this pattern.

It's starting too get cold here in these parts and the fabric I made my Truffle from is a bit light. I'm now on the lookout for the perfect cardigan to pair it with before I wear it out.

So that's it for this week, two very simple patterns makes for a nice and easy week. Next week will be more challenging, I am working with two dress patterns (Pastille and Licorice) where fit is absolutely crucial. I predict I will spending a lot of time making muslins to get them just right. 

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! 

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!

A Thoughtful Plan

At first, my plan was to map out each pattern week-by-week for the entire six month sewing project. To save money (and be green) I want to use up as much fabric from my bow tie business days before buying new. It turns out I have a lot of great stuff, perfect for certain patterns, so I've decided to use these first, which throws a wrench in my original plan. Now I've decided to map out a week-by-week plan at the start of each month and work my way through the challenge that way, and it just so happens I've mapped out my plan for November already.

30 patterns in 6 months works out to be 5 a month ( a little over 1 a week) - totally doable! I have given myself 6 patterns for our first month, riding the excitement of starting the challenge.

November's Projects

week one - Violet

week two - Meringue and Truffle

week three - Taffy and Licorice

week four - Anise

My theme for November's garments - blue, black and lace.

The first week in November is a short one so I'm sticking to one pattern, Violet. I haven't finalized anything yet but I think I am going to go for a black silk with tucks and lace collar.

Week 2 is going to be a little tougher with both Meringue and Truffle. I found this great, white and blue floral, crepe-like fabric at the thrift store which is perfect for Truffle, and I have this beautiful grey linen that I think would make a lovely Meringue.

The third week will be the toughest, Licorice and Taffy. For Taffy, I have a ton of black chiffon to use for the blouse, and I hope to make black and white gingham bias tape for the seam finishes. For Licorice, I thought I'd change things up a bit and try out a different collar variation. I'd like to draft the existing collar into a peter pan collar with a lace overlay, and pair it with a navy or royal blue viscose, similar to the blue dress in the Getting Started post. Anyone who wants try it out on their own Licorice dress, I'll be posting a tutorial on how I did it when week 3 rolls around. This is the pattern I am most excited for.

For the last week in November, I am dedicating it to Anise. I have no idea what I am going to use yet, I thought maybe the leftover camel wool I have from making my Mod Trench (see Flickr), but I really want to try something different, maybe a denim or something. We'll see.

Any sewists who are following along can sew as many patterns as they'd like, in whatever order. Please feel free to send photos of your completed garments for me to share on the blog.

 Now, I am an extremely organized person in spirit but sadly not in practice, so I've created a board to organize my tasks and track my progress. I attached a master list of all the Colette patterns divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced with check boxes to mark when complete, the weekly breakdown of projects for the month I am working on, as well as fabric swatches and supply lists for each one. I also included some small notions like heart buttons and lace straps as something I may want to include in some of my garments. Oh and a photo of a really cute squirrel pin cushion to keep an eye on things for me. Hopefully the board will be able to keep me focused and organized so I can spend more time sewing and having fun.

I also, finally, got around to setting up my Flickr account. I used to use my business' blog to show some of the garments I've made, but that was the extent of it. Now you'll be able to visit the Flickr page and see even more photos of The Complete Colette finished garments. Also, I already uploaded a few pictures of some of my most recent projects to give you a sense of what I do. There's only a few but if you'd like a peak, head over.

Since we are only a week away from the start date, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about my situation in case any of you are wondering how on earth I will find the time to do this. I left my full time job as a bow tie designer about a month ago, since then I have been working a serving job on the weekends and custom seamstressing, until I begin visual merchandising next fall. That, along with my volunteer work, leaves me with four full days a week for sewing and a few hours here and there. Plenty o' time! So if it seems like I have all the time in the world, it's because I do. For now.

So that about sums it up for today, but as promised, here is my sewing supply haul to complete my tool kit upgrade.

1. My handmade Tailors Ham and Sausage from the Tilly and the Buttons tutorial.  
2. Some new marking tools. Carbon paper, tailor's chalk and fabric marker.
3. I didn't need this but, new pin cushion and pins, mine have seen better days. 
4. Invisible zipper foot.
5. 1/2" Bias tape maker. Excited to use this!
6. New sharp point scissors for clipping notches on curves etc. I desperately need these
7. Fabric stiffener. I looked everywhere for Sullivan's brand spray but could only find this one so hopefully it works the same way.

So I am all set! I've got my tools and I have got my plan, only one week left and then I'm sewing!