Friday, November 18, 2011

Colette's Macaron Dress and a Quick Skirt Change


Dress post! I finished my Macaron dress just in time for my friend Jimm's wedding. As usual, I was handsewing practically in the car on the way to the ceremony... this seems to happen at every formal event I ever go to. I have had my eye on this dress ever since it was released by Colette - especially after seeing all the cute versions of it being made all over the country - and when Christine decided to do it as a class I thought I'd try it out.




The pattern features a top contrast yoke and a really cool sweetheart illusion neckline. It has little cap sleeves and a bit of a bubble skirt with pleats with secret pockets. The bubble part was the only thing I changed as I really don't need that shape on my body. It looks great on a lot of peeps though! I chose fancy fabrics since this is a more formal dress - Nani Iro's 'Fuccra Rakuen' in peach and a silk/cotton blend in espresso for the contrast:





I must confess: I have already gotten fabric to make 2 more dresses... here's one:




This is a relatively simple dress to construct, but there are some elements that bump it up into the advanced class category. Generally, we consider any garment with set-in sleeves to be advanced, and the invisible zipper on the side is a bit tricky as well. The method used for sewing the bodice to the yoke takes a steady hand!

Colette's measurements are different from standard pattern measurements - they are closer to ready-to-wear sizes - but the garments also tend to be more closely fitting so we want to exercise care when choosing a size. I have made several of them at this point so after checking the chart on the back of the envelope I went with a size 8 for the top (neckline, shoulders, armscye and sleeve cap) swinging out to a size 10 at the bust (side seams on all bodice pieces and sleeve side seams). To smooth out the bubble skirt (and to fit my hips), I started with the size 10 to match the bodice and used a hip curve to swing out to the size 12:




Then I used a straight ruler to continue the line so it was more a-line. For this change to be smooth when sewn up, the side seam needs to be squared to the hem so it's a 90 degree angle - you can use your clear ruler to do this:




Also for this skirt style, the center front and center back of the skirt (both are cut on the fold) need to be right angles as well - just extend the cutting line and square it in the same fashion.

If your hip size matches your waist size and you'd like to make it more a-line, just extend the cutting line for your size from the hip curve and square it to the hem cutting line. If you are in the class, Christine or I will help out with this.

I'm very happy with how it turned out, and thanks to Mike for the pictures!


Macaron Dress front
Macaron Dress back

8 comments:

Amanda said...

I so love your fabric combo on this one! And I'm a total sucker for those Nani Iro fabrics, I still have 2 from your store that I need to do something with :)

Unknown said...

I am totally addicted to her fabric. I have a rule that The fabric has to be in the shop for at least 3 months before I buy any for myself... or I would have way too much fabric! Can't wait to see what you end up making.

Unknown said...

You look so great in your new dress!

Unknown said...

Thank you so much! I am quite fond of it & can't wait to make more.

siri said...

That looks sew awesome!!!!

Unknown said...

Thanks Siri!

Anonymous said...

Great dress!!!!
Sharie you look amazing!

Jennifer

Mikhaela Reid said...

The A-Line conversion is a great idea--I think I'll do that on the one I'm working on!