Sunday 13 May 2012

Crepe de Caffy - Finished Project. The Mean Green Hen-do Machine Dress





Colette Patterns - Crepe
Emerald Green Cotton Lawn and 'Ditsy Flower' Cotton contrast

Finished Welsh Hen Party Dress- done! But not in time- fail! 


So in the spirit of poetic licence, I have made this dress in celebration of, rather than made for, the hen party that was last week. Have I got away with it??


I used emerald cotton with a contrast of a ditsy floral print which I won from Fabric Godmother. I was part of the ‘300 followers competition’ All I did was RT and won a metre+ of the lovely ditsy fabric and some black thread! No complaints there, obviously. I was soo happy with that and have hence-forth become a very happy loyal customer of the site, its fantastic! Clever Fabric Godmother, very clever! Also, I think FG has gone way way way over 300 followers by now, or they should have. If not following on Twitter, then you should!

The dress, part of the 3 Colette patterns that I bought in March, was a good meaty project. I loved the new skill of interfacing and under-stitching that I learned here, very professional. I hand-stitched the interfacing because I love the finish*...

... It looks like a vintage bespoke piece that I would love to find in a shop, with character and quality(ish, it was my first go at interfacing so it was never going to be the best, but I am proud).




Darts, seams and tidy finish... I'm getting better!


*I also hand-stitched the interfacing because Gertie told me to, too.

Upon reflection....

  • I will never sew again cream-crackered... I was making the ties and was told to fold the ties in half and then sew them shut and turn right way round. I stupidly stitched the wrong side... i.e. the folded side. Tsk. Unpicky wicky
  • I fully understood under-stitching right when I was finishing the back interfacing. Unpicky wicky. BUT I am a mean under-stitcher now and a kick ass unpicker!
  • Very big isn’t it? Looks much better than when it was just a bodice however.
  • One seam 'match-up' boo boo. Its on the left on the dress (the section without the opening for the wrap-straps) and I seem to have lost 0.5cm and couldn't get the bodice to perfectly match the skirt section, so this is the best I could come up with. But it's not ever so noticeable but it's food for thought with the next dress that I make. 



    • Tailors Ham?! Make/buy one!! They are so handy for curved pieces of fabric and setting fabric in the right position before you stitch. Ace. I'm now going to make a Seam roll, too.




    • I need to shorten the pattern pieces and not just rely on a hem plus a bit to accommodate my 5'3'' stature. I ended up chopping off 8cm from the bottom just to get it to the right length for me. I know that it's not the right way to go about shortening a dress and I will take that away with me to do pattern adjustments pre-cutting the fabric.






    However! It looks nice and I will wear it. It's dress-upable or dress-downable, that is a prerequisite for me and what I wear! 
















    I tried taking some pics outside, this is Ireland remember, but I wanted some better light... this was the result....



    FAIL!

    Make again? Yes, already thinking of some cooky combos!
    Cost: Pattern €12.50, Fabric €8.97 (3m of cotton, free contrast), thread, part of an eBay steal... probably 20c
    €19.67
    Time taken: 11.5 hours. I am now a fully fledged pattern tracer now, however!

    Bundana

    X

    35 comments:

    1. adorable Crepe, love the color!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Thanks Sue :D I am happy with it! Woop!!

        Delete
    2. Think is a great little make. I totally agree with the no sewing when tired rule! It always leads us to spend more time with our seam ripper than needed! x

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I know but its soo tempting!! I get on a roll and I don't want to stop, even though my eyes and brain are saying..... noooooo!

        Delete
    3. It's gorgeous!! I do like the contrasting ties. :)

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Thanks Lynne :D I am loving it too! Because its soooo contrasting.. I can wear any shoes with it (with in reason) bahahaha

        Delete
    4. You look absolutely adorable Oh to be young again. She sighs lol

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I don't feel young after a day nursing, trust me! Thanks Sassy!

        Delete
    5. It looks very lovely. Good work.

      Do you ask your fiancee to help you with your hem lines? I am slowly turning my husband into a hem pinner extraordinaire! He is very patient with me and is actually more OCD than I when it come to making sure everything is even.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. He just laughed at that! Yes he does!! He is my pinning wizard! So funny isn't it?! I wonder what he would have said if pinning my dresses well was a prerequisite of going out with me on our first date!!!

        Delete
    6. Looks lovely! Great color choice.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Thanks Mel! It was what was hanging about on my fabric shelf. Sooner or later that fabric you bought 3m of comes in handy!!

        Delete
    7. Thats lovely! I have seen a Crepe or two made up in a print fabric with a solid colour belt but it looks fab your way too. The green is gorgeous. And it looks like you got a really good fit.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I never thought about it like that, but you're right.. it does seem the less popular combo (main fabric just colour and patterned contrast). I like both of the ways of doing it but this seemed more versatile.

        Delete
    8. Great job, love the colour and the v back!

      Fab outside photos too!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Thanks Sarah, typical horrible Irish weather. You wouldn't believe the sun today! Bahahaha. Thanks again!

        Delete
    9. The dress is gorgeous! It looks wonderful on you, perfect for your height and size. Nice work. And only in 11.5 hours!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. ONLY?! bahahaha, in my head I will be spending a few hours churning these out! I can't believe it takes me so long to make a dress AND I stick with it!!

        Delete
    10. Cute, cute, cute!!! I love emerald!! I'm still in awe of your home made ham!!!

      xoxox

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. You must bite the bullet and go for it yourself, you will never look back. I really, really like the colour too. It's a good one for a ginger nut :D

        Delete
    11. Gorgeous! Definitely one of my favourite Crepes that I've seen. The colour is so lovely on you and it's a really flattering shape for you. And I wouldn't worry about the seam mis-match, it's covered by those lovely ties so noone will see it!!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Thanks Suzie, my fellow Irish sewing-sista! I really think that overall I am getting better, it's just the little bits and bobs that still catch me out. Zips... pain in the ass. Deffo going over them in my intensive sewing week course!

        PS> What was the couture book that you were reading??

        Thanks!

        Delete
      2. I've recently bought Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Shaeffer, perhaps that's the one? If you don't have it I REALLY recommend it - it just goes into so much detail and is full of loads of hints and tips, even for when you're not sewing 'couture'.

        Warning though - it is a bit like reading a text book in school or uni...my fiance is constantly catching me staring at the pages with a very concentrated look on my face! It takes me a few reads of each explaination before I understand what she is saying!

        Delete
    12. Hi Cathy, nice blog! I loved the dress, and it is great to see you being honest about the mismatches too- you live you learn, so to speak, and it is great to learn from your mistakes. Matching the seams is quite important to achieve the professional look. But the dress is absolutely FAB, you should wear it a lot- the shape is great and the colour is amazing!!!!! Well done, stay in touch
      Juliette

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Honesty is the best policy I think! I will deffo stay in touch :D

        Delete
    13. Hi there, thanks for finding me so I could find you! That's a lovely dress in a lovely color. I'm always impressed by people who work from patterns and follow all the sewing rules, since I usually lack the patience to do so and just hack something together without any respect for seam match-up or the like... Gonna keep reading!

      Cheers,
      Laura

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi there Laura! Great to meet you to, you're on my bloglovin' now :D I'm onwards with the regualr blogging now, be a bit more reliable!

        The masterplan is to get a bit more couture and capable over the next year... I am moving abroad to Belgium, maybe! So language will be a barrier!! However, if I can sew well... I'm sure I'll be able to make a little living!

        Keep in touch and thanks


        Caffy

        Delete
    14. haha, as much as I would love to help you find all the fabric shops around Ghent and Bruges, I am not to familiar with these cities myself! I've only been to both twice :) I really like this dress you made, by the way. The colour of that fabric is amazing! Hope you learned from this proces and make the next one even better! x

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Getting better all the time my Ginger friend! I'll let you know when / if I move over there :D You're on my bloglovin, so I'll keep an eye out for your fashion tips :D

        Caffy

        Delete
    15. Gorgeous, you done a fantastic job!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Thanks Suzy!

        Green... VERY!! I like it though, can't wait for a sunny and WARM day to wear it... very thin cotton lawn used!

        Caffy

        Delete
    16. Woo hoo! That looks lovely!
      And I see you have the same sort of weather as me at the moment! ;)
      Thank you so much for your encouraging comments on my blog - much appreciated!

      ReplyDelete
    17. Wow that looks great and I love that colour. I'm a similar hair/skin colouring to you and love green. I never would have thought to put the other fabric with it but they go really well together.

      ReplyDelete
    18. This is awesome! Love the colour on you, and the back fitting is superb. *Tip of the hat to you Madame*

      ReplyDelete
    19. Thanks for visiting my blog! Yours is so great, you are a fantastic sewer. I love this dress! The fit is great and I love your fabric choices :)

      ReplyDelete

    Please feel free to comment!