Hi stitching fans!
Today's Me Made May issue is my Colette Laurel dress which I actually don't wear very often so I thought I'd dig it out in the spirit of the campaign and 'rediscover my love for it'.
I made this from some totally gorgeous fabric my sister got me for my birthday or Christmas a couple of years ago. It was so lovely it really needed a pattern that wouldn't mess with it too much - the vertical lines of the trees were going to get messed up with any sort of dart action so I needed a super simple pattern to make the most of it.
The Laurel was my first Colette pattern and at the time I was still dipping my toe into the sewing world, especially the indie designer world. The pattern is super simple - its lined but using interlining where you sew the lining fabric to the main fabric around the edges within the seam allowance and then treat the two as one piece - it's a really nice way of lining something without having to construct the whole garment twice.
The only shaping in the front pattern is two bust darts that were originally at an angle but I changed to make them completely straight so that the trees would line up exactly and not get broken - that took a bit of fiddling around but they turned out very nicely. I think you can see them a bit better in this photo that I took last summer (or my sister took actually) and they aren't covered up with a cardigan.
Only slightly bendy trees...
The fabric is a quilting weight cotton and I think on balance this is the wrong pattern for such a stiff fabric. Laurels I think are generally made in something far more drapey or even a knit. The lack of darts of course also means it's a far more traditional 'shift' style- with no waist shaping at all, and on me that isn't a great look - hence the belt.
Having said that - it is actually a nice dress and one I should probably wear more often. I like that I can pick out the pink with a nice bright cardigan and the bias binding around the neckline is also a nice touch in a contrasting fabric (this is actually the lining fabric that my sister bought at the same time - pretty great colour inspiration I must say)
It also appears at the sleeve...
And here are some more pics as I don't think I've actually posted much about this dress before...
Happy stitching!
Helen