08/10/2018

Tulip Festival Penny Dress

WHAA?!  A blog post?  It's been a while, eh?  I actually haven't gotten around to taking photos of any of my newer makes, so I'll be posting here & there some "older" makes from earlier in the year that I do already have photos for.

I really, really love it when you find a fabric that pairs so well with a certain pattern.  I saw this cotton-linen blend at Fabricland back in the early, early spring when I was there with a friend from OGG exec, when I expressed how much I liked it (because omg floral cotton-linen) she suggested making a dress in time to take photos at the Canadian Tulip Festival.  DUH, PERFECT IDEA (thanks Crystal!)  I just had to decide on a pattern....


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I had been eyeing the Colette Penny Dress for a while, but was really unsure due to the numerous issues Colette had been having with their patterns after the whole Rue Dress mess.  But, armed with the finished garment measurements I dove in, no muslin.  I made the sleeveless version without the belt (well, actually I accidentally made the sleeved bodice, and had to adjust for that later) in a size 12.  This was based on my waist and bust measurements of 32ish" and 39ish".  There is lots of room in the hips in this dress!  I also shortened the length of the skirt by about 6", mostly due to not having quite enough fabric.


So, I got the dress done just in time to hit the tulips at their peak, and so Matt and I made plans for dinner downtown and a tour around Major's Hill park to take in the sights and take some photos.  Not gonna lie... I felt SUPER cute, and for a hot May day, I was feeling pretty cool in this dress since the fabric is so breathable.


The bodice on this dress fits LIKE A DREAM!  Like, the bust darts are in exactly the right spot for me, and the bust just fits BANG on.  I don't think my boobs have ever looked this good!  Only one issue.... the waist is just a weeeee bit tight when I'm sitting down, or after I've eaten lunch.  I get a bit of gaping too above the waist buttons.... so I do need to install a little snap in there to fix that.

Also, with the double-interfacing of the collar (fused to both the top and bottom pieces, as opposed to just the usual top piece) it is so sharp!  The collar size and shape are also just right for my face.  I do struggle with this.... as a smaller collar can look weird, and a big one is just too overpowering!

And lets not forget the best part of this dress... IT HAS POCKETS (and the fabric goes perfectly with my pin!)


As I mentioned above, I accidentally printed & cut out the bodice for the sleeved version of this dress... whoops!  The two versions have a slightly different armscye shape, obviously to account for the sleeve/ no sleeve.  I went ahead with the bodice anyways, and only had to make one adjustment - lopping off about 1" from the shoulders so it didn't stick out.  Since the armholes are finished with bias binding, this was an easy fix!


So, despite my trepidation about sewing a Colette pattern after their goofs and without a muslin (lol who are we kidding I almost never make a muslin), my first version of the Penny Dress turned out great!   I can see myself making another one of these next spring... just need to watch out for some good sales, as the pattern does take a lot of fabric with the full skirt.

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