Next up in the Colette Sew Along is the Truffle dress.
I wasn’t nuts about it at first, but when I looked closer, it’s really a great dress! I like the bodice, I like the a-line skirt… I’m not convinced that I love the ruffle, but I’m willing to give it a try!
But of course, like a good little modern sewer (sewist?), I made a muslin first. Just the bodice, to see how it fit. I had the same fitting problems as I did with the Peony - gaping and wide at the neck and shoulders, and a the side darts too high.
Then, of course, I had to do a second muslin to see if the changes I made would work! (Seriously, all these versions sorta drain my motivation to make the final dress once I finally get to that stage. Do you find that too?)
I looked around my craftroom for a fabric to use… and spotted this beautiful bright jade green cotton that I’d bought in Japan.
I threw it in the wash to pre-shrink it, and when I pulled it out, you know what I realised??? IT’S JAPANESE DOUBLE GAUZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I paid a $1/m!!!!!!!!!!! And I bought TEN metres!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahahahahaha!!! (Cue insane laughter!)
(For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, double gauze is a really popular fabric in Japan that is two incredibly soft, delicate layers of cotton that have been woven together at regular intervals to create a single fabric. (If you look closely in the picture above, you can see the dimples.) It’s soft like butter, with lovely drape, and so airy and comfortable to wear. If you buy it North America, if would be minimun $16 or $17/m. I’m so excited to find that I have a huge stash of it for cheap! )
Enough talking - Time for the dress!
Surprise! I’ve had this thrifted polkadot skirt ready to refashion for a year, and it finally met it’s match. I just top-stitched the shirt onto the bodice, put in zipper, and voila! A dress!
Here’s the good news: Pockets!
Also, I love turquoise, and I love polkadots. I was visiting my in-laws when I took this pictrue, so I didn’t have an accessories on (including shoes!), but I think it will be cute with a chunky necklace and a little belt.
I guess my in-law’s dog agreed that I was under-accessorized, because he gave me this:
A huge muddy paw-print! He was drinking the swappy water from the puddles, and went a little insane… jumped on me, pounced on Jamie, and wet even more wall-eyed than normal! Ahhh, bulldogs. Not much between the ears.
Aside from the mud, which has washed out nicely, I can see a few things to change. The bodice is still a bit loose on me, and the straps are just a bit narrow and yet somehow wide apart on my shoulders! The two colours don;t match perfectly, but it’s better in person than in pictures. Although I usually like a short-waisted dress, I think I went a bit far on this one - I wish the skirt started an inch lower on my waist.
With that in mind, I’ve started cutting my final version from a delightfully bright vintage floral print. Hopefully it will be finished by the deadline for once!
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