Last Friday, I drove up to LA to attend a pattern release party for Colette Patterns, at a local sewing/fabric shop "Sew LA." I got to the studio at around 6:30 and it was still pretty chill. I got to say hello to Sarai Mitnick, the designer and owner behind Colette Patterns. There were food and drinks, a lot of patterns, fabrics, and notions to browse through. People started showing up after me, and I got to meet other sewists and KNITTERS! By the way, SewLA is located within Atwater Village and it's few shops away from The Little Knitterie. It looked like a fun neighborhood and I wanna go back someday to check it out more.
I even got Sarai's autograph in my copy of the Colette Sewing Handbook! Sarai is a knitter too, and we ended up talking a lot about pattern designing, fitting, working with knit fabrics, etc. Considering this was my first sewing event ever, I think it was very successful!
I took a quick photo before I headed out. I literally finished the dress the morning OF the party. I started this last week but working with silk wasn't as easy as I thought. Well. I did expected to be a little harder, and I took my time cutting each piece separately instead of layering them but they MOVE. I think I'll stay away from silk chiffon for a while until I get my hopes up again =P
but as you can see, the result was quite satisfying. Yes, I did rush and messed up the zipper, and the fit was a bit tighter (mixing in silk fabric that moves around a lot messed up the fit I think) but overall, I was proud to wear it to the party. When I picked out the fabric in Downtown LA, I was a bit skeptical about the color and was worried that it was way too blushy-peachy-offwhite color for me but I'm so glad it worked out well!
Fabric: Main fabric - Dressweight cotton blend woven fabric; Shell fabric - 1--% silk chiffon.. both purchased at Michael Levine
Pattern: Macaron by Colette Patterns
Difficulty Level: The pattern says "Intermediate"
As always, Colette Patterns is awesome about giving clear instructions in the pattern. This isn't my first time sewing a dress so I went ahead and skipped some instructions when I felt really rushed but even if this were my first time, I don't think I'd had trouble understanding how each piece goes.
Love Love Love the fabric and the matching colors. I bought both fabric at Michael Levine in the Fashion District. I walked all the way from the Renegade Fair (at Dodger's Stadium area) to the Fashion District but this was totally worth it.
If I make it again, I might try with something easier to work with. I might still go with sheer fabric for the shell, but probably something more stable.
I made size 2, and it is a bit tight on me but I think it has to do with the fact that I probably messed up the cutting while working with the silk....
So instead of an invisible zipper, I used a regular all-purpose zipper and gave 1/4" seam allowance. on both sides of the bodice to give myself a little bit of room.
I'm just glad I lasted through the party without ripping it. haha!
I will go back and finish the raw edges, maybe fix the zipper again, etc. But yay! I have a beautiful dress now.
I left the party with two of Colette Patterns -- one of which was a new jacket pattern "Anise." I also got the Lily dress pattern, because Sarai was wearing hers and it looked really polished and gorgeous.
Can't wait to make them!