Colette Patterns - Chantilly - Take 4

WHEW! It's finished! Finally! It took long enough. Needless to say...it didn't get done by the time I wanted to wear it (boo!!!!). It turned out pretty nice in the end. I'm not 100% happy with it, but I AM glad it's done! The fabric is cotton gauze that I discharged myself.

I learned some important things from this dress!!

• DO A TISSUE FITTING!!!!!!! never again....I had a LOT of fitting issues with this pattern. If you are a C cup...then go for it! But if you are smaller than that, I recommend drafting this dress yourself.
• I had major issues with the straps covering my bra straps. I ended up adding little strips of fabric with snaps to hold my bra farther in. 
• I also need to start double checking the length of dresses as well. I find that they are usually too short. I ended up adding a band of fabric on to this dress to make it 5" longer. It's much more comfortable to wear that way. 
• I think it would have looked a little bit better on my body style if I had lengthened the midriff band.
• I am very happy with using cotton gauze! I will definitely try to use it in the future! It drapes so nice, but it definitely needs lined. I lined the top in this dress, but decided to skip the bottom lining since I knew that I have a half slip that I like that works just fine. 

To re-cap....I won't be using this pattern again. I was impressed with the quality, but it just had too many fitting issues for me. I WOULD like to make something fairly similar in the future though!

Colette Patterns - Chantilly - Take 3

 So I bought this fabric for the Chantilly Dress. It's cotton gauze and I got it for $2/yd. However, I wasn't happy with the color at all. And my mom didn't like it very much either. So I got interested in discharging with bleach. There is a very helpful article: here.

So last night I decided to do a test strip of the plum fabric and another orange fabric someone gave me. I also tested another vibrant pinkish fabric that I had, but I knew wasn't cotton. The bleach had a wonderful effect on the plum cotton gauze and the orange fabric, but not on the pink cotton blend fabric. I'm not sure why. :P

So after digging through the tupperware cabinet I found an old glass jar with a metal lid that I could punch holes into. I poured the bleach into there and shook it out like a salt/pepper shaker. It worked really well. I know they say to not use full strength bleach, but I wasn't getting a response with it diluted. I stopped the reaction by dunking it in a bucket of water and peroxide. I let it sit for about 10 minutes and then put both pieces of fabric into the washer machine.

 Here are the results! The purple fabric ended up with whitish/pinkish dots.

The orange fabric now has yellow spots! I am really pleased with how they both turned out. I cut out the dress today and have begun sewing. Hopefully I can get it done in time! Just 2 more days. :P ack! I am thinking about not lining the skirt...we'll see.

Some notes about the pattern: the different sizes are sometimes hard to determine with all the lines. The darts were next to impossible to figure out. Careful analyzing them helped. I had some more things I wanted to say about the pattern, but have forgotten them now. I'll try to remember before I post again.

Colette Patterns - Chantilly - Take 2

The pattern is here!! I'm so excited! Isn't the line drawing pretty? I am a little frustrated though. These patterns are designed for bigger busted women...so I will have to size it down...rgh. Sarai (creator of the patterns) says on the Flickr page that it is easy to size down, so that's good!!! Overall the pattern is VERY professional feeling. It makes me feel very pampered. :) Pampered=good feeling. I can't wait to get started!

Colette Patterns - Chantilly

 image from Colette Patterns

Aren't these versions of Colette Patterns Chantilly dress amazing? I like all of them! I ordered this pattern the other day, and hopefully it will get here Tuesday. I think the post office is closed Tuesday for the holiday....bummer....

 image from Colette Patterns

  image from Colette Patterns

image from TinyHappy

My cousin is getting married, and while I COULD just wear something I already have...what's the fun in that?! ;) So I'm thinking about heading out to Joanns today, I think they might be open...will have to call first. Oh! And I still have gift cards to there as well!

I am planning to make this out of some lightweight cotton. Either cotton lawn, cotton gauze, or a chiffon of some sort. Or maybe I will make one in each of these! heehee! Cotton gauze is on sale right now at Hancocks for $2/yd which is really good! However, it is just solid colors, and I was really wanting a pattern....covers flaws better. But I might get some anyways for a later dress since it is such a good price. When I was there I did have the lady cut some fabric for me and I was prepared to buy it, but I told her 4 1/2 yards and somehow she only cut 4 yards. Very frustrating!

I think this pattern will look great though. I like the design of it. I might have to size down the bodice some, since it is designed for a C-cup. :P But I think it will pretty easy to do with this style.