let's take a look at a colette pattern!

My new favorite indie pattern seller, Juli of Sweet Little Chickadee, is moving to NYC! I'm very excited for her and wish her all the best! (As you know, I'll be moving in the next few weeks as well, but only a couple miles not 2,000!) In prep for her move, and just because she loves her customers so much, she had a little moving sale in which I took the opportunity to score this:

It's the "Hazel" dress pattern by Colette Patterns! I'd never ordered a Colette Pattern before, so let's check it out together. It's bound like a book with lovely stitching on the left side. The cover is card stock weight.

If you flip it over you can see the narrow flap and tab that keeps the "booklet"closed. I am a little concerned that the narrow flap and tab is not strong enough to hold everything together. It is so narrow that it doesn't seem to want to lay flat with the back cover, and I suspect will get mangled after some use, or any amount of time in my quite full pattern drawer. I did noticed that the sizing seems more consistent to ready-to-wear sizing, which may be easier for some.

Open the cover and there is great booklet with the instructions, as well as tips and a well written glossary of sewing terms. 

Colette has really put a lot of though into this booklet. Check out this super detailed drawing for the stitching the skirt to the bodice step, with all the pattern pieces labeled and everything! How many times have you sat in your sewing room with a half completed project, scratching your head over the instruction diagram from a big pattern company?

She's also sprinkled throughout the instructions these little boxes of extra explanations of sewing terms and techniques, which is very thoughtful, especially for beginners.

I cannot get this photo to go landscape! 

And lastly, the tissue pattern pieces are all tucked into a flap in the back cover.

As much as I would love to jump right into making this pattern, it will have to get tucked into a moving box for the time being, so I'll leave you with some of great versions of "Hazel" by a few of my favorite sewing bloggers! Until later!

Here is a light, peachy "Hazel" by Ginger Makes

Karen's, of Did You Make That?, has lobsters!

Tasia, of Sewaholic, made a lovely "Blue Rose Hazel"

way too long!

I'm so sorry for the long pause between posts! I've noticed a couple other bloggers that I follow also have had longer-than-usually breaks between posts this summer. Summers are busy! Especially for this gal, as I've picked up another day at work for the next month+/- while a coworker had needed to take leave unexpectedly, just moved my art studio (yet to be unpacked), and WE ARE BUYING A HOUSE (but our lease is up the end of this month and we don't close on the house until August 15th so are moving TWICE in the next 49 days with our three critters and living in my grandparent's basement in between...), and I'm in my brother's wedding at the end of August which I still need to make my bridesmaid dress. WOO!

BUT on that note I do have something cool to show you! I just finished the dress for one if the other bridesmaids! This one came together very easily, in about two afternoons. I used McCalls 6353, which is now out of print but still available online.

It's an infini-dress, except unlike some of the tutorials I've seen online, this version includes a tube-top bodice underneath the wrapped pieces for extra coverage. I was not able to measure the other bridesmaid myself, and the measurements she sent me seemed a little off, so this pattern was a great choice made from knit fabric, with no fussy fittings, and lots of options to wear it. I made my version from an aqua modal jersey (which I think is like a rayon and very soft and pretty!) that I bought on eBay.

Not too bad! A tip for someone making this pattern, or a similar dress: because the wrapped ties are not hemmed, make sure to cut a very straight, clean line, like with a rotary cutter. Next up will hopefully be MY bridesmaid's dress, then a swimsuit that I've started a mock-up of, inspired by the Bombshell Swimsuit by Closet Case Files. Until later!