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Monday, June 25, 2012

The 'Summer Paisley' Dress



I think I’ve made a new record in my sewing times, in being able to whip this dress up in just under 3 hours.  Having a serger has made all the difference, but it also helps that I had just recently made this dress, so the pieces were all cut and ready to go.
This dress is on the brighter side of my Spring/Summer sewing palette, but fit perfectly with the colors that I was seeing in summer trends. In particular, Pantone’s spring and summer colors.  And I love the modern paisley print.
The Facts
Fabric: 2.5 yards floral printed cotton, $20, on sale
Pattern: Colette Hazel, $0, second time making
Year: Contemporary
Notions: Invisible zipper, $3
Time to complete: 3 hours!
First worn: This past week, in Las Vegas.
Wear again? Yes!
Total cost: $23 
I considered extending the bodice for this dress, as that seems to be my new trend, but I remember reading in the Sew Colette 2 sewalong that Sarai specifically made this dress to have a higher waist.  One change that I did make since first making this dress, was to extend the width of the arm straps by 2” each.  While I really like the arm straps as they are, I have to wear my other version with a strapless bra because the straps and where they connected to the front of the dress made a section of my regular bras constantly visible.  This change definitely solved the problem, though in the future I might just give the arm straps a little more shape, similar to the Cambie dress.
I love wearing this dress.  It’s so comfortable and instantly makes me think of summer.  The colors are so bright and the design is perfect for hot weather.
And with that, my trip to Vegas is over!  
What I Watched:  Part of Black Sheep (1996) and listened to the hubby watch Batman Begins (2005) in the other room. 

11 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I love that fabric :)

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  2. I love both your Hazel versions! Not to be too nosy but in making this dress, did you need to do a FBA? I'm trying to make my first and am having some issues. Like you I will need to make the straps wider but the front bodice piece...blargh! If you did, would you be willing to share some tips? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Luckily, Colette's patterns seem to fit me perfectly in the bust area (I think I read somewhere that they're standard size is for C's), so I never have to make bust adjustments, and I've only just recently started adjusting the length. There is a thread on the Colette forums about making an FBA for Hazel: http://forum.colettepatterns.com/viewtopic.php?pid=4695#p4695 Hope that helps!

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  3. Anonymous4:12 PM

    3 hours! That's insane! Bravo lady! BRAAAVOO! You know what I love about all your dresses? They're all so colorful!

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  4. I love this dress!!! Love the fabric. Love how that style really suits you. Gorgeous!

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  5. This is gorgeous, I adore your fabric. The dress really suits you.

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  6. I just love the fabric and this looks so cute with the matching sunhat! Widening the straps is a good solution to the bra peekage problem which I had too.

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  7. That fabric makes a perfect version of the Hazel dress! I love how it turned out!

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  8. Anonymous8:17 AM

    Really beautiful Hazel!!! Love the close-up of the fabric detail. Extra cute.

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