Round 2 Rooibos

With the launch of the new Coletterie blog, Sarai also ran a Rooibos sew-along.  The Rooibos dress that I made at the end of last year was one of my favorite Colette creations and I'd been meaning to try another variation of it.

I scoped out some fabrics at my local shop and decided on a gray suiting fabric for the main base, and a light blue plaid for the accent pieces.  I wanted something that I would be able to wear into the office and that wasn't my standard boring black office-wear.

As Sarai mentioned in one of her recent posts, one way to save time in your sewing is to reuse patterns.  Having all of the pieces already cut out, and familiarity with the instructions, definitely saved time with this project.  I remember the first time I made Rooibos, I probably spent 30 minutes just reading and re-reading the instructions on sewing the armholes.  The technique she used was so new to me, but pretty ingenious.  This time, it was a breeze!  That whole step was done within minutes and I was moving on to the bottom half of the dress.

The rest of the dress was easy, and this time I had so much more experience with finishing seams and the other required but tedious tasks, that I was able to crank out this dress in a short evening.  The only hiccup? I really wanted to include a belt made out of the plaid fabric! I have yet to find a belt kit, though I swear I've seen one in my craft shopping trips.  Do you know where I can get one?  In the meantime, I'll keep looking and I still think the dress looks great without it.

Fabric: Grey suiting. Blue plaid seems to be a similar fabric.
Pattern: Colette Rooibos
Notions:  For now, just the zipper, but I'm hoping to add a belt kit to that soon.

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Another Colette winner, the Rooibos dress

Another dress done, another favorite to add to my closet.  My only regret with this dress is that the weather isn't warmer so I could wear it all the time.  I think I'm just going to have to pair it up with some leggings and a sweater so I can wear it all winter long.

Colette's patterns continue to amaze me. They're so easy to follow along and I have loved the outcome of every one.

I love the fit and the design of this dress! As I mentioned before, I had some 'learning experiences' while making this, but they taught me a lot and I feel like I can better understand some sewing techniques I didn't have a grasp of before.

The pockets are great. Just the right size and I love the accent fabric that I ended up going with.

I can't wait to make this dress again. I think I'll make it in a heaver fabric and maybe add some sleeves so that I won't feel too silly wearing it in the winter.  But this one will be the perfect Spring/Summer dress.