Coletterie

Detail Inspiration: Drop waist & lace (or why I love 1920s fashion)

Sarai — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Perhaps I’ve seen one too many Merchant Ivory films, but I think I could practically live in a loose-fitting, drop-waisted lacy dress like this all summer.

1920s fashions make such wonderful inspiration because the style lines are incredibly simple and the details so rich. Take any shift or drop waist dress pattern (might I suggest Laurel?), make it in a light silk or cotton, add pleats and lace insertions. Add a straw hat and bright lipstick. Done!

image sources: 1920s silk dress from Dear Golden

Laurel Contest: The winners!

Sarai — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:30:00 +0000

Without further ado, here are the winners of the Laurel Sewing Contest!

(Don’t forget to check out everyone’s submissions in the Colette Patterns Flickr group. You will then understand just how difficult it was for the judges to pick these out.)

Category one: Favorite use of prints

Grand prize: Laura Lee’s watercolor print

Love this gorgeous, large scale print, and the tiny ruffle really adds something. It’s so pretty.

Second prize: Laurwyn’s silk batik

Laurwyn says:

“I purchase this silk BATIK in Indonesia during our honeymoon. The Laurel was the perfect way to showcase it! I enclosed the neckline and sleeves with the bias I made for the occasion. It is my most precious dress!”

Category two: Favorite use of color

Grand prize: LazyKrista’s color blocking

Krista says:

“Do you ever have a vision in your head of something you’re creating and it actually turns out exactly how you planned it? That was this dress for me! That moment seems rare for me so I was super excited when I finished sewing! I love the bold colors!”

Second prize: Melissa Ormonde’s coral Laurel

Melissa used a textured cotton on this, and added waist darts by using the darts from the Licorice dress from the Colette Sewing Handbook. She writes:

“For a little extra detail I added two rows of bias tape around the hem, sleeves, and neckline and a little black and white striped bow of petersham ribbon in the center.”

Category three: Self-designed Fabric

Grand prize: SewSewcial’s tattoo-themed dress

An amazing dress by Caroline! She writes:

“I’ve been really inspired by sewing themed tattoos as of late and I’m not quite ready to take the plunge on my skin so I thought about tattooing my clothes. I love this! I silkscreened the sewing machine and measuring tape and then dyed the dress itself. After that I did all of the embroidery.”

Second prize: Melanie’s cut out dress

Melanie didn’t write much about this beauty, but check out all those cut outs! What an amazing creation! Reminds me of Valentino.

Category four: Use of added detail or embellishment

Grand prize: coudsdecoeur’s dress inspired by Navajo weaving

Take a look at the detail close up on this. Incredible work!

Second prize: Florence’s edged peter pan blouse

The simple details on this are so well executed, and the fabric choice is elegant and perfect.

Category five: Fall / Winter version

Grand prize: Smidging’s gem tone Laurel

Just gorgeous! The combination of pink and purple with the bow and color blocking is SO Joan Holloway.

Second prize: Or Brook’s Wool and Swarovski Laurel

This dress is made in 100% wool, and has light and dark green swarovski crystals added at the hem.

Category Six: Readers’ Choice

Here are the winners, chosen by you!

Grand prize: Melissa’s blue and white Laurel

Melissa has won two prizes, congratulations Melissa!

Second prize: Allyson’s scalloped Laurel

I love the combination of girly scallops with a classic color palette.

I’ve contacted all of the winners via Flickr. If you are a winner shown here, be sure to check your Flickr messages for instructions on claiming your goodies.

Thank you everyone for your participation in this amazing contest! I hope you all enjoyed it. Would you like to see more contests like this in the future?

Gorgeous fashion illustration prints

Sarai — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

I’m so enthralled with these fashion illustration prints from hprints.com.

There are prints from so many of my favorite mid-century French dressmakers and fashion houses, and the most talented fashion illustrators of the era, like René Gruau. You can get lost for hours on this site.

image sources: Callot Souers, Givenchy, Carven, Carven, Jacques Desses, Jacque Fath, Lucien Lelong, Jacque Desses, Lucien Lelong, Madeleine Vionnet

Reminder: Negroni sale ends tomorrow

Sarai — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Just a quick note… the 20% off sale on Negroni ends tomorrow!

Laurel contest: Cast your vote for Readers’ Choice!

Sarai — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Wow. You guys have truly blown me away.

I knew this contest would be a lot of fun, but after going through over 1000 (!!!!) photos of your Laurels, I am just floored by your creativity, humor, and talent.

My only regret is that I can’t recognize all of the entries here. There were so many amazing creations that I just had to keep whittling and whittling my choices down. I know the other judges felt the same way; they all said how incredibly difficult this was! I seriously urge you guys to check out everything in the Flickr pool right now.

But here are the twenty we finally chose for you to vote on. Each will have a link to the entry on Flickr, if you’d like to see more or read their description.

Choose 5 favorites

We are going to use instant runoff voting to choose the winners, which will both make this more fair and allow you to choose more than one favorite.

Take a look at the entries below.
Choose five favorites.
Click the link for the voting form and rank your top five, in order of preference (first should be your most favorite, second is your second most favorite, etc).

We’ll then use the instant runoff method to tally the votes.

The winners of this Readers Choice category will be announced on Monday, along with the winners chosen by our judges for the other categories. Please vote by midnight Pacific on May 17.

The contestants

Vote!

Got your 5 favorites?

Click here to vote!

Construction details: Chiffon, roses, and sweethearts

Sarai — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Don’t you wish all vintage sellers would photograph the inside of their garments?

Not only are the interiors of dresses fascinating for fashion & sewing nerds, but they say so much about the quality of the piece (and help you accurately date it).

I came across this little beauty from Etsy seller 1940sThrowback because I was struck by the similarity to Chantilly (different, of course, but a very similar look and silhouette).

But then I saw the inside and things got really interesting.

The bodice looks to be underlined with netting, which isn’t gathered like the chiffon. The netting would serve as a guide when gathering the neckline, so the maker could achieve just the right shape.

The bodice is then partially lined in an adorable sweetheart shape. It looks like the lining is stitched to the netting layer along the top to hold it in place, while not showing on the outside.

The waist seam is stayed, the neckline and armholes finished with bias binding, and the seam allowances have a narrow turned hem, very unusual today!

I think you can learn a lot by looking at the beautiful garments of the past, don’t you?

Ask the readers: What’s hard about knits?

Sarai — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Last week I got a query on our Facebook page, asking for some tutorials and tips on sewing with knits.

This was actually perfect timing. After meeting up with Alyson Clair recently, we’ve been scheming about ways to introduce more sewists to the wonderful world of knits.

Obviously, knits do present special challenges, such as:

Fitting, when various fabrics behave so differently.
Finishing necklines and other openings.
Understanding the serger and how it’s different from other machines.

These are just a few off the top of my head. But Alyson and I would love to hear from you:

What problems have you encountered in sewing with knits? Or if you haven’t tried knits, what intimidates you about them?

image source: Madame Grès dresses in jersey from 1956, from WWD

Laurel contest: One final note

Sarai — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:10:38 +0000

One final bit of housekeeping for the contest before we wrap up!

It seems that most people have had their Flickr account issues settled, but if you are still experiencing problems, please read this thread in the Flickr group for our simple workaround.

That’s all!

Detail Inspiration: Tiered skirts

Sarai — Wed, 08 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

I love these simple, chic tiers. Tiered skirts like this can often get way too close to fussy ruffles, but the streamlined silhouettes and white color make these so elegant.

image sources: 1960s dress from Dear Golden, 1980s dress also from Dear Golden.

Father’s Day Sale on Negroni: 20% off!

Sarai — Mon, 06 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

We’re celebrating Father’s Day this year with 20% off Negroni! You have plenty of time to make him something wonderful this year (or let him sew it himself, if he’s into that).

Both digital and print versions are on sale. Pick one up!

Coletterie

Detail Inspiration: Drop waist & lace (or why I love 1920s fashion)

You may also like:

Laurel Contest: The winners!

Category one: Favorite use of prints

Category two: Favorite use of color

Category three: Self-designed Fabric

Category four: Use of added detail or embellishment

Category five: Fall / Winter version

Category Six: Readers’ Choice

You may also like:

Gorgeous fashion illustration prints

You may also like:

Reminder: Negroni sale ends tomorrow

You may also like:

Laurel contest: Cast your vote for Readers’ Choice!

Choose 5 favorites

The contestants

Vote!

You may also like:

Construction details: Chiffon, roses, and sweethearts

You may also like:

Ask the readers: What’s hard about knits?

You may also like:

Laurel contest: One final note

You may also like:

Detail Inspiration: Tiered skirts

You may also like:

Father’s Day Sale on Negroni: 20% off!

You may also like: