My Colette Hazel With Piping

Time to sew something for me!

I loved this stretchy stripe woven fabric and a touch of red was needed to make it pop. 

A detail of the piping, the dart I turned into gathers, and some loose threads!

There's me being bossy with my child labor , photographers. I wish they had told me my bra straps were showing. Oh well, you get what you pay for! They did a great job. I love that angled photo Shelby took!

A big thank you to my two wonderful photographers!

Notes on sewing this pattern. 


PIPING:
I added the piping for a pop of red which I always love. I had applied the piping to the angled seams on the bodice, but it looked really strange, like a Supergirl costume or something, so I removed it. The piping also gives a nice stiffness to the edge of the bodice.

FITTING
 According to my measurements I should barely fit into a 6.  I don't like much added ease so I cut the 6. After basting  together the dress it was huge on me. By the time I took in all the seams it is probably more like a size 2/4 , so this pattern has a lot of added ease. BTW for new sewists, ease is extra space added to the pattern for comfort. I also shortened the straps which were about 4 inches too long for me.

BUST DARTS
Let's just say those two little darts in the bodice pointing directly at my bust had me feeling a little self conscious. I decided to make little gathers in that spot instead of the darts.

WHY I NEVER MAKE MUSLINS:
I didn't do a muslin as I never do, unless making a custom made pattern. The fact is, every fabric behaves differently and fits differently so a muslin may fit perfectly in one fabric and not fit the same in the final fabric you fit it in.  It's also a waste of fabric and since I buy most of my fabrics in the garment district or flea markets for 3 dollars or less, it doesn't really save me any money. But I might make one if I was using a thirty dollar a yard fabric!
Here is what I do instead:
I just make a one inch seam allowance instead of the usual 5/8 inch allowance included in. I mark the sewing line lightly so I know where it is. I have a dress form padded to fit my measurements and I baste together the bodice pieces first, and do my first fitting on my dress form. Then I try it on myself just to tweak the fit. The extra seam allowance I added allows for any adjustments that might be needed. With four kids, a job as a costumer, and several chickens, 3 dogs, and a home to care for, making muslins are a chore Im not interested in. I want to get straight to the fun stuff! After my first fitting, I pin and mark my new seam allowances, pull out the bastings and resew. If I think I may use the pattern again, and I will make this Hazel again, I adjust my pattern pieces.

MISTAKES  MADE :
One mistake I made was failing to add some length to the bodice when cutting it out. I feel this bodice could use about an extra inch of length and when I make this pattern again I will slash the bottom third of the pattern, as recommended by Sarai, and add the length there.I am planning on making it again from a vintage tablecloth so stay tuned!
Another big mistake I made was trimming my pocket seam allowance off because I had sewed them wrong sides together. I was too lazy to pick out the seam so I just cut it off. After spending a lot of time figuring out the pocket technique I realized they were too small to fit my hand in! So out came the seam ripper to remove them for good.

COOL THINGS LEARNED
I used two tutorials from the Coletterie that helped me get past my hatred of invisible zippers and applying a facing to an invisible zippers. I have been sewing for more years than I care to say and have always been terrible at installing invisible zippers until I read this Colette Tutorial . Once I installed the zipper, this tutorial helped me figure out how to attach a facing to the zipper.These are such well written tutorials. If you are planning on making the Hazel, you have to check them out!

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