Rhinestones and telephones has been hosting a Colette sewalong on her blog. I recieved this pattern as a gift of appreciation and I really appreciated the opportunity to make this up with other fellow Macaron sewers.
These are the pieces I had planned to use. The print is on the yoke and sleeves. The burgundy is on the bodice, midriff and skirt pieces.
I’ve used organza to line the sleeves so the print remains defined and the colours aren’t washed out.
The sleeves lined with organza sit nicely and they didn’t take too much work to set them into the bodice. Whether you use 1 or 2 rows of gathering stitches, they still sit nicely.
Macaron bloopers:
– The pockets didn’t turn out right. I’ll have to have another go at these on the next version. Note to self: read the notes and pay more attention.
– One of the sleeves was a bit puffy. That’s because I didn’t clip it where the hem is inverted.
– When I attached the skirt to the bodice, I managed to sew the front skirt to the back bodice. I thought the pleats were a bit funny… At least the skirt was sewn in at the waist and not at the hem. I’ve done that before.
– The front waistband is a bit twisted. I’ll be ironing on interfacing to the waistband to keep it looking firm.
– The skirt length needs to go above the knees.
Below is my pattern pose.
All in all, this dress worked. And the back pleats have been modified so I don’t have volume where it’s not needed. The outer back pleats are wider than the centre back pleats.
IMHO:
I can see why Colette patterns are so popular. There are lots of good instructions for new sewers. The order of sewing this dress are a bit out of sequence IMHO. I expected to work on the front bodice in total and then the back bodice but the midriff sequence is after sewing the yokes. This isn’t a biggy or a deal breaker. It’s just a sequencing thing that’s different to what I’m used to.
velosews 
Oh, this is so cute on you! I really love it. I would never be confident enough to put these two fabrics together but they work brilliantly. I really need to be more adventurous. The shoes you're wearing are perfect. I think I need to try this pattern; I've seen so many wonderful versions lately and I can see a place for this dress in my wardrobe!
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Love the dress – the colours are beautiful. Looks good on you.
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A lovely dress! I like the pattern pose too 🙂
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You're beautiful! That is a really cool colour combination and the best make of this pattern I've seen yet. Love the fabric on the yoke.
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I love your take on this, the print on the upper part is lovely.
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So very cute, I love it!
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Wow, it turned out very elegant. I think you chose colors and print that really suit you.
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Love..love the dress, style & color. Perfect fit on you.
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That's a stunning dress, and I LOVE the colours you've chosen.
I think I might need this pattern – although I'm not too sure about pleats over the butt, I can see them being changed to darts…. 🙂
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This macaron has got to be one of my favourite dresses of yours. Just gorgeous combo of fabrics, and the dress style suits you wonderfully!
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Absolutely stunning! It's great to see a nice pattern re-imagined into something even better.
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