Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Red Retro Dress - Colette Patterns Oolong #1008

Finally completed UFO!!

Pattern: Colette Patterns Oolong #1008 (2009)

Pattern Description: Lined bias-cut dress with central ruched bodice, v-neckline, slim six-gore skirt, and no closures.

Pattern Sizing: Using their size chart I ended up using a size 6 for bust and size 10 for waist and hips. As it turned out the bodice was still too tight across the chest.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, minus the sleeves.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes! Colette produces very detailed and well illustrated directions with their patterns.


What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved the slinky 1930s feel of the dress and its bias skirt.A very va-va-va-voom kind of dress. However, I found that the sleeves cut in my size were too tight to be comfortable.

Fabric Used: A lovely red cotton twill with a wonderful drape and Pellon Easy-Knit fusible interfacing.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: As seen in these posts, I had issue with the back neck to waist measurement being too long (16") for my strangely petite sizing (there and only there!) of 15.5". As I did not notice this even when constructing the lining I had to make adjustments on the final dress by changing the seam allowance on the back bodice piece and altering the darts some.


Note: I completed the dress in 2010 as designed. However, the sleeves were too tight, so I re-cut the sleeves with more width but they were still constricting. Finally, I decided to remove them completely, remembering how sultry the dress looked before the sleeves were originally constructed. Therefore, I took out my handy seam ripper and not only took off the sleeves but decreased the seam allowance on the upper shoulder of the bodice to provide more room. Turning some fabric leftovers into bias tape I then enclosed the raw edges of the dress and lining, slip-stitching the tape by hand to the lining on the inside.


Would you sew it again? Probably not. It is very unique and I would have to deal with fitting the back again because I did not transfer my changes to the paper pattern.

Would you recommend it to others? Yes, it's very flattering and easy. Just make sure that you are honest about your measurements. The dress has scant wearing ease so even a fraction of an inch can make a big difference. Therefore, do not over fit, there are no closures to this dress and it must go on over your head and shoulders. If too tight it will put too much stress on the seams. I had to reinforce some seam intersections with fusible interfacing.

Conclusion: The resulting dress from this pattern is a lovely curve-revealing, date-ready red dress with a strong 1930s vibe.
 
Images: my own photographs

12 comments:

Joyce in NC said...

I agree, this is a great looking dress on you.

Gail said...

Wow! This dress looks beautiful on you!

This one has been on my back burner for a couple of years - I'm waiting for the right fabric to find me!

JuliN said...

Ooo, how pretty!

Leslie said...

This is so pretty! And the color is just stunning!

Juliet said...

Va-va-voom! This is gorgeous. Thatnks for the advice about the fitting as well, I'm yet to try Colette patterns, but I knew they had less ease, I just didn't know how much less!

Anonymous said...

This is lovely! It looks great and I love the fabric.

Molly said...

Very nice! I never liked the Oolong pattern much, but your's is really flattering!

jen said...

wow, love it!! and the color is great on you. i still have yet to try a colette pattern (mainly b/c the smallest size is too big) but hope to someday soon!

Kyle said...

That is gorgeous! and much better without sleeves. I'm impressed that anyone can get it on over their head without needing a closure!

SEWN said...

Super sexy! Love it without the sleeves. Great dress and color on you.

The Slapdash Sewist said...

This is so pretty, and so perfectly flattering!

Kristina said...

Wow, this is gorgeous!! Definitely 1930's vibe!