FINISHED! Laurel Fall

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It's been a little while between sewing finishes, but today, I finished my Colette Laurel in the fabric (Liberty and pinwheel corduroy) I bought at La Droguerie in France just before coming home.  The pattern itself is easy and the instructions are superb.  Unfortunately this dress took way longer for me to complete than it should have.
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I had a bit of stage fright with this.  Firstly I had been away from my machine for a little while and secondly during the construction I kept questioning my fabric choices, with Ben at one point stating that the dress looked like something from the middle ages - or worse.

I had a bit of trouble with the fitting as well.  I made up a size 4 but had to take in at least an inch from each side.  The bust darts.... well you can see from the photos that they aren't exactly right..... although strangely they were fine in my final fitting after I dropped the shoulder seams down to 1/4 inch.  Just goes to show that I wasn't careful enough to check all positions - or else I hold myself strangely in photos.  I think I've read elsewhere that the armscye is small and I agree with this.  I had to chop about 1/2 inch into it to make it bigger and possible for my arm to get in and move!  

My 'bib' is also a bit out - which is annoying but I'm hoping isn't too obvious when wearing it.
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You'll notice also that I changed the sleeves as well.  I'm not a fan of a tight fitting sleeves so adopted the sleeve from Tilly's Mathilde blouse to fit.  
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All in all, it's an odd sort of interpretation by me of the pattern, which one minute I like and the next not so much.  I had decided to make an autumn Laurel for the contest and so tried to make something that had a real Autumn feel about it.  I definitely think it has that, so feel I met my personal brief.  I hemmed it by an inch to make it really mini (I'm really short so beware if you aren't as it is short - and shorter in the back than the front).

I'm not sure how much wear I'll get out of it but it is fun and with the right attitude might be of  'a fashion' enough for me to wear to fashfest next week.   

19 comments:

  1. I think it looks fabulous, and you look fabulous in it. The dusty blue cord is inspired for autumn wear too! And great call on the sleeves.

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  2. Aah, yes Rosemary's baby works too. Thanks for your love on this dress. I need to work on my attitude to wear the dress luckily Fashfest will be heaps less intimidating than Syd fashion week, thank goodness!

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  3. Kirsty!!!!!!! Please don't take me wrong! This is a complement (⊙.☉)7

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  4. Ha ha ha, it's ok, I did think you were giving me a compliment :) xxx

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  5. My first thought on seeing this was how absolutely spot on your fabric and colour combinations were! I just love the shape of the sleeves you've chosen and think the whole thing works so well.
    I only listen to my other half's opinion re sewing/clothes when I like what he's saying but I know that sometimes it's hard not to be affected by someone else's initial comments. I hope you can forget about them though and enjoy the dress!

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  6. Kirsty, it is lovely. I'm not sure why you were worrying about your fabric choice - they work so well together. Interesting that you had some of the same fitting issues that I had. Inspired idea to change the sleeves, they are a very nice touch.

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  7. Thanks Shelley. I couldn't resist that bright trim.... but no more bibs in dresses/tops. I think I've done my dash now :)

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  8. Thanks Claire. I read your post regarding fitting as well. I'm not even really happy with the fit now. The armscye was so tiny!!

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  9. Thanks so much Kathryn. Good advice on the other half's opinions :)

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  10. You look like you stepped right out of the early '70s!! (That's not a bad thing, in my book!) I'm really impressed with your curve-sewing ability!

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  11. I thought I recognized those sleeves! I think you made a perfect match of fabrics (I really love that Liberty print). Definitely wear it to fashfest! (Your shoes are so cute with it too).

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  12. Oh thanks Shar!! Yes! Although I did take an inch off each side though so they weren't quite as big.

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  13. This is too pretty for words! Love the contrast, the trimmings the sleeves...Love it all. A real winner!

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  14. The colors you chose are perfect together, I really like the orange accent. I would totally rock this. Hopefully it ends up seeing some wear, it's really cool and unique!

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  15. Thanks Morgan, after all the love it's got in the comments I'm feeling better about it. I do love the orange :)

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  16. Looks really cosy, Kirsty, and those two fabrics match so well. It looks like you are wearing a pretty blouse underneath a pinafore. I love this look :)

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  17. Wow this is gorgeous and so creative! So funny we both had the same issue with the sizing. :)

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