Colette Rooibos + Simplicity 1699

Good afternoon!  I finally finished a make- only several weeks later.  Well, to be exact I finished two makes that I was making simultaneously.  With doing so, I used up some of the oldest fabric in my stash- fabric I bought while still in DC, all the way back in 2009/2010.  So let's take a look and get into the nitty gritty.  We'll start with the dress- Rooibos by Colette.

I'll be honest and say that I didn't notice that the two little flaps were not staying down in the pictures, I'll have to go back and tack them down.  I actually made several muslins of the bodice, as even with being drafted for a curvier lady, their bodices do not fit right out of the package.  I started with the size 6 for the back and shoulders and then doing a full bust adjustment to meet up with the size 10 front waist and front skirt.  This tends to work out best for my shape.  Even with the size 6 in back, I had to take more out of the neckline.  (I was overzealous, so the back ended up being a tiny bit snug).  I also had to add more to the front bust.  I probably could have added another half inch in length on the upper bust, but oh well.  The other changes I made was to start with the largest size for length (added a couple of inches).  It still was too short, so I added a 3.5 inch band at the bottom of the skirt.

Oh and another change I made was I added sleeves!  I used the pattern for Colette's Laurel dress.  I had to take some of the ease out of the top, but they fit in pretty well.  If you are thinking that you recognize the main fabric, yes, it's the last of the wool/cashmere I bought last year for my Marine Ball gown and Sewing History's trousers.

For the contrast piece, I used a woven piece of silver silk with pops of bright colors.  It doesn't photograph very well, but looks nice.  You can really tell in this picture that the collar piece is sticking up.  Bad Nicole!  I should double check before I take photos.

Here is about the clearest shot of both the contrasting fabric and the little collar. Not to shabby eh?
Well, when I bought this fabric, I was in Russian class in DC and my sewing machine was in storage, so with it, I made a skirt by hand.  (I was desperate to sew, as I hadn't sewn in months!)  The skirt ended up being too big, so I never wore it.  I decided to take it apart and make a simple jacket out of it.  Much more useful right?

Here is what I ended up with.  Simplicity 1699, a super simple jacket with only side bust darts.  As it's drafted there is no closure, but I added strips of the fabric so that I could tie it together. 

The shaping in the back is done by center seam.  It could almost use some more shaping, but I think I like it a little boxy.  I did just ok on the pattern matching. The front is spot on, but the back is only half matched.  Oops!  In my defense, I did have to be a little creative with the placement to make sure I had enough fabric.  To give the jacket some structure, I interfaced the whole thing. This made sewing it a breeze.

It is fully lined, the only change I made was added facings to make sure that none of that turquoise could be seen on the outside. For the facings I used the wool/cashmere from the dress.  I can say with certainty that I only left tiny scraps of the wool.  Anything else about the jacket, oh yeah, I made a straight size 14.

The only comment I have is if I make the jacket again, I will stick some weights in the hem that the front hangs a little better.  Anyway, that's my newest make, I won't actually get to wear any of it for a week, as I am on vacation!  Tomorrow my family is off to Venice, with a day in Florence.  And you know what that means?  According to my resolution, I can spend $100.00 on fabric during the trip.  I am hoping to find a nice denim, as I really need some new jeans.  (And can you believe it, I haven't bough any fabric in almost two months, I have really bee good about ignoring those Mood and Gorgeous fabric emails.)  Anyway until next time Happy Sewing!  Or felice cucito, I thought it would be bon cucito?  My Italian is non-existent!  

P.S.  Do you go fabric shopping on vacation?  What's the coolest thing you've bought? I hope I'm not the only one who loves fabric shopping in other countries.