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Sunday 28 April 2013

Colette Voucher WINNERS! + Vogue 1108


Thanks guys for all your lovely words of support (and angst) over google reader breaking up with us. It was daunting at first, but now I've embraced other site readers and I have come to realise that google reader and I were just heading in different directions. Thank you also to the two tubs of ice-cream that supported me through the trauma.

COMPETITION WINNERS!

So with out further ado, here are the four lucky readers who each win a $50 e-voucher for Colette Patterns. Each winner was randomly selected using www.random.org 

Betty Stitchup
Aisha K
Miss Jackson
Eve and the apple tree

Congratulations lovelies! Please email me at julia@juliabobbin.com to redeem your prize.





This week I wanted to share with you a little Smurfette number that I made quite a while ago but haven't blogged about. When I say a while ago, I mean before I housed a human in my gutsies and these photos were taken back then also.

But hey, it's blue, it's pretty and it looks very Mad Men-ish don't you think? Very similar to this green number that Joanie-Joan wore in the promo shots:


Except that in Joan's photo she hasn't had one two many wines before taking the shot...

The Pattern
The pattern is Vogue 1108 and is lined, with an invisible zipper at the side. The bodice has a foundation with boning and a big crazy pleating system which ended up making a really nice feature on the front of the dress. Pattern pieces all start to look the same, so it was a real treat opening up the front pattern piece of the dress, which looked like a broken tree and wondering how the H it's going to end up looking like a dress.

The Fabric
A silk dupion that remarkably I got on sale; that never happens to me! I love dupion as it shapes so well and really knows how to absorb a colour.

Stash busting 101
I used a combination of left over silk scraps that I had in my stash to make the foundation. The foundation is hidden between the shell of the dress and the lining so it didn't matter what colours I used.

Instead of using silk organza for the interfacing, I used 'shapewell' which is a sturdy interfacing with the same sort of qualities as organza but a heck of a lot cheaper.


Pattern Changes/Alterations

The dress has self piping along the neckline which I omitted. I thought there was enough going on with the dress that I didn't need any extra details.

The hem sits a bit longer on me, instead of above the knee as the pattern describes and I like the little extra length. This could have more to do with my short-ass-ness than anything else.

I sewed both shoulders closed and bagged them out, instead of keeping one shoulder open and finishing it with hook and eyes. I thought that it made the dress a bit neater and finished, and it was easy enough to lift the dress above my head to put on, instead of stepping into it.

When I first made my toile for this dress (how very disciplined of me!!) I found that I was swimming in the upper back and that the shoulders kept sliding down my arms. That was with the bodice at a size 12! I have a short torso, but this was just cray-cray.
I ended up reducing the back by a whooping 7 cm on both sides. Other reviewers also found the back a bit big so be wary when making this dress and make a toile first! You can see in the above photo how I reduced it at the back and then created a new cutting line, filling in the space that the dart created. I drew diagonal lines in the space so that you can see. I then transferred these changes onto the facings, foundation and linings.

I used shapewell interfacing again instead of organza for the bow which reduced the floppiness. I also tacked the top of the bow to the dress to avoid it collapsing.


Conclusion
I really liked the elegance of this dress and how it turned out. I got to try out boning for the first time, and I loved how the dress fitted and sat so lovely once it was added.
The dress was a massive effort with 28 pattern pieces that needed to be cut out, two different types of interfacing, lining, foundation and dress fabric. Thank God I made this dress BEFORE the baby was born!


So guess what?!! Only one more week until the MAD MEN CHALLENGE BIG REVEAL!! The dresses are AMAZE-balls! I am so impressed with the number and the quality of entrants that my brain hurts. HURTS I tell you. Thanks to everyone who took part; I can't wait to share them all with you next week.

35 comments:

  1. it looks beautiful julia :D how you adjust pattern pieces so well i'll never know but i'm getting better haha

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  2. Gorgeous colour:) oooh exciting to see all the dresses

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  3. Stunning! Glorious colour and perfect combo of fabric and pattern.

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  4. This looks all kinds of rad! I love the fabric- it is such a rich colour and the bow holds its shape well!
    At the risk of sounding way clueless- what do you mean by sewing the shoulders closed and bagging them out? (my brain straight away went to you mocking the poor shoulder pieces... "your mama was an 80s shoulder pad")

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    1. Ha! Yes, well your definition sounds a lot more bad ass. It's where you sew the lining and the fabric shell right sides together, inside out. Then you turn it the right way around, usually by pulling it through the shoulder, and you have a completed top without any hand stitching :)

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  5. Wow, love the colour, so rich and shimmery. And the cut of the dress with that kick-arse bow look fabulous!

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  6. Stunning dress.. Great incentive to get your pre baby body back..

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  7. Wow, gorgeous dress and lovely colour! Must check out shapewell

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  8. i also cant wait to see these madmen dresses. your V dress is very joan worthy, very pretty. congrats to the winners! you are so genreous to do this. and btw, what did you end up going with for keeping up with blogs. i switches to bloglovin after reading your post and im liking it, getting a daily email link :D

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    1. Thanks Rebecca, I signed up for feedly and bloglovin, but I find that I am using bloglovin more :)

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  9. What a beautiful dress - the cut and colour of it looks wonderful on you.

    And yes, getting rather excited about seeing all these Mad Men dresses in one place :D

    www.mancunianvintage.com

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  10. The cobalt is stunning...the whole ensemble is 10/10!

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  11. Very pretty! That colour looks amazing on you.

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  12. Oh wow! Thanks so much Julia! I've emailed you. Your dress looks stunning, the colour looks gorgeous on you xxx

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  13. Your dress is beautiful, such a gorgeous colour.

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  14. Gorgeous dress, I admired this pattern when it came out, so it is nice to see it made up. Not sure if I would have the patience for 28 pieces though. Yours is just lovely

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  15. Stunning dress and love your color!

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  16. Such a stunning dress! It sounds like it was a piece of work to put together though, phew. I'm looking forward to the Mad Men reveal - I was never into the show but in the last few weeks Netflix has enabled me to get totally hooked, and omg, the dresses...

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  17. Beautiful!!!! And yes, quite Joanie!

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  19. So nice to see you're back. I love the colour and the lovely shape of this dress. You always make the most beautiful mad man dresses. Very unusual foto location, though. Where is your typical white setting?

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  20. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  21. My dad (a man of the 50s) would describe your dress as va va boom! I'd skip the sexism and just tell you its amazing!

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  22. This dress is just gorgeous! I love the beautiful details and stunning color. It looks well worth the extra effort.

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  23. This is stunning like most things you make!

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  24. boning - tee hee. Missing you at class woman.

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  25. Oh, Lady! You look beautiful in that dress! Adjust impressive and wonderful choice of combo ... fabric and pattern.

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  26. You are just so lovely! :) Your "Smurfette" dress is very beautiful and elegant. Stunning!

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  27. I made this dress last year when I was a bridesmaid at my sister's wedding (and blogged about it at http://homeon129acres.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/change-of-pace/). It was the most complicated dress I've ever sewn--crazy pattern pieces and first time using boning. Your review on PR and your flickr photos were extremely helpful. I had exactly the same problem with the upper back, and your pictures of how you adjusted helped me figure out how to fix it. While yours is Smurfette, mine ended up being Belle from Beauty and the Beast--although I didn't see the similarity until the bartender asked to take my picture so that he could show his daughter how he met "Belle" at work. Thanks so much for all of your help in making a very special dress.

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  28. It's beautiful and you look absolutely gorgeous! It's such a nice color and shape.

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