Crepe Dress in Black and White

Today I’m delighted to be a stop on the blog hop for Jennifer Sampou’s brand new fabric line, Black & White, for Robert Kaufman fabrics!

 I met Jennifer at Quilt Market this past fall and just had a blast with her.  There may or may not have been an evening of charades in the Hilton bar complete with singing by Amy Gibson and myself.  😉 It might be have been pretty epic.  When I wasn’t laughing away after hours, I was on the market floor and able to see Jennifer’s fabrics up close and in person.  When she asked me to be part of the blog hop, I thought about tackling a garment for myself with her yarn dies and an accent fabric from her collection.  And so, I made the Crepe Dress by Colette.
Crepe Dress
This is a wrap style dress designated by Colette Patterns as “beginner”.  Hmm…well probably compared to their other patterns this is a beginner pattern.  But I think it is a bit more like an intermediate pattern for your average sewer.  The facings are a bit tricky…that’s the main difficulty.  Well and the six darts in the bodice… And it requires a good amount of fabric.  There’s at least 4 yards of fabric in this dress!
Crepe Dress
Crepe Dress
I’m decently happy with how the dress looks on me but I think that I might still need to do some alterations to fit my proportions better.  The bodice is a bit large on me in the center of the front.  And I’m not sure if there is supposed to be that much fabric in the bodice back wrap. (But isn’t it pretty?!)
Crepe Dress
I love how flattering a wrap dress is for any body size.  I’m not feeling my smallest these days by any means with a post surgery body and this dress helped hide a lot of that.
Crepe Dress
I think you can see the beauty of Jennifer’s fabrics in the photo above.  Her Studio Stash yarn die looks really lovely with her fabric from Black and White (with a not so easy to remember name AJS-15017-290 ASH).
But if anyone has any suggestions for how the dress should fit me better please feel free to suggest away!! Because I’m certainly loving the wrap skirt!
Crepe Dress

 
 Follow Along with the Entire Blog Hop!
January 31 Angela Pingel
February 2 Sarah Sharp
February 9 Jennifer Sampou Announce Winner.

By Angelapingel | Filed under My Projects | Tags: , , , ,

156 thoughts on “Crepe Dress in Black and White”

  5. Beautiful dress but you are so pretty how about a red or scarlet bow for a pop of color and some red shoes. Add some bling jewelry. You need to brighten yourself, you are gorgeous. Even a hat would be awesome.

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  23. Pretty dress, I would love to see it in another color-yes, I do know it's all about black and white😐, wish I knew how to alter, but I think it was supposed to be done to the paparazzi pattern?

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  25. Wow, I'd have to comment even if there wasn't a giveaway! The dress looks stunning on you! So beautiful. Love your poses – you make a wonderful model. And, I love the bow fabric against the great, just perfect.

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  26. I'm not a dress kind of gal and seamstress skills are beyond my abilities so I can offer zip for suggestions! I will say that the dress looks comfortable and the sash is lovely, I think it would look more classy without the bow.

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  27. I love the style but the dress definitely looks like it needs to be taken in a bit in the bodice, both front and back. Other than sizing, it looks great!

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  28. I really like this dress. I love the sash that goes around the waist. I would never be able to make something like this! I can sew straight lines, but I doubt that I could sew the curved lines required for clothes.

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  37. I DO love the dress.It really looks wonderful on you, but I think it would be better without the bow. Maybe just tie the sash in a knot in back and let the ends hang down because the sash is beautiful.Thank you so much for the giveaway.

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  41. I wish I could help you with tailoring advice but I am too new at garment making… the materials really are lovely! And I can see why figuring out how to wrap it may have been confusing, I am still not sure how you did LOL!

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  55. I love your dress, I think I could wear this with my body type (middle weight). It is great, and you look great in it. Thank you for sharing. Have a wonderful day! dawnm1993(at)gmail(dot)com

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  56. The dress is quite lovely on you!!! The sash stays as I feel it adds something valuable to the look of a wrap dress. I agree w you about needing some minor alterations. Perhaps someone local who can actually see the dress off and on you can give you good feedback on how to do it. Great fabric choice too!!��

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  58. Cute dress! Like the varying size of a wrap around. Really like the black and while fabric and contrast.. I do tend toward high contrast fabrics, black white, brights on white or black.. all appeal to me 🙂

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  64. Beautiful fabrics and lovely dress. It's been too many years since I did garment sewing for me to suggest how to adjust the bodice so it hugs your figure better. Quilting is much easier to get the right fit!!

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  75. Love the dress…..not sure what I would make with the fabric tho…..would have to look around to see something that catches my eye and go from there…..

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  76. Angela
    you are angelic in your Black & White dress. I love how it drapes on you and the back neck line.
    I'd love to meet Jennifer one day too. I'm a new fan of ALL her fabrics, since the debut of Shimmer last Spring and am finding I can't resist any of her collections the more I uncover, past and present.
    bluestarof2(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  77. I don't think that went well, my computer prowls aren't very good. I love the dress, reminds me of spring while we have rain. I like the belt and the draping this dress has.

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  83. I think your dress looks great! That's something I haven't mastered yet… sewing clothes. I can make a quilt or a handbag all day long but not clothing, but there's still hope. 🙂

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  90. Your dress is beautiful, in construction and on you! It does look a little big, but remember that sewing something that doesn't fit just right is no different than wearing something from the racks that doesn't fit quite right, and in my opinion the dress looks much nicer than what you could buy! That said, I do have some dressmaking experience, so here are a few tips that you might be able to do without too much work: 1. First of all, if anything needs to be taken in at the shoulders, do that first before altering anything else, because it will change the fit. 2. Second, try taking in the side seams to reduce some of the excess in the bodice — you could take it in all down the sides to keep the flow (and not allow the hem to sag on the side seams), and you definitely have enough extra width in the waist and hip area even with some taken out. 3. The darts should be 1' below/away from the apex of the bust. That's hard to change after the dress is sewn, but maybe adjusting foundation garments would help. 4. If it seems too baggy to you center front, maybe you could run a little gathering stitch in the middle of the neckline as a "design feature" to take up some of the extra/make it look intentional. 5. It seems like there is too much height in the back of the bodice — I have this problem with every pattern because I have a swayback, so I need to take out fabric. If there is a waist seam joining bodice to skirt, I'd pin out the extra (looks like maybe a good 1.5 inches?) and re-sew the seam. If there isn't a waist seam (it doesn't look like there is), then I would suggest creating one, slashing the back bodice, removing the extra, and then adding a thread loop for the belt to go through so that the tie hides the seam.
    I hope that is all helpful, and please, please don't take it as criticism, just as a place to start if you do want to tackle fitting! I have made and worn many a dress that didn't "fit right". You are lovely in it, and I bet you're getting compliments left and right when you wear it! I am certainly not an expert, but if you have any questions, please feel free to write! sarah@forrussia.org

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  93. Wow! Sarah has way more expertise than I have with dressmaking. I'll leave it to the experts. Love the black and white fabric – I'm collecting fat quarters at the moment until I have enough to make a lovely quilt. Hope I win!
    judybarr at iearn dot org dot au

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  100. I would definitely love twirling around in that cute dress 🙂 the skirt is beautiful! I agree, though, that the top does seem a bit big. Since I know nothing at all about garment sewing, alas, I have no advice. Well, I would say that number 90 above seems to know what she is talking about 🙂 thank you for a chance at this giveaway! Magistra13 at yahoo dot com
    Beth

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  101. I love the dress and the criss-cross belt is perfect for it! It would be so cute on little girls too. That reminds me of my mom making "mom and me" dresses when I was little. I was always so proud to look just like my mommy!

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  102. There are techniques to fitting clothing that we make. There should be plenty of proper fitting tips on the internet. With that said, the dress seems to be a perfect shape for you.

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  110. The dress looks great, I especially love the back with the wrap part and bow, but I can't believe how much yardage it takes, that is why I would never be brave enough to make myself a dress, my daughter sure, since she normally only uses 1 yard and that's manageable 🙂 grecomara at gmail dot com

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  116. What a stunning dress. I HATE doing darts, and you said this one has 6 of them! Hmmm, have a weigh how much do I like the pattern versus doing that many darts…. 🙂
    Looks like a little too much material in the back. Can you take up some of the excess in the middle back seam? Even if not, it looks great on you, and it's a beautiful dress on a beautiful person.

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  117. Very nice dress. I'm afraid my garment sewing is limited to basic skirts. I've recently picked up a copy Od Sew What, Skirts and an Alabama Chanin book. So, I'm moving closer to taking the plunge. As to the dress itself, maybe a bit tighter in the back but it still works nicely. Notwendy gmail

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  119. Your dress is beautifully made. The structure of the bodice & the back treatment make this THE BEST wrap dress I've ever seen!!! It's deceptively simple and quite lovely. The wearer will never have to keep fussing with a shifting gap in the bodice! Congratulations.

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  121. I'm not a garment sewer, but I love the dress, especially the sash (style and fabric). Would love to have some fabric from this collection for a quilt!

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  122. The dress lovely. It's sweet, pretty, and feminine. The fabrics are flattering and the style is sweet. I've not yet gotten into garment construction [I'm reading tons and taking lots of mental notes] but I'm exciting that it's coming back into fashion to make lovely clothes for our own families again.

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  123. The dress lovely. It's sweet, pretty, and feminine. The fabrics are flattering and the style is sweet. I've not yet gotten into garment construction [I'm reading tons and taking lots of mental notes] but I'm exciting that it's coming back into fashion to make lovely clothes for our own families again.

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  125. What Sarah said above. I would also nix the bow and make the belt knotted – more modern looking.
    Love the materials and once you take it in a bit, will look even better.

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  126. The dress is lovely and looks adorable on you. I agree it looks a bit loose in the back but I don't have the expertise to assist. It looks like comment 90 from Sarah is very helpful.

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  127. The fabric was a great choice for the dress. As for the fit, is the back bodice too long/tall? It's definitely not perfect, but judging from the front, it doesn't seem to be too wide. Is there a horizontal seam you could use to shorten it? (I usually have the opposite problem, since my posture is so bad I sometimes have to lengthen the back bodice to accommodate my slouch.)

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  131. Nice dress, I admire you for sewing clothes. Clothes are my kryptonite and one day I will learn how to make them properly rather than "making it up as I go along"!

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  142. Very pretty and classy dress! Great job! I am not a garment sewer, even though I would love to learn someday. I am a quilter, so I don't really have any suggestions on fitting the dress, but good luck and it is very flattering and nice as it is!
    My email is: bestbelle2010@aol.com

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