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 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.
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!
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?!)
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.
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!
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!
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.
That is a lovely dress. Sounds like you had a fun time.
The dress looks so pretty! I love the shade of gray! Thanks for the fun giveaway too! msmissy02 at gmail dot com
I like the sash front and back.
I think your dress is so lovely!
I think you look wonderful in this dress as is! The bow is the perfect complement – a great statement piece done well!
The dress looks wonderful on you! Love the fabrics!
That's a very nice dress and you did a wonderful job on it! It looks so good on you!
hulseybg at gmail dot com
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
Kudos to you for making a dress! I think I would be too scared. It's lovely!
Just thought of this use a thinner fabric as the facing
Your dress is adorable! And I love the belted look with the wrap. Thanks for sharing & for the giveaway 🙂
Debby E
samtaylorcjsmimi (at) yahoo (dot) com
Very cute dress! Thanks for the giveaway!
Liked your dress. May be with some alterations, back might look prettier. Thanks for the give away.
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.
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
The dress is beautiful and you looks sweet and elegant.Great pics!
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.
The dress looks lovely on you, a great colour. Sadly I am no seamstress so cannot offer any alteration tips!
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!
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.
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.
Very Pretty. The giveaway fabrics are beautiful.
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.
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.
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.)
Like the dress – I haven't made myself a dress since high school! 🙂 you've inspired me!
mumbird3(at)gmail(dot)com
I really like the wrap back if the dress. Great detail!
jackiethompson323(at)gmail.com
i like the dress. The fabric is simple but beautifil.
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"!
The dress is wonderful and the sash is the perfect touch!!
the dress is adorable! I'd leave it…. move onto something else fun to make!
The dress is lovely, I think you should leave it as it is.
Lovely dress, great neutral color, love the black accents. Beautiful job! Thank you for the giveaway.
Like the dress……a lot! What a great use of the fabrics.
Great fabric and color choices. Dressmaking requires skill and talent, which you have.
I love this dress and you look so tiny! It looks a little big in the waist so maybe take it in when your feeling better if you want a more form fitting look. If not, you look darling in this one! Thanks so much!
tdkcarpenoctem@hotmail.com
Love the dress! Looks cute with the back wrap, and the different fabric tie.
Cute dress!
Wow! Six darts in the bodice! Well it looks lovely on you. I'd say it was a win! Beautiful job.
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
What a pretty dress! Looks very classic.
cute dress! very nice that the sash is a pattered fabric! =)
It's lovely! I think it's possible the back could use less fabric, but it's fine the way it is. Love the bow!
This turned out so darling! Classy! xoxo
Four yards! I've never used that much of one fabric on anything. Thanks for the chance to win.
Everyone needs a neutral colored dress! Great sewing job……..
The dress looks great from here! I've no idea about the fitting but my friend has made the same dress I'll ask her to take a look!
Cute variation of "the little black dress." Black and white are so versatile, and can be paired with just about anything. Fun fabrics!