Colette Macaron

Last night I wore Macaron out to dinner with some friends, so I was able to get my lovely husband to take some pics of me in it. Here is one of me having a cup of tea before going out:

Overall, I think it turned out well. I got lots of nice comments, and a friend wants me to make her one (she is totally pint sized though, nothing at all like my shape, and at about 5 foot 1". I am 5 foot 8" - I don't know if I am ready to make clothes for someone so differently shaped to me).

I used a quilting weight cotton for the patterned parts and a cream pin cord for the contrast. In hindsight, I think using a lighter fabric for the contrast may have been a better idea. I didn't end up doing the pockets as I was worried about them being too heavy in the cord. The cord does look nice though.

I did have a nasty time with the waistband though. For some reason beyond my knowledge, the waist band did not match up on both sides. I had to do some tweaking to get it to line up - especially on the zipper side. This photo shows the wonderful job (if I do say so myself!!) job of lining them up:

The waistband does appear to wrinkle slightly, but I think this is because the fabric has a small amount of stretch in it. As the night wore on, it actually relaxed a fair amount (making it a little loose in my opinion). I also had to remove about 4cm overall from the waistband. Either I've lost weight or I'm over-estimating my measurements.

I also had a crazy time with the invisible zip, and I'm still not that happy with it. I found it really difficult to insert the zip when the top of the bodice was already joined. I've only ever put in an invisible zip when the fabric is not joined together at all. But, even though I'm not very very happy with it, it is still okay. The back is very cute:

I really love the tulip-shape of this skirt, and the fact that the little fold/pleats hug my waist down to my hip, then the skirt flares. It is a very nice pattern with so many cute details. The inverted shape of the sleeve, the sweetheart neckline, the shape of the waist....

Now, you may also realise that I have cut my hair short. I usually have short hair, but did go through a stage of thinking that I might grow it. I was experiencing some major vintage hairstyle envy with people like Debi and Gertie. But I did some soul searching, and I'm not a long hair gal. It doesn't suit me, and I think my short hair reflects my personality better. I've also ramped up my exercise again (Michael and I are going to do a half-marathon in April), and short hair is so much easier for running. Here is a pic of my new hair:

Well, I'm off to do some more sewing!! I'll have more pics tomorrow to put up too. I've re-done my Ceylon sleeves (sits so much nicer) and sewn a Sencha blouse (they are the loveliest blouses but I had to do some tweaking with that one too). Hope you're having nice weekends - it is a miserable day here - perfect sewing weather!