Chantilly Dress

Another Colette pattern, this is the Chantilly dress. There are two versions to this dress, I made the first version with lightweight fabric and then a visible lining. I bought the fabric from Joann's, they are both polyester. The outer was on the clearance rack and is some type of chiffon like fabric, the inside is a soft pink poly charmeuse. My reasoning for buying synthetic materials at the time was that I had never worked with a light silk-esque fabric before and was afraid to completely ruin material that was expensive. I think in the long run that the poly fabrics are harder to work with. I have since worked with a silk crepe and did not experience any of the problems I had with this dress fabric. I don't know exactly what it was, but it would just not do what it was supposed to do. I had a lot of problems with the top half, I wrote about this in a previous post.

The gathered portion in the front was crooked, I remember being careful to make it even when I was sewing it, but somehow the fabric wiggled its way into being a mess. I also did not notice this untill the seams were finished and cut, so it was difficult to undo. I somehow managed to fix it, and the end result is ok, but not perfect like I want things to be!

Chantilly is another great one from Colette patterns. I'm so obsessed with Sarai's patterns, she makes everything clear. The patterns have actual measurements and sizes that are close to normal. Sewing is not as scary with her patterns. This dress is so fun to wear, and twirl in. It's swishy, I can't remember the last time I had a swishy dress. I'm sorry for the excessive amounts of Erika pictures, but I really like the pictures my friend Lindsay takes. I was fun to twirl and take pictures.