The Crepe Sew-Along!

Hey everyone!

The blogosphere has been blooming sew-alongs lately! After the Lady Grey, I decided to enroll to the Crepe sew-along that Gertie has developed for a few reasons. First, I learned SO much following the coat instructions. Second, Gertie has a gift for teaching! It is so relaxing to read or watch her. She is so passionate about sewing, and so sweet too! Third, I really liked the Crepe pattern. Last year, I have been falling in love with Colette Patterns.

Now, you tell me that I am doing the Crepe, I tell you that I need fabric! I wanted something cute and a little bit springy. I wanted a nice grey-ish cotton that had a pattern on it. And I wanted to use a pink contrasting belt. I completely fell in love with this silk cotton! I have also purchased pink plain cotton and lining, just in case. However, I ended up using woolen left over from a previous skirt, and it worked great!

I have even found a nice close up from the shop website:

I love those little apples, because  you can only seem them from upclose!

Now, the whole muslin process started before Christmas! I needed a break from the vintage-coat-lining-project. I tried on the top. On the flickr page, almost everyone mentioned that the pattern felt quite large, but then again, I wanted to upgrade it the way I was supposed to. I have used a 20 from shoulders to bust, and a 22 for the waist, hoping it would be enough for the hips and especially tummy. Here is the result:

1) It really is too big around the shoulders, and at the sides.

2) Same thing. I am an apple shape, and in order to show a waist, I need garments to mark the narrowed bit of my bust: right under the bosom!

3) Once again, the back is too big, and I am sure that I have pinned the pieces far enough.

At that point, I decided to just downgrade everything one size. And it seemed to help a lot. For the context, you can see the top of my polka dots bloomers! Doesn't it look better?

1) Hello asymmetry! My bad... I was wearing a bad bra, that is in the trash since then! I am very happy with it. The shoulders look good, the sides too, the bust cups too.

2)Same thing for the sides! You can actually see that I am no potato bag (even if my lovely step-mother-to-be begs to differ). The cleavage is not gaping either Yeay!

3) I really like the back! It completely transforms my waist!

Between that point and the rest, a few long weeks passed. Christmas, New Year, Three Kings Day... But I managed to fit the time for it right when I was packing boxes! The Crepe was my only fun break. Mister was working like mad for his phD, and I became an expert in the art of card boxes! And tadaaaaa!

I rally like the result! The shape of the dress is pretty flattering. It just shouts for pink high heel shoes! Or dark grey, I am not difficult! I love the pockets and the back wrap. So comfy! Here come the pictures! For the little story, we shot the photos when it was around 0 Celsius! You can see my arms getting freshly pink!

And yes, I made an effort with my hair!

MMMMMMMhhhh! Warmth!

So, what do you think?
Did you participate to the sew along as well?