Leopard Crepe - Finished!

 What did I like about this project?

• Pattern and instructions were brilliant - as ever, Colette Patterns come up trumps with a pattern that is a dream to follow. Honestly, I'm a little concerned about using any other pattern range that doesn't explain everything so beautifully!
• My fabric - I was so excited when I found it. I really never thought I would own a leopard print dress, but now I do!
• The pockets. I just love a dress with pockets.
• The piping. It was my first time trying piping and though it was a bit of a faff to cut all the bias strips, I'm delighted with the result. Next time I will be using this clever tutorial from Colette Patterns. When I'd finished the piping and turned the bodice and facing the round the right way, it was so exciting. I felt the same way as when I first made pockets (for my Beignet skirt) - "Wow this actually looks like something on a garment I would buy!". I'm really keen to use piping again on a project soon.
• It was a good experience to be involved in the sewalong, even though I didn't do anything at the right time! I started late because of my muslin issues then rushed ahead as I was enjoying the make so much. I'm looking forward to seeing the range of Crepes appear in the Flickr group. 

What did I dislike about this project?

• If anything let my dress down, it was my own sewing skills. Perhaps partly because I was so excited, some of the sewing is seriously dodgy. It's hard to believe that I wasn't drunk or blindfolded when I sewed the hem....

 Yikes! I'll just keep moving so no-one can see it...

• I struggled with the fit. I made one muslin which was huuuuge and then felt a bit overwhelmed and unsure how to best alter it. It knocked my confidence a bit, although I could see from the Flickr group that nearly everyone else was having the same problem. In the end, I just made the next size down for the final piece instead of making a 2nd muslin, and I slightly lowered the bust points. It was still a bit large though, which led to me having to do a kind of botched adjustment to the bodice after it was finished. For this, I brought the side seams in by about half an inch each side, tapering to the waist.

Preparation for taking the bodice side seams in

Would I make the pattern again?

• Most definitely. I love the result and the pattern was great to use.
• Next time I would do a better job with the fit of the bodice, instead of doing it as an after thought. I think it requires a proper bust adjustment
• Next time I will put more consideration into the finishing. I just pinked the edges which is ok, but it would have been nicer to put a but more time and effort into this. The pattern suggests you can use binding on your seams, and I might try this next time to neaten things up. 

With my feline sewing companions, Dot and Tilda

So, what's next? I'm hoping to make a skirt this weekend using the wool left over from my Beignet skirt. I also need to do some work for my new Knitting evening class,  which I will post about soon. I'm also interested in the Spring Palette Challenge, posted at Colette Patterns so I'm going to have a think about getting involve in that too.

Have a nice weekend!

K x

Edit - a big THANK YOU  to my husband for his photography - he was threatening legal action when I told him I forgot to credit him.