Finished Project: Colette Pastille

My mom got me the Colette Sewing Handbook for my birthday in October and I have been itching to make something ever since! After the hustle and bustle of the holidays died down I decided I would tackle the Pastille dress.

Pastille is a basic sheath dress, its details are a sweetheart neckline and horizontal pleats in the skirt. I used this CRAZZZYYY cotton from Joann Fabrics, it was only $2 a yard and I wanted something cheap for my first go-round (It IS a quilting cotton, but I think that its weight and texture are ok with this pattern, plus, I'm one of those kinds of people that doesn't really care about the stigma of quilting cotton).

I also decided that I was going to do this 100% the "right" way, no shortcuts!  So I made 3 (THREE!) muslins before sewing the actual dress, finished all the seams on the inside, and did all the appropriate thread tracing/pressing/busy work.

The pattern is sized 0-18, I made a 8, but graded down to a 6 in the hips. The instructions were very easy, I hardly needed to even follow them! My major complaint is the fitting issues I faced with this pattern.  I was really hoping that this would be an easy fit, since Colette Patterns has a pretty good reputation but I had major issues with the back. It was quite baggy and I had to do a sway-back adjustment, something I have never tackled before! I went on the Colette Patterns Community Forum and learned a lot of other ladies were having this problem too. I think I have the back under control now, but it was still an unexpected obstacle.

I shortened the waist 1" first.  Then I made a 1.5" sway back adjustment. My method is delineated in the graphic below. I also graded to a 6 in the hips.  If I were to make this pattern again (which I probably am) I think I am going to lengthen the back waist dart to remove some extra fabric in the back, lower the bust darts just a hair, take the waist down just 1/2" or so (I think I took it up too high originally), and remove the cap sleeves since I think that the shoulders are too big for me anyway. I also see some bagginess on the sides of the dress, maybe I need to make a size 6 and do a FBA so that the dress fits my ribcage better? IDK. Also, I notice that my waistline pulls up at center front, what's doing that?

 

I liked that it was a simple, easy dress to put together, and that it is "no-nonsense," there aren't a lot of frills or design additions. That way it lends itself to be remade again and again, with the addition of your own details, to make a whole closet of dresses!

I think I am going to sew it again, I really want to refine it into a "go-to" pattern that I can rely on to fit every time.  I would certainly recommend it to others, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND sewing a toile/muslin first, since the back seems to be an issue for most sewists.