Sarah, Rochelle, and I wanted to give everyone some time to prepare for the next pattern in the sew-along, so we thought we would get the poll up extra early :) To vote, go to one, two, or all three of our blogs (you're allowed to vote on all three!) and pick your favorite pattern. October's choices are: Parfait, Jasmine, Peony, and Iris. You can view all of them in the Colette Patterns online shop.

I have been trying all weekend to get the poll up on my blog, but for some reason I keep getting an error message. I don't want to hold up the voting, so if you would like to leave your vote in a comment on this post, that works! Sorry!

EDIT: Voting is now closed.

As I was getting ready to compile the list of links of sewing techniques that I usually post, I saw that Colette Patterns made a video showing how to sew an invisible zipper. Perfect timing for such a helpful video, as the Macaron dress has an invisible side zipper. Check it out!

 Some of the links below do not apply to the Macaron,  but I thought it best to include them in this reference page. Many of the links are from Sarah's blog. Thank you Sarah for taking the time to write them for all of us!!

Hello and happy Monday! If you haven't been over to the Sew Colette Flickr group then I suggest you check it out now and look at all of the beautiful Hazel dresses. I've posted some (not all) of my favorites below:

Have you guys forgotten about me? I feel like I haven't updated in a long time! As I mentioned in my last post, things have been pretty rough in my personal life, but on the bright side I think things are starting to look up. THANK YOU so much for all the sweet comments, text messages, and e-mails. It really warmed my heart to hear from you. xo.

I finished my Hazel dress a little over a week ago and took photos this weekend. Tomorrow I plan on wearing the dress out and about, I'm excited!

I LOVE the pockets!!

Just holding up the fence in my yard. Sorry for the terrible scenery, it was hard to find a place with decent light. Should have planned better!

 Back.

 Close up of the front.

This is the first zipper I have done that I am really happy with. I always have trouble with the bottom piece sticking out and being really obvious, but on this one it's not noticeable at all. Yes!

Is anyone else still working on their dress? We pushed back the date for the Hazel Parade a bit, so hopefully that will give some of you time to finish up. I needed the extra time, so I can't complain :) Now, I'm off to the Flickr group to post photos and check out the other Hazels. Happy Monday!

The Macaron dress will be the next pattern we are sewing for Sew Colette 2.0. Be sure to order the pattern before we get started in August. I'm super excited about this one!!! Thank you to everyone who voted!

I finished my Hazel muslin a few days ago and I can't wait to wear the dress this weekend to a birthday party! I am pleased with the outcome and am so happy this was the first project for Sew Colette 2.0, as this is truly the perfect summer dress.

A few weeks ago I bought a tripod to take photos and I got to use it for the fist time when I took these pictures. Luke is very happy to no longer be the photographer. He said it was the best $15 I have ever spent haha.

I can't get enough of those pockets, I am obsessed! Oh, if you follow me on Instagram (misscrayolacreepy) then you may notice a difference in the photos I posted. Using Instagram's filters I look way more tan than I actually am. Haha I'm a tanning cheater. Can you blame me though? My legs are practically see through.

We were running late for dinner, but I made Luke take a photo with me because now that I have a tripod for my camera we can be in the same photo. Doesn't he look like a ray of sunshine? Haha.

On the form the dress looks a little loose in the chest area, but on me it fits fine.

The dress was very quick to sew up, I split the sewing time over three days and just sewed a little here and there. The directions were very straight forward (Colette Patterns instructions are always straight forward, so I am not surprised) and easy to follow, but somehow I managed to mess things up because that's what I do! When I first tried on the muslin it was baggy and I took it in a bit by using a larger seam allowance on the zipper. I don't know if this is proper sewing etiquette, but it worked. For the next time around I'm not sure if I should stick with sewing it the way I did because I am happy with the fit or if I should try and do things properly and go with a smaller size/more adjustments. Decisions...

Let's talk fabric! The back of the pattern envelope recommends using the following fabrics for the  Hazel dress : "crisp, light to medium weight fabrics such as seersucker, cotton pique, poplin, silk twill, dupioni, cotton lawn, double gauze, and light sateen." But say you are out shopping and there is a border print that you just love, well there is a pattern option for that too!

When you are choosing your fabric think about the look you want to achieve. Do you want to keep your fabric simple and jazz it up with embroidery, piping, add a colorful sash or a cute cardigan?

Do you want stripes to take the center stage? The different directions of the lines makes for a very eye catching look.


Remember to consider the placement of the fabric. Mela's version is stunning.
There are sooo many different fabric options and I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

P.S. Remember to go to my sidebar and vote for the pattern we will be sewing up in August! Stop by Sarah and Rochelle's blogs for two extra votes! Only a few more days before we announce the winning pattern.
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Sarah, Rochelle, and I had a hard time narrowing down the pattern selection for the upcoming Sew Colette project. I know it's kind of early to be talking about a project in August, but we wanted to give people outside the US enough time to get the printed patterns in the mail. Plus, if you are a planner (like me) you just like to know these things in advance :) To view the patterns click here and remember, for your vote to count you must vote in the poll and not in the comments.

When I start with a new pattern it takes me a little while to get going because I split everything into different days (kind of like Sarai). One day I trace the pattern, one day I cut the fabric, and the next day I am free to sew! On Monday night I began tracing the pattern and learned some new things. Specifically, wax paper and parchment paper are completely different.

 Some of you are probably thinking, "duh, Erin," but I had no idea how different they were until I compared them side by side. Don't mind my second grade handwriting in the photo above. When I am lazy I try and write upside down haha.

The wax paper is definitely easier to see through, but much harder to write on. The parchment paper works as actual paper, as far as writing is concerned. I think I will use parchment in the future.

I also got to use this tracing wheel for the first time! My grandma gave it to me a while back, but I forgot all about it until a few days ago. To use it I put the parchment tracing paper on top of the pattern and traced along the pattern edges. The tracing wheel made tiny little holes in the parchment paper, so it was clear where I needed to cut with scissors afterwards.

This tracing wheel originally belonged to my great grandma. I have never met her and it just blows my mind that I am using her sewing tool. It's so weird to think that she was born in the late 1800s/early 1900s and now in 2012 I am using her tracing wheel. I don't think the wheel is from the 1800s, but it's just weird to think how far apart in age we are.

An Instagram sneak peek of my pocket! Sorry that all of the photos in this post are iPhone pictures :( Once I am in the tracing/cutting/sewing zone it can be hard to get up and grab an actual camera. You guys know how it is ;)

Last night I started sewing my wearable muslin and it's coming together really quickly. If some of you are on the fence about sewing along, it's not too late to join Sew Colette by any means! There is still plenty of time!

How are your muslins coming together? Any problems with fit? Sarah has written up some great posts on fitting: Calculating ease for a full or small bust adjustment, making full or small bust adjustments, bust dart adjustments, pivot adjustments and adjusting the bodice length.

 First, I went to Pinterest to find some inspiration. I went to the search button in the upper left hand corner and typed in things like "beach," "Hawaii," and "Hawaiian print" and found some pretty cool images.

Next, I opened up my favorite design program on my computer, Adobe InDesign. I wish I could say that I was using the latest version, but I'm using CS3 :(

To start a new project I clicked on "File" and then "Document." Next you choose the document size you would like. I think mine was 5 x 7.

When I design I like to use a grid to stay organized. Go to "Layout" and then "Create Guides."

The number of rows and columns you use is up to you, but I chose 6 x 5.


Once I have my grid I use the rectangle tool to draw a box. There isn't a picture for this, but next I change the stroke to 0.

Go up to "File" and then "Place"to fill the box with an image. You'll have to navigate to the photo you want to use, so I hope you named your images appropriately! :)

A lot of the time after the image is placed it won't show the image in the way you want. The image might be too big or too small. The buttons in the upper right hand corner are great for making adjustments. My favorite is "fill frame proportionally," but be sure to try the others too!

To view a specific area of the image use the direct selection tool or press the "A" button. This will let you move the photo around without losing the size of the rectangle.

"File" and then "Save As" a jpeg. Then you have your mood board :)

Be sure to check out Rochelle's blog for a Photoshop tutorial. Are any of you going to make mood boards? I think they are a fun way of staying motivated and inspired. I'm so indecisive though, I'll probably change mine up haha


Retro Hawaiian dress
Pink Hawaiian dress
Brown floral fabric
Pineapple fabric
Hibiscus
Girl with flowers
Pina Colada