here, finally, is my finished eclair! i wore this for easter and i am very pleased with how it turned out. the bodice fitting threw me for a loop initially. i had to muslin it about three times before getting a good fit! it’s all due to the position of the princess seams and how they narrow to the center at the waist. while i love this feature, i certainly scratched my head a bit as i tried to work the bodice down to my bust size.
all in all, i got a fit that i am very happy with. i can stand, sit and breathe without being uncomfortable. always a good thing. to achieve this, i had to lengthen the bodice by about 1 1/2″. part of this is due to me hiking the bodice up because i have a fairly high bust (and needed a church appropriate neckline). but also i’m on the tall side (5′ 8″) and needed the bodice to hit below the ribcage. you know, for breathing purposes. i also added 1″ to the length of the skirt, plus did a tiny rolled hem. and truth be told, it wouldn’t hurt to have added another inch in length.
this skirt is huge, by the way. i have to confess i didn’t realize it was a full circle skirt until i had it on and immediately saw it’s twirling possibilities. so that’s why it took so long to hem this thing…
so here’s the rundown—
my shell fabric is a cotton lawn, bordering on voile, and the contrast ties are a poly chiffon. i underlined the bodice with muslin that i added fusible to. i didn’t want any fusible attached to the shell fabric and found this a really great compromise. i achieved the structure needed without the downsides of fusible possibly bubbling or causing weird creases or wrinkles on the bodice later down the road.
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sorry, weird smirk on my face here… it just happened to be the picture that best showed off how the skirt hangs. |
i fully lined the dress with a lightweight poly lining to which i added boning and a waist stay. it is amazing how much the waist stay does! it’s such a simple addition and really anchors the bodice in place without being uncomfortable. seriously, it only took about fifteen minutes to do this. and darn it all, i forgot to take pics as i put it in. next time!
i also added some tiny spaghetti straps, crossed in the back. these don’t add anything structural, i just feel more comfortable with them there. also folks, this dress needs some hanging loops. if i hung it by the straps, they would stretch completely out of shape. and if you don’t add straps… well you’re probably gonna want to hang it up somehow!
as a side note, i just wanted to say thanks to all the lovely comments on my daughter’s pajama pants. who knew all us fancy dressmaking gals would get so inspired by pj’s?
eclair pt. 1: a quick overview
eclair pt. 2: pockets!
—lisa g
I popped over from your comment on my blog. Your dress is BEAUTIFUL! I've bookmarked you so I can follow your projects! Looks like I can learn a lot from you!
thanks so much! i aim to share what little knowledge i have! 🙂
Hi, just letting you know I've tagged you in a blog meme! You can find the post here: http://meganandthemachine.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/challenge-11-things.htmlMegan
Hi — I'm new to your blog & just love it. Your Collette dresses are beautiful. I'm also just getting back into sewing, so reading this is a great refresher. Questions on lining/underlining both Eclair & Macaroon –what kind of fabric with you use with the denim Macaroon & the fusible muslin acted as an underlining? Also looking for info on waist stay – anywhere I can look? Having a tough time finding both patterns — any good website? Thanks so much. Claudia cshingary@yahoo.com
thanks so much! the macaron didn't need an underlining, i used bemberg rayon to line the dress however.for the eclair, the pattern called for adding fusible to the shell fabric. so instead of doing that, i added fusible to the muslin to give it extra stiffness and then sewed the interfaced muslin to the shell fabric before constructing the bodice. as for the waist stay, i just gleaned information from various sources on how to do it. i will have interior shot of one in an upcoming post and burdastyle.com has some info here: http://www.burdastyle.com/blog/invisible-details-of-a-couture-garment-the-waist-stay.i have received my colette patterns as gifts, but you can purchase from their website http://www.colettepatterns.com. hope that helps!
Hey, I found you via the colette flickr group. This dress is so adorable and I love that you added a waist stay!
Lovely dress, and it fits to a "T"!designdreamer