The Macaron

It's finally finished!

Ta-dah! Sneaky front pockets
Actually I finished this a week ago but only got the chance to wear it today and take some photos. I could have just posted a photo of the dress on the hanger but it looks pretty average and shapeless without a body to pad it out.

As a precursor to the post I'd like to say that the photos in this post don't do justice to the dress - mainly because every crease and wrinkle shows up in these photos due to my (poor) material choice - and these aren't anywhere near as obvious in real life.

Material
I used a black cotton-and-something blend with a slight sheen to it for the contrast to complement the black and white patterned mid-to-heavy weight cotton/lycra (I suspect it must be something like this since it has a fair amount of stretch if you tug at it) that I had picked for the body of the dress. I also used a black 16" invisible zip to finish.


Pattern (Colette Patterns: Macaron dress)
I did the right thing this time and made a muslin to make sure that I got the sizing right on this, and as per standard opinion, the Colette sizing was pretty much bang on.

The pattern was overall very straightforward, but when it came to the sleeves I ended up ignoring the instructions - they were confusing and the diagram confused me more than anything.

I was pretty excited with some aspects of the pattern as it marked 2 'firsts' for me - an invisible zip and a blind hem.

Not bad for a first attempt at the invisible zip
Both techniques were achievable after a bit of practice but it took me a bit of time to work out that I could actually put in the invisible zip without a special foot for my machine, contrary to popular opinion. This video definitely helped.

I don't know that the blind hem was the most suitable finish for the dress but I suspect that the stiffness of my fabric has something to do with this opinion.


Would I do it again?
I definitely want to make this again, using different materials. The photos below give you an idea of how the dress hangs and I'm slightly disappointed with how creased the dress is after 15 minutes of wear. The fake sweetheart neckline also doesn't hang very well. I thought that the heaviness of the material would mean that it would sit well on the bust but instead it seems to have resulted in some creasing.


Enough creasing there??

The sweetheart seam could sit a little better - and the creasing! *AUGH*
So yes, the creasing is bothering me to no end, which is really quite frustrating seeing as I spent a fair amount of time on the dress making sure that I had fnished all my seams well and taking a lot of time to practice with the blind hemming and the zip. I think next time I'll look to do this in lighter cotton materials next time - maybe in summer brights since we're now in the last month of winter *hurrah*!

The fairy effect

I just wanted to share that my most recent ruffled skirt has been well-received. The request stated that it needed to fit under Princess S's gauzy fairy skirt and as you can see, it does exactly that *hurrah*!


A green one has now been requested for her other fairy skirt... :)

Once again...

I'm up at some ridiculous hour on a work night due to obsessive sewing. Admittedly I tend to get obsessive about certain things and it cuts into my sleep time (like the time I had to read all the books in the Harry Potter series and only went to sleep when the birds were chirping outside due to a slightly paralytic fear that I would fall asleep at my desk at work) and sewing is no different.

Still working on the Macaron but it's nearly there - just a zip and a hem and hopefully that is it.

OK it's nearly 3:30am and here I am blogging about my bad habits instead of actually trying to rectify it by getting some shut eye! Not long before the dreaded alarm rings.


I'm still not sure why I keep doing this to myself...

Why am I so slow (or Ruffled Skirt No 3 - by request)

Now that Princess S can fit into it, she has decided that she must have a red version of the ruffled skirt I made for her awhile back.

I have been informed that there are several reasons for this request:

1) The ruffles on the skirt make it extra twirly (this is very important)
2) The red colour will fit perfectly as an underlayer to a fairy skirt (gauze and thus fairly see-through)
3) The combination of the skirt ruffles and the gauze will mean the overall fairy effect will be even more sticky-outy (gotta love synergy!)

So here it is. The ruffled skirt for the third time.


One would think that after making it 3 times I'd be super speedy with it, but no. It still takes me a couple of hours at least of faffing about before it's done.

Why oh why am I so slow?

Maybe it's because I watch shows on my laptop while trying to sew. Or maybe it's because I am playing 3 games of Words with Friends (a Scrabble rip-off) on my iPhone and keep checking to see if my opponents have made a move. Or maybe because I stop for a snack break every 5 minutes.

I guess everyone has different sewing habits and it's a case of doing whatever you are comfortable with. Unfortunately mine aren't very efficient!

The C25K

I have a sneaking suspicion I may be going overboard in celebrating the healing of my dodgy knee. I have now exercised 2 days in a row *gasp* and am planning to do even more. Admittedly having a hit around on a badminton court may not seem particularly strenuous but after 2 months of non-activity I think I got my day-after soreness that very night.

Still a sucker for punishment, I decided to start up the Couch to 5K program the very next day.

The Couch to 5K (C25K) program is designed to get couch potatoes (hence the use of the word couch - I suspect Potato to 5K wouldn't quite have the same ring to it) up and running a continous 5kms in 9 weeks. It's basically interval training 3 times a week for each of the 9 weeks, with a weekly change in the program to train up your body.


A part of me wonders why I am having a go at it - I tried this a few years ago and gave up after Week 3 when I came down with a nasty flu. I don't enjoy running and I find myself continuously counting down how long I have to go until I can stop the stupid treadmill - but I figure that if there is a even the tiniest bit of me that thinks I should do it, I might as well go with it while there is some sort of driver.

Friends who run say that once I get into it the hate will turn into love. I say they probably don't know me well enough ;) Plus I get itchy legs (is that too much information? Thanks to meJoolie for the link hehe) so that makes it all less appealing.

But hey, if this doesn't work out, there's always Zumba! Trying out my first session tomorrow :)