Sew Colette: My Truffle Muslin

Thank you very much for responding to my  Truffle poll.  Teal satin and lace was the clear winner and I am, quite honestly, delighted!  You all have made a difference in alleviating my guilt for purchasing new fabric.  As many of you said, it is rather pointless to spend all the time and energy making a dress you don't really love.

I did go ahead and make a 'muslin' for the Truffle.  I wanted to play around a bit with other drapey fabrics before diving into my satin/lace version.  I used a lovely lavender printed vintage cotton that I found on Etsy at least a year ago.  It is a semi-sheer cotton blend with a beautiful drape, as you can see.  Forgive me for having Mrs. Singer as my stand-in, but I have had my fill of getting fancy for the time being! 

This dress, like all Colette Patterns, went together brilliantly.  The only think I want to mention are the bodice lining instructions.  Personally, I don't self-line my bodices in the way that is laid out in the handbook, but construct my bodice and lining first, as you can see in this tutorial.  While many of you may find the handbook method works for you, I wanted to be sure to include an alternate. 

It was such a nice experience to sew this dress, especially after my disastrous experience sewing a spring jacket for Miss Friday.  Horrible, doesn't begin to describe it.  This is one of the reasons I don't like to make jackets.  However, I digress!

One of the features I really love is that gorgeous flounce (Flounce? Drape? I'm going with flounce.) on the front of the skirt.  The way it gently swishes really ups the feminine feel of the dress and opens a wealth of possibilities for experimenting fabrics and textures.  For my teal satin/lace Truffle, I plan on using lace for the flounce, as well as a lace overlay on the bodice.

I inserted my favourite lapped zipper instead of an invisible one.  This really is the method I love the most and ensures that no swearing is heard above stairs when I am working in my Evil Lair (aka my sewing room).  I love the vintage look of a lapped zip and added a vintage mother-of-pearl button at the top with a small elastic closure.

Overall, I am delighted with how the dress turned out.  I cut a size 6 (36B, 28W, 38H) and the fit is spot on.  My only disappointment is the light lavender fabric seems a bit too pale for me; I think it washes me out. 

How are you getting along with your Truffle dresses?  Liz has already posted her beautiful version in the Flickr Group and I look forward to seeing more! Stay tuned for more fabric posts this week. 

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Have questions? Please feel free to post here, in Erin's blog, or in the sew-along Flickr group.

We're here to help!