Sunday 8 September 2013

Colette Laurel Top

Here's my latest finished project - a Colette Laurel top.


Having made two skirts already, I thought it was time I tried to make something for my top half. I think part of me had been putting this off because I was a bit scared about the fact that a top involves much more need for fitting than a twirly skirt, and when I was on my dressmaking course, this seemed to lead to quite a lot of problems for my fellow students. With this in mind, I decided to abandon my usual need to have things finished quickly and make a muslin out of an old sheet to check everything was OK. I cut a 12 and (luckily!) it all seemed to fit fine without any alterations so I set to work on the "proper" version of the top.


Sadly I think the muslin may have fit me a little better than my finished version but I think it fits fine still so it's all good! The instructions were really good for a beginner like me, so it was no trouble to sew it all together and I got through all the steps reasonably quickly. 


The fabric is a cute blue and white floral cotton that I got from Fabric Godmother a while ago, it was originally for another project but I think it works well for this top - and I'm happy with how the white bias binding works with the floral print, especially the pretty lace-edged binding I used on the sleeves.


Overall, another project I'm happy with! I wasn't 100% convinced when I first finished it so I put it on and wore it straightaway in the hope that that would help me make up my mind (otherwise it would have been likely to hang unworn in my wardrobe for months because I'd never have been sure about it!) and I'm happy to say that it worked - it's a definite thumbs up now, and I quite fancy making one of the dress versions of the Laurel pattern soon.

And now I'll finish with a plea for help - has anyone got any tips for taking photos of my dressmaking projects? Either in terms of the technical photography stuff or how not to feel (and therefore look) embarrassed while you're taking the photos...


I'm quite keen on photography but don't generally like pointing the camera at myself so any pearls of wisdom would be very welcome!



11 comments:

  1. Love the fabric and the lace on the sleves. I once heard that you should smile right at the last min before the picture is taken as it looks more natural - not sure if it actually works though!

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  2. I love the trim on the sleeves too. Visiting from Brit Sewing Thursday linky.

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  3. I've just started sewing skirts for my girls & can't wait to be able to make things for me too. Looks great :-)

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    1. Thank you! You definitely need to make some treats for yourself as well as your girls - I've been sewing for a while but only just started dressmaking and it's great fun!

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  4. Thanks for linking up this week on the Brit Sewing Thursday linky.
    I love the top you made and the trim on the sleeves is an absolutely gorgeous detail.

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    1. Thank you! I'm just off to check out the other Brit Sewing links now :-)

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    2. Thank you! I'm just off to check out the other Brit Sewing links now :-)

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  5. I think I have serious envy now! This top is fantastic! I love the lace bias binding (I've seen it on two different blogs today after having never seen it before...!).

    Taking photos really really sucks! I think you take really nice ones though and you are far braver than me (I skulk indoors rather than venturing outside!). I find that putting on happy music, trying not to stand up straight (I look so awkward when I do this!), and looking just to the side of the camera tends to help. I may not be the best person to give advice though because my photos are pretty bad...! ;-)

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    1. Thank you, very kind of you to say so! It strange how it often seems to happen that you see something new for the first time and then suddenly it's everywhere isn't it?!

      Good tips on the photos, thanks - it's also good to know that I'm not the only one who feels awkward doing it, that alone makes it better if that makes any sense!

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