Colette Meringue and Taffy

These have been some of my earliest projects, but they've never seen the light of day. I'm a bit of a completionist, so although my size and style choices have changed, I was determined to finished all of the Colette Sewing Book patterns. The Meringue skirt I finished back in 2013, while the Taffy blouse was started in 2014 and then finally picked back up/completed in 2015.

The skirt is made from a pinwale corduroy that was originally bought for one of the boyfriend's costume vests. I had enough leftovers for a skirt so I  figured, why not?

After sewing my muslin, I decided I didn't like the depth of the scallops. Which I found odd since I liked the pictures of Meringue in the book. Finally figured it was because the scallops were a lot more stretched out horizontally on the bigger sizes than the smaller ones.  I guess it's hard to make sure the details scale up with the sizing.  Rather than make them deeper, I decided to increase the scallops count from 10 to 12, which made each scallop a bit narrower.

Construction was super simple, the only major thing I changed was adding a waistband.  I don't think I like waist facings very much.  I tried it on the muslin, just for the sake of learning.  But really prefer the band, it feels a lot more secure.  

Old picture from 2013

I cut a size 18 for both the top and the bottom. Back in 2013 the skirt fit just fine, perfectly even. I even wore it out a couple times. But now...

...It's a little to big. So is the blouse. I can try and hide the blouse's bagginess by using the waist ties, but that can only do so much.

The blouse was made entirely from remnants. I found two pieces of purple knit, a piece of teal knit, and a coordinating satin print. I planned out my color blocking so I could use all of my pieces to the fullest, and I really like how it turned out. 

This was my first time using French seams, as dictated by the book. Because of the knit fabric it wasn't really necessary, but I viewed this as more of a skill building exercise. I only messed up once and it was the shoulder seam. I didn't want to unpick the seam and start over, so I just encased the seam in some more bias binding.

The shirt is obviously to big when I'm not standing still for photos. The neckline gapes open and constantly shows off my bra straps. I'm still in love with the colors and the design, but this will probably be regulated to lounging around the house.

Up Next!

So, I still have to finish the licorice dress eventually. I want to at least say I finished all 5 Colette book patterns. I've got the fabric set aside and everything (I've had it for at least 2 years) I just gotta sit down and get it done.