Colette Myrtle knit dress
Colette's Myrtle is a discontinued dress pattern from Seamwork. This copy is actually so old I have it on factory tissue in a paper booklet. Despite that this is my first time making it up. The pattern can be made in either wovens or knits, but for a first go knits are usually safer. It's a sleeveless dress, with cowl front neckline, elasticated waist, and slightly a-line slightly gathered skirt. It has two length options, and I'm going with the shorter one. This version has an optional strap that functions almost like epaulets, but we'll get to them in a moment.
I'm using a light grey melange mid-weight (almost sweatshirt) knit, with a black cat silhouette print. I did not pattern match. It only stretches width-wise. This fabric comes from one of the deepest layers of my stash, so its origin is lost to time. I used Gütermann thread colour 496, which is slightly too dark but works okay. I used 32mm wide elastic for the waistband, which is more than the requested 1", but made it work.
The sizing of this pattern differs from the current Seamwork catalogue, and going by the finished garment measurements I cut a size Large. (I'm not certain if I'd stick with the L in a woven, or go up to an XL.) The back skirt has a centre-back seam, but that appears to be just for easier cutting out / saving yardage. I was able to cut it out on the fold instead.
The cowl front is self-lined as a single piece mirrored through the shoulders. The other pieces are unlined, and finished with simple hems. The pattern really wants you to use a cover-stitch machine. Instead I finished the edges on my overlocker/serger, folded the 1cm hem to the inside, and used a narrow zigzag/lightning stitch. I didn't use a twin needle, because it made the fabric pucker. I did use a walking foot throughout, to prevent puckering.
The waistband is essentially pinched out of the length after joining the bodice to the skirt. Then folded over the elastic to encase it completely. (It was by stitching in the seam allowance that I could fit the wider elastic.) I tried to make it so that it would be easy to replace the elastic in future, but time will be the judge of that.
So yay, there are pockets, if small in-seam knit pockets. But the instructions don't spend any time on how to finish them properly. I overlocked/serged all the edges (in stages), and under-stitched front and back edges of the pockets.
Okay, the epaulets. Terrible idea. At least in the medium-weight knit that I used. They're too narrow, and too many layers of fabric, especially with added interfacing, to be able to put in buttonholes. (Also, quarter-inch buttons? No.) I tried doing them in a ribbon as well, and that resulted in a very bent needle. So I binned the whole idea.
There is something funky with the back shoulders. Either the instructions neglect to tell you to gather the width into that of the front shoulder. Or the pattern needs to be adjusted to narrow the back shoulders. I'll do this latter on any subsequent versions. For this one I tucked the extra fabric with a few hand stitches, and just hope it's not too noticeable.
The underarms are a bit low as well. Which is noticeable in the model shots, so it's probably a preference thing. I think I'll raise them a bit on any subsequent versions.
This mid-weight knit is a bit too stiff for the cowl to properly cowl, but does fold neatly. It's called a boat-neck, but the shoulders are fully over my arms. Undecided if that needs changing. Overall it's a sweet dress. I do feel weird wearing dresses. Like, I'm draped in this single piece of fabric, and that somehow counts as fully dressed? But this is a casual day dress I can see myself getting good use from, with lots of layering possibilities.
I'm using a light grey melange mid-weight (almost sweatshirt) knit, with a black cat silhouette print. I did not pattern match. It only stretches width-wise. This fabric comes from one of the deepest layers of my stash, so its origin is lost to time. I used Gütermann thread colour 496, which is slightly too dark but works okay. I used 32mm wide elastic for the waistband, which is more than the requested 1", but made it work.
The sizing of this pattern differs from the current Seamwork catalogue, and going by the finished garment measurements I cut a size Large. (I'm not certain if I'd stick with the L in a woven, or go up to an XL.) The back skirt has a centre-back seam, but that appears to be just for easier cutting out / saving yardage. I was able to cut it out on the fold instead.
The cowl front is self-lined as a single piece mirrored through the shoulders. The other pieces are unlined, and finished with simple hems. The pattern really wants you to use a cover-stitch machine. Instead I finished the edges on my overlocker/serger, folded the 1cm hem to the inside, and used a narrow zigzag/lightning stitch. I didn't use a twin needle, because it made the fabric pucker. I did use a walking foot throughout, to prevent puckering.
The waistband is essentially pinched out of the length after joining the bodice to the skirt. Then folded over the elastic to encase it completely. (It was by stitching in the seam allowance that I could fit the wider elastic.) I tried to make it so that it would be easy to replace the elastic in future, but time will be the judge of that.
So yay, there are pockets, if small in-seam knit pockets. But the instructions don't spend any time on how to finish them properly. I overlocked/serged all the edges (in stages), and under-stitched front and back edges of the pockets.
Okay, the epaulets. Terrible idea. At least in the medium-weight knit that I used. They're too narrow, and too many layers of fabric, especially with added interfacing, to be able to put in buttonholes. (Also, quarter-inch buttons? No.) I tried doing them in a ribbon as well, and that resulted in a very bent needle. So I binned the whole idea.
There is something funky with the back shoulders. Either the instructions neglect to tell you to gather the width into that of the front shoulder. Or the pattern needs to be adjusted to narrow the back shoulders. I'll do this latter on any subsequent versions. For this one I tucked the extra fabric with a few hand stitches, and just hope it's not too noticeable.
The underarms are a bit low as well. Which is noticeable in the model shots, so it's probably a preference thing. I think I'll raise them a bit on any subsequent versions.
This mid-weight knit is a bit too stiff for the cowl to properly cowl, but does fold neatly. It's called a boat-neck, but the shoulders are fully over my arms. Undecided if that needs changing. Overall it's a sweet dress. I do feel weird wearing dresses. Like, I'm draped in this single piece of fabric, and that somehow counts as fully dressed? But this is a casual day dress I can see myself getting good use from, with lots of layering possibilities.
Finished, back
Photo by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chebe
Finished, front
Photo by chebe