Ceylon Dress // Pattern Review

Why did I have to make those dresses last week? Why didn't you guys tell me making dresses would be so addicting? Like I need something else to suck up my time, but I just couldn't resist. About a year ago I purchased the Ceylon dress pattern by Colette Patterns. I knew someday I would like to make it, but I didn't have much time. The other day I decided to dig through all my patterns to take inventory and found this among my patterns. All night Friday I was thinking about making the dress trying to resist the urge, but Saturday I gave in. I used fabrics from my stash again, Metamorphosis from Cocoon by Valori Wells and a dark purple Sateen for the accents.

My Thoughts

I was expecting the dress to be hard, but I feel like it was comparable or slightly easier than the Clara dress. The pattern states that it is an intermediate pattern and I would agree with this. The purple accents on the bodice weren't  in the instructions I added them because I wanted to define those areas. To do this, I made single-fold bias binding in the purple fabric and glue basted the binding along the folded edges. Then I top stitched the pieces into place as the pattern instructs. I also added 1/8" purple binding to the sleeve as opposed to hemming them up. I tied in all the purple accents by making covered buttons in the same fabric. I used Dritz covered buttons, these don't need any special tool to assemble so I was able to make the buttons while watching a movie with my family.

Pattern Pros

• Very organized, clean, well written pattern. As a graphic designer I appreciate the professional look of all the Colette Patterns and am more than willing to pay $18 for the beautifully printed version.
• Awesome vintage retro inspired design.
• Challenging, but not frustrating which in my book makes the perfect project. (With the exception of the buttons.)

Pattern Cons

• I love the look of the buttons, but really 16 buttons?! Putting in all 16 button holes and sewing on the buttons was by far the most time-consuming part. My sewing machine really stinks at button holes so I was a little frustrated by this step.
• I would prefer that the dress have pockets.
• The sleeves are cute, but make moving around a bit difficult. I would prefer a small cap sleeve instead.
• I had one pattern piece (K) turn out too long. I thought maybe I cut the wrong size, but that wasn't the case. I was able to use the piece anyways and trim off the excess. I am not sure if this was my fault or if there is an issue with piece K in size 0.

Overall this is another pattern I would happily suggest to you. My biggest advice is to approach the pattern with no hesitation or fear, then you will have a much easier experience.

Alyssa