In the beginning there was the Colette Crepe dress...

And it was good.

So, I am fairly new to sewing. I began in October of 2010 at Sew Crafty in Houston, which is sadly closed now. I cried on the way home from my last class and still miss the sense of community that came with the store.

As I persevere sewing and teaching myself new techniques I started reading other great sewing blogs. I believe it began with Gertie's Blog For Better Sewing. I learned there were other people out there creating and reviving a skill I thought had nearly died. By learning from these blogs, which I will mention when I have pulled inspiration from them, I again feel like a part of a community.

That being said I began my Crepe dress by Colette I decided to take the plunge. I felt I had created something beautiful enough to blog about and thus began Stacie Thinks She Can.

I love Colette patterns for so many reasons. I am curvy in some of the wrong places, and the patterns I have tried from Colette have been very flattering despite my figure flaws. Also, the instructions are written into an almost level 1 reader that comes in the pattern envelope. It has actual pages, large font, tips and excellent illustrations. Basically they were written for people that may not know it all.

I bought a cherry print cotton from Cali Gal Stitches for $4.25 for 60" fabric. When it arrived the fabric was exactly what I wanted but rather sheer. So I did some research on lining the dress and chose cheap white muslin as well as the red cotton belt material from Joann's. I found a fully lined, reversible Crepe on one blog I enjoy called SewMentalMama.com.

I do not have the capacity at this point to make a reversible dress, although I would love to. I did use her blog as inspiration to line my dress. I also followed her advice to skip the sleeve interfacing. I am very happy with the results.

This is the bodice. It was lined front and back pieces separately and joined at the shoulder and side seams. I also edge stitched around the sleeve and neck to keep them from shifting while wearing.

 A closer shot of the inside. Helpful hint I pinned itright sided together, lining darts up and interfacing on top before sewing. (The second time...the first time my interfacing was facing out like a strange collar.)

 Here is the finished dress. You may notice I switched up versions one and two of the pattern. I used the scoop neck from 1 with the contrasting belt from 2.

A view of the lining. I hand stitched the hole where the belt goes through to help keep it from coming out with the belt.

My finished Crepe inside out.

Final thoughts: This is my favorite dress. Ever. I can't wait to wear it. It fits perfectly and will be adorable for Spring and Summer. The only bad thing I can say is: will I ever stop hearing Warrant's Cherry Pie in my head after staring at cherries for a good nine hours? To be determined.