My first Laurel!

I would call it a success! I didn't mean to sew the whole thing though... I was going to wait for Holly. Then, this morning I thought I would cut out the fabric. This was going to be a dress, but the way the fabric fell, it would have made the bodice look weird. I didn't have enough paper to trace the shirt pieces, so I cut it at the shorten or lengthen here line. I then used a 2" hem. I was more concerned about how the bodice would fit anyway. I have lost a little weight and figured I would be in a smaller size. My hips are still way smaller than anything else. I cut a 14 all the way, but my hips are actually a size 10 measurement. Go figure. Enough about me!

The fabric is a border print I got dirt cheap and have a ton of. It is a very light weight cotton. The shirt fit like a glove with no adjustments. I don't even have to move darts!

The back matches up in its own special way I am just fine wearing it as is. 

Pretty guts! So here is what happened. I thought I would just cut the fabric. Then I thought I would go ahead and mark the darts. Then I thought the yellow chalk was really light, so if I didn't sew the darts the markings would fade. Then I thought, I'd just baste it all together and check the fit. Holly wouldn't want to sit through all the drama if it didn't fit right.

Then I put it over my head. And it went on, without a zipper. Then I got all excited because it fit perfect, so I texted Holly some crazy bad pictures from my bathroom mirror. Then I finished all the edges to make sure they would stay since they were just basted. Then, I saw this green bias tape staring up from my estates sale finds. Finally the Mortal Combat theme started playing my head and "Finish It!" flashed in front of my eyes, and I did the whole thing. I'm glad I did, this took about two hours from cutting to manic sewing. 

I didn't do anything fancy here. No hand stitching the bias down. I sewed through the whole thing on my machine and serged the raw edges. I'm really pleased with the fit. I wasn't sure this style would look right on me, but I think it is pretty flattering. As for those Colette directions I love so much. I read them last night and didn't refer to them at all while sewing the dress. That goes to show how thorough they are! Man it was nice to sew something today - especially something I love and can imagine a whole gang of!