Well hello there, friends!
Here’s a wee bit of geekery to start off the week.
This is my Doctor Who dress! I love the idea of everyday fangirl dresses and made my own. 🙂 This one is the Colette Hazel pattern.
[source: Colette Patterns]
The bust just does not work for me… maybe my boobs magically grew overnight? But bodices just don’t normally fit me this way. This is a beginner pattern and should have been quicker to make than it was. It mostly has to do with the fact that I didn’t like how tight it was and did a “quick” alteration to the back by adding fabric to the closure. I had to unpick the zip, sew in the fabric and then put the zip back in. Yes, shoulda done a muslin…. I normally would have taken out the seams, but as I lined this dress (of course I forgot to show you the insides! Argh!) and was making it *just* in time to wear to a our local comic con, I did not feel like doing all of that work, thus the reason why I did my quick alteration. And… it still ended up being to tight for me in the books and the mid-section!
I also am not that happy about the straps or the top of the bodice either…. so pretty much the whole top half I am not that happy with as I don’t like the tight-ness nor the wrinkles that I can see in that above photo.
In this instagram photo that I posted that morning, you can see that it looks a bit better. Maybe I was bloated later on? I still don’t like the straps though.
This fabric is the clincher. It is an OOP officially licensed Doctor Who fabric from the UK. I searched and searched and searched online for a long time and could not find it. I was only able to find sold listings where it went for quite a bit of $$$ and fat quarters. From the logo, it appears to be from around the Ninth and Tenth Doctor. I was able to finagle this out of an etsy seller in the UK who was making custom dresses with it. She told me that she was having a hard time finding any herself and would not sell me the fabric when I first asked her. I then asked if I could buy one of her dresses and then have only the fabric sent to me for the price of the dress and she agreed to that. You may ask why I didn’t just have her make me a dress…..well…. hers were poorly made (although most of it may have been poor ironing or lack thereof) and I figured I could do better and even the complaints I have with this one still make my version better than what she was selling. All I can say is that people must REALLY want fan girl dresses and not know what good sewing is! I sure am glad I can sew whatever suits my fancy!
I was working with a very limited amount of Doctor Who fabric for this dress, thus the reason why I have a pale blue cotton broadcloth on the contrasting side panels. I normally would have used all Doctor Who fabric for this dress if I had had enough, but I do like the contrast. What I’m probably going to do now that I’ve already worn this dress to the con event, is to take it apart and pair the skirt with another bodice. I will either *try* to get some more Doctor Who fabric or do some artistic things with whatever bodice pattern I use to pair the skirt up with. I had planned to make another Hazel, but I really don’t think I will be happy with another version either…. anyone want my pattern? 🙂 On to search for the elusive “perfect summer dress” pattern!
Hey, hey! That’s me with the Eleventh Doctor! I saw the spitting image of the Fourth Doctor walking around but failed to catch up with him and get a pic. This was the best Matt Smith Doctor that I saw that day. I did get a lot of compliments for my dress from other Whovians.
These photos were taken at StocktonCon. I’ve always wanted to go to Comic Con, but San Diego is soooo far from me. Obviously not as far if you live on the other side of the US or in another country. This one, however, is only a couple of hours away and we had a blast. I can’t wait to go to more cons!! I’ve been thinking about doing a bit of cosplay and dressing as a Weeping Angel. Not sure how awful it will be to navigate crowds with big wings on my back though!
That’s Mr. H with WWE wrestling legend, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. He was a cool guy although he was getting on me about not being a wrestling fan.
And then I took this photo in front of this creepy statue outside. I’m sure it has some sort of symbolic significance, but as there was a bum with a shopping cart sitting on the other side of it muttering to himself, I didn’t walk around to see if there was a plaque explaining it.
So I’ll leave you with this instead.
Happy Sewing!
- Dress: Colette Hazel in OOP officially licensed Doctor Who quilting weight fabric and cotton broadcloth contrast, made by me
- Shoes: Stuart Weitzman
- Sunglasses: Birch
I think that if I were you, I would put a waist on that skirt and wear it as just that…a skirt. Then Maybe make myself a raglan t-shirt and use a square of the Dr. Who fabric from the bodice for a pocket on the shirt. That said, I think the dress looks great on you.
That would certainly be the easiest route to go, wouldn’t it? I think I may do just that although I really wanted a Dr Who dress. I guess I will have to find some more fabric!
I so appreciate you sharing that a pattern didn’t work for you. Seeing your regular skill with grading and fitting I again, really appreciate knowing that there are still things that might just not work. I have looked at this dress pattern a few different times and have held back since I’m concerned about the fit around the bust. I’d be curious to see what you might do differently to fix since, as other commenters have shared, it looks pretty good.
I sometimes wonder what I look like to other folks, in my normal everyday movements, when I’m not making myself look good in the mirror. All that stuff we make look better probably hangs out at some point, right? My point, your dress is super cute and definitely hit the mark for your intended occasion. I hope sincerely you give the pattern another go since it would be so awesome to hear how you would/could alter and improve it!
Thank you!
Thank you for your kind comments! I do notice that sometimes my clothes look different in the camera as I’m moving around opposed to when I’m standing still in front of the mirror, where they often look better. But we all can’t be mannequins, can we? 🙂 I did not use to show any pattern fails, but I will in the future, instead of just throwing them in the bin! It’s good to see others’ experiences with patterns before you buy/make them. I pondered a lot (maybe a year!?) before buying the Hazel and should have listened to instinct!
Its funny, I have really similar feelings to yours about this dress pattern. I’ve made one version, and while I like it pretty well, I haven’t made another for some reason. I keep finding striped fabric that I think will be perfect for the pattern, but I procrastinate on making up another. However, as disappointed as you were with this pattern, when I saw your version I thought “OMG, so cute, why haven’t I made another Hazel?”. Despite the wrinkling, I think it looks really cute on you and obviously fit your needs for the event!
Thanks, Megan! I just bought the Colette parfait on their 50% off sale and think I might like that bodice better. I would probably pair that bodice with the Hazel skirt, but as the Hazel skirt is basically just a dirndle, I don’t really need the pattern anymore.
I LOVE my Parfait. I’m working on a 2nd version. Can’t wait to see what you do with it. 🙂
I picked up Ceylon, Oolong, and Chantilly in the sale. I’m so excited!!
My wedding dress had a similar bodice as the Parfait, so I think I will like it. 🙂 I may prefer a fuller skirt, but I will try out the one with the pattern. I Have the Chantilly waiting to be made into a chiffon dress, but haven’t got around to it yet!
Do I detect a note of giddy glee with every smile and photo? You look so happy! I love it when a dress or piece I made does that for me and it’s way cool to see that emotion it on someone else! I love the dress and the event photos you shared. WAY cool!
Yes, I’m very happy to have a Doctor Who dress!!! 🙂 Thank you, Gwen!
I love the dress on you. I get the whole not really feeling the pattern, but I think it looks great and I am a big Doctor Who fan, as you may have guessed from my comments on instagram. 🙂 I love going to cons. I’ve actually been performing at a few lately and really love the vibe. Makes me want to step up my cosplay game and try some neat costumes. A weeping angel sounds awesome. That statue looks like it’d be a perfect fit with the angels….. or it’s a tribute to an abzorbaloff….
Thanks, Andie!! I knew you were a fellow whovian. 🙂 I’d love to see your costumes!! And yes, it does remind me of angels and azorbalofs!!
Sorry this didn’t work for you… Am not a fan of sun dresses in general, but can totally emphasize on wrong straps & too tight tops. How great that you could locate the fabric!
Speaking of The Doctor, did you see last year’s BBC PROMS special & 50th tribute on Last Night (YouTube)? I’m not a particular fan, but enjoyed watching it.
xx del
Thanks, Del! I like a looser fit in my bodices, so being too tight really bothers me!
I did not see the 50th special on YouTube, but I’ve watched it on amazon.
I really like how you look in Hazel, but I hated the version I made too, which I had to rush as well. I think the eventual bodice fine tuning will include longer darts, since I don’t feel like the triangular seams really do effective fitting boob-wise. But it’s a great skirt, and as I said, I think it looks better than you believe it does, but your complaints brought my own to mind. My favorite simple sundress pattern is Burda 7054, which fit me great in the bodice, and has excellent bra strap coverage. I made my Marvel fangirl dress from it, and it’s as comfortable as it is flattering.
I will have to check out that burda pattern!! I could fix the hazel bodice to get it where I want it, but I think I’d still be unsatisfied. There’s so many other patterns I like better. I’d love to see your marvel dress!!
While it sucks to not be in love with a pattern I do love the idea of this dress. I’d love to of something fan girly. You should totally cosplay! I’d love to see it. I have my first one planned fir GeekGirlCon but am going easy and doing Cosima from a Orphan Black.
Thank you, Heather!! I can’t wait to see your costume! I haven’t watched Orphan Black yet, but should probably get on it! I’ve already bought some Star Trek fabric, so I’m ready to make another fangirl dress. 🙂
I am so sad to read about the pattern….. actually double sad because it looks such a fun dress! count me in for the pattern giveaway! thank you in advance!
If you want the hazel, I’d be glad to send it to you! Just send me your mailing address to: Tanya@tanyamaile.com. I hope it works great for you!!