The Pattern: Myrna from Colette
This pattern is a casual dress pattern from the Colette Pattern company. It is a swingy dress pattern in the style of the 70’s which has a 40’s influence. It looks like you can make it into a fancier style for a more elegant theme. Think cocktail dress or date night. Or just go casual like I did with an airy cotton fabric with a fun print.
Why I decided to make this pattern:
I needed something lightweight and loose since I was headed to the tropics in the middle of their summer. Humidity and I do not get along since I tend to just sweat and feel like a wet cat. The tropics in the summer is just one wet and hot experience for me. But I wanted to have fun, so I went looking for a light cotton fabric. Just prior to creating this dress, a few friends and I started to get together and talk about our sewing projects. I live in central Oregon about a 2 hours’ drive from Portland. We all decided we wanted to go to Mills End fabric downtown Portland, Or to help each other out in finding fabric or just to get inspiration. I was on the inspiration end of things. Really, I just wanted to go and touch all the pretty fabric until I could figure out what I could make for my trip. We spent about two hours there and I just focused on the cotton apparel section. I kept coming back to this pretty pinkish fabric with what looked like daises. I picked up 3 yards and hoped for the best.
A lovely darker pink with bright flowers! The fabric was 100% cotton.
The next step was to find a pattern. Up until that time, I usually just went online to the big 4 pattern companies. But I really felt limited in what I could find and the styles/instructions were also … well boring. I wanted something new and different. Finally, I found myself online at 11:00 at night searching through all the indie sewing sites that I ignored for way too long. As an aside, I now have a long list of indie PDF patterns I plan to buy and review. Colette patterns has a huge PDF collection that I loved. I focused on that company and along the way I discovered they were also based in Portland, Oregon. It was a definite plus to buy from a local company! When I happened upon the Myrna dress pattern, I could just see the fabric I bought would be perfect for this project. I bought it the next day.
I used to buy PDF patterns from Burda Style from time to time. I think I stopped because I did not have the best space for laying out the paper nor could I ever find my tape. Now I keep my tape where no one can find it and I have a large kitchen table to lay out my paper to make the patterns. I have heard of some sewists who do not cut the paper after they put it together and instead trace the patterns on tracing paper. This is something I plan to do with a future project. It is a great idea if you want to use the same pattern for multiple people who are different sizes. For this project, I just put it together then cut away. The fun thing about a PDF pattern is that it feels like a large puzzle after you get everything together. Especially if your printer tricks you and prints a bit of paper out of order like mine did.
The Construction Instruction:
The instructions were clear and easy. I didn’t have any problem with missing steps which tends to happen to me when I make something from a Simplicity pattern. I was a little worried about the instructions after I read some scathing reviews from other sewists in regards to Colette Pattern instructions. There were few things I did mess up on when creating the dress, but that was my error and not the instructions. It does help to read a pattern all the way through prior to starting a project. Just like creating a muslin to test out the fit. These are my two number 1 rules! I did not do either of these things. Good thing it turned out well for me!
I already mentioned how putting a PDF pattern can be a bit more work than a traditional envelop pattern. You have to cut edges off your paper and then line all the pieces up. After that, you can then start the process of cutting out the fabric. It is worth all the effort to support these indie sewing companies and indie sewists/pattern makers.
My Overall Thoughts:
So, this is the result. A fun little dress that harkens back to the style of the 70’s and 40’s. It is simple yet completely flattering. It looks like it would have been harder than what it was as well. The gathers on the bodice have a nice effect to help even out the a-line skirt. On me it has a very hourglass silhouette which I honestly do not have. I am happy that I decided to go looking for an indie pattern and will definitely go that route in the future. It also felt fantastic in the tropics. The breathable material and looser fit of the pattern made for a perfect combination! I am already looking for more fabric for another Myrna dress. You can find the pattern on the Colette Pattern website here.
