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Colette Macaron Nightshade Dress

I made this Tula Pink Nightshade dress last night. Have you seen the Nightshade fabrics?! Hello!! She also has another line coming out this month called The Birds and the Bees (which is super awesome too!). The pattern is the Colette Macaron. Because I was in a big ‘ole hurry, I maybe made things harder for myself than they had to be. Oh well, that’s what happens.

Fabric – For my size, the pattern called for 2 yards of the main print, and 1-1/2 yards of the contrasting fabric (which, in my case, is the black fabric). You’ll also need a tiny bit of interfacing (I used Pellon SF-101 Shape Flex woven interfacing) for the facings around the neckline.

Pattern Pieces – Compared to other dress patterns that I’ve made, this does not have a huge amount of pattern pieces to cut out. These are tissue pieces; there are also a lot of markings on the pieces, for the darts and pleats in the skirt.

Illustrations/Instructions – There are illustrations for every main step, however, I feel that the instructions assume some level of past garment-making experience. Because Colette patterns are drafted for a bigger size than I wear (especially in the bust area), I usually have to make changes. For some reason (I don’t know if it was because I was tired or what), the fabric pieces along the waistline were curved and looked really pouchy when I sewed them together (even though I notched and all that), so I decided to cut my losses and re-cut my fabric for the waistband as a straight piece.

One thing I think is brilliant about this pattern are how cute the sleeves are…they are cute as well as easy to sew!

There is a side invisible zipper. I’m not that crazy about the side zip because…well, because there are sleeves, you can’t just have a zipper from the top of the dress down as far as you need it. The instructions call for you to sew a little below the sleeve, then have the zipper sort of in the middle of the side of the dress. This makes it slightly challenging to get the dress on and off. I’d prefer a back zipper. That’s just me. If I would have thought the pattern through before I started, I certainly could have put the zipper in the back straightaway.

Conclusion – I like a lot of the details in this dress pattern, such as the sweetheart bodice and the sleeves. I’m used to making gathered or circle skirts, so this is a nice change for me with the straight skirt with pleats. The instructions are thorough and complete with illustrations. For an intermediate seamstress. The Tula Pink Nightshade fabric is super-super cute, and I’m glad I have enough fabric left to use this cool print in a quilt!

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19 thoughts on “Colette Macaron Nightshade Dress

  1. sherry says:

    great use of nightshade fabric…the dress is lovely…in a goth sort of way

  2. Stina says:

    Beautiful, just beautiful.

  3. kate says:

    Cute! I’ve had my eyes on that pattern forever, I really love the sleeves!

  4. I really love this fabric made into a dress. When I saw it at quilt market I liked it but I REALLY love it the way you put it together! Good job!

  5. MC says:

    So cute, the scale of the design is perfect for this! Just ordered some Nightshade to make myself a bag, yay!

  6. piece peace says:

    I, too, purchased Nightshade to make myself something to wear. I am going to use the Poppy Tunic from Make It Perfect. Your dress is fabulous!

  7. java diva says:

    Wow, I could actually see Tula Pink in this dress even! Pretty cool!

  8. Kristi says:

    Wonderful ….I love it. Sure wish I could pull off wearing a dress that cute!! Looks great!

  9. PatSloan says:

    pretty amazing in a dress!

  10. Katy Cameron says:

    Forget my ASS advice, this is what you all need to co-ordinate at SS ;o)

  11. Cute! Side-zip dresses give me claustrophobia…

  12. This is the PERFECT use for this fabric – and you pull it off fabulously! Looks so cute!

  13. Cherie says:

    Wow you really love your dresses! Great dress and fabric choice =D

  14. I LOVE it! And the fabric is fabulous!!!!!

  15. Rosa says:

    It`s just gorgeous!!

  16. Super cute! And now thanks to you…I have purchased 2 Serendipity Studio dress patterns! 🙂

  17. Sara says:

    I got the front put together ok, but I had problems with the curved pieces in the back. It looked like I had little boobs in the back too. It was really weird. I had to re-sew in a straight line, just like you.

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