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Welcome to the Phoebe Sewalong!

phoebe-hero-small

Welcome to the Phoebe sewalong! Together we’ll be working through both versions of the Phoebe dress, and in the process we’ll cover all sorts of useful sewing skills.

Phoebe is a chic and modern princess seam sheath dress with endless styling possibilities. Version 1 features a double-breasted bodice, and Version 2 has a clean and classic look. Layer Phoebe over long sleeves and tights for winter, or use a summery fabric for warmer weather.

If you don’t have your own copy of the pattern yet, you can pick it up in the Colette Patterns shop, or from one of our many stockists.


cp1034-phoebe-03-full

Your teacher

I’m Devon Iott, a sewing educator living in Nashville by way of Los Angeles and Ohio. I currently work as the Education Creative Coordinator for Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff brand sewing machines, and I teach sewing classes at local Nashville shop Craft South. You can learn more about me and my sewing exploits on my blog Miss Make.

How it works

Our sewalongs are simple. We’ll publish a series of posts detailing each step in the process of fitting and sewing your pattern. You can sew along with us, ask questions, and share your techniques and advice with others.

Feel free to leave comments here on the blog, or join our Sewalongs Facebook group to post thoughts, questions, and photos. We try our best to answer as many questions as possible, but encourage you to jump in and help each other out as well.

What’s covered

We’ll start by going over what materials and supplies you’ll need for your Phoebe.

Then we’ll work through a series of adjustment lessons to help you customize your Phoebe to fit you uniquely.

After that we’ll dive in to construction! Depending on which version you make, you’ll be learning about darts, princess seams, lining, buttonholes, a center zipper, and more.

And no sewalong is complete without a parade post – we’ll finish things off by sharing some of your finished Phoebes.

The Phoebe Sewalong

  1. Welcome to the Phoebe Sewalong! (25 Comments)
  2. Gather Fabric and Supplies (32 Comments)
  3. Basic Fitting Guidelines (19 Comments)
  4. Bust Adjustments – Sizes 0-16 (6 Comments)
  5. Bust Adjustments – Sizes 18-26 (8 Comments)
  6. Shoulder Adjustments
  7. Cutting and Prep (5 Comments)
  8. Darts, Princess Seams, Shoulder Seams (7 Comments)
  9. Attaching Bodice Lining and Skirt – Version 1
  10. Attaching Bodice Lining and Skirt – Version 2 (5 Comments)
  11. Insert the Zipper (4 Comments)
  12. Buttons and Hem
  13. Your Phoebes!

Comments

Heather

I can’t wait to start this sew along! This is my first time sewing this way, and I am very excited!

so glad you’re joining in!

Sharyn

Yes. I can’t wait to start. My pattern arrived yesterday.

perfect timing! :]

Sarah Donnison

Hurray!! I’m ready to go and looking forward to it ?

woohoo! thanks for joining in

Sarah

Just finishing my first Phoebe (with buttons) so looking forward to following along to iron out any little issues before my next one.

nice! it’s great to make something multiple times, then you can really perfect it.

Barb

This will be fun! I’ve had my pattern for a while, so now I will have to see which fabric I use.

ooooh one of the most fun parts, picking fabric.

Jones Gonzales

Super excited! I’ve made two Pheobe muslins – one too big the other too small – and am looking forward to advice on fitting.

awesome, glad you’re joining in!

Laura

I’m really looking forward to this sew-along! I’ve just finished my first Phoebe, made a size 20 with no adjustments except to shorten the bodice. While it fits (fit meaning I can get it on!) this will need a lot of adjusting to fit well I think. I believe I will need to raise the bust dart, narrow the shoulders, deepen the neckline and grade between an 18 or 16 bodice and 20 skirt. But the dress is so cute, I can’t wait to make another and it will be good to learn how to do these modifications.

Karen Troyer

Hi! This is my first sew-a-long as well. I am excited and I just got the digital pattern tonight and I will print it tomorrow (if I can). I will be gone for 10 days the first of February, will that be a problem?

Not a problem at all! The posts will stay up, and you can join in whenever you want.

Cathy

I just joined and ordered my pattern. I have not received an email for the sew along?

You’ll receive an email every time there’s a new post.

Steph Boozer

I’m super excited for the sewalong! I made my first wearable garment last year and I’m looking forward to learning some more skills!

Kathy

I am actually not totally prepared for the sew along yet. On Monday I am heading to NYC for ten days. I will make my first visit and likely buy my fabric at Mood! I will have to start when I get back. I’m looking forward to visiting my brother and his family there and revisiting places I haven’t been to in many years.
I am a very experienced sewer, but have never participated in a sew along. I look forward to everyone’s fabric choices , comments, and finished projects.

I’m heading to NYC this coming week, too, and am looking forward to visiting Mood for the first time! Have a nice trip!

hi, are there any hashtags we can use to follow along on social media, specifically Instagram?

Karen. Troyer

I already have a problem. I got the digital pattern and when I printed my test piece my square was 3 3/4 rather than 4 inches. I can not find anywhere on my printer to adjust it to 100 % to get it to the 4 inches.

Hi Karen! You should be able to find a scaling option in the print dialog box that opens up with go File>Print, not your physical printer if that’s where you’re looking. It sounds like right now it’s set at “Scale to Fit” instead of 100%. You might have to navigate around a little within the print dialogue box.

Karen Troyer

My printer is a Canon MG3500 and it does not have the setting in percents like you said. i don’t know what to do. Can you take back the digital pattern andIi will pay the difference and get a paper pattern?

Here are two pages that might help you:

http://ugp01.c-ij.com/ij/webmanual/PrinterDriver/W/MG3500%20series/1.0/EN/PPG/dg-c_scaling.html

https://help.colettemedia.com/patterns/digital-pattern-scaling

For any web store/purchase related questions, you’ll need to contact Colette Patterns customer support, which you’ll find here:

https://www.colettepatterns.com/contact