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Laurel Contest: The winners!

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Without further ado, here are the winners of the Laurel Sewing Contest!

(Don’t forget to check out everyone’s submissions in the Colette Patterns Flickr group. You will then understand just how difficult it was for the judges to pick these out.)

Category one: Favorite use of prints

Grand prize: Laura Lee’s watercolor print

Love this gorgeous, large scale print, and the tiny ruffle really adds something. It’s so pretty.

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Second prize: Laurwyn’s silk batik

Laurwyn says:

“I purchase this silk BATIK in Indonesia during our honeymoon. The Laurel was the perfect way to showcase it! I enclosed the neckline and sleeves with the bias I made for the occasion. It is my most precious dress!”

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Category two: Favorite use of color

Grand prize: LazyKrista’s color blocking

Krista says:

“Do you ever have a vision in your head of something you’re creating and it actually turns out exactly how you planned it? That was this dress for me! That moment seems rare for me so I was super excited when I finished sewing! I love the bold colors!”

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Second prize: Melissa Ormonde’s coral Laurel

Melissa used a textured cotton on this, and added waist darts by using the darts from the Licorice dress from the Colette Sewing Handbook. She writes:

“For a little extra detail I added two rows of bias tape around the hem, sleeves, and neckline and a little black and white striped bow of petersham ribbon in the center.”

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Category three: Self-designed Fabric

Grand prize: SewSewcial’s tattoo-themed dress

An amazing dress by Caroline! She writes:

“I’ve been really inspired by sewing themed tattoos as of late and I’m not quite ready to take the plunge on my skin so I thought about tattooing my clothes. I love this! I silkscreened the sewing machine and measuring tape and then dyed the dress itself. After that I did all of the embroidery.”

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Second prize: Melanie’s cut out dress

Melanie didn’t write much about this beauty, but check out all those cut outs! What an amazing creation! Reminds me of Valentino.

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Category four: Use of added detail or embellishment

Grand prize: coudsdecoeur’s dress inspired by Navajo weaving

Take a look at the detail close up on this. Incredible work!

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Second prize: Florence’s edged peter pan blouse

The simple details on this are so well executed, and the fabric choice is elegant and perfect.

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Category five: Fall / Winter version

Grand prize: Smidging’s gem tone Laurel

Just gorgeous! The combination of pink and purple with the bow and color blocking is SO Joan Holloway.

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Second prize: Or Brook’s Wool and Swarovski Laurel

This dress is made in 100% wool, and has light and dark green swarovski crystals added at the hem.

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Category Six: Readers’ Choice

Here are the winners, chosen by you!

Grand prize: Melissa’s blue and white Laurel

Melissa has won two prizes, congratulations Melissa!

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Second prize: Allyson’s scalloped Laurel

I love the combination of girly scallops with a classic color palette.

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I’ve contacted all of the winners via Flickr. If you are a winner shown here, be sure to check your Flickr messages for instructions on claiming your goodies.

Thank you everyone for your participation in this amazing contest! I hope you all enjoyed it. Would you like to see more contests like this in the future?

Sarai Mitnick

Founder

Sarai started Colette back in 2009. She believes the primary role of a business should be to help people. She loves good books, sewing with wool, her charming cats, working in her garden, and eating salsa.

Comments

Caroline

May 20, 2013 #

I am so excited and honored! Thank you so much for this amazing pattern and an incredible opportunity!

Lix Hewett

May 20, 2013 #

Love the Peter Pan blouse and the scalloped Lauren!

Krista

May 20, 2013 #

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Thank you so much! I’m in shock!!! I’m so honored! There were so many amazing entries!

Diane @ Vintage Zest

May 20, 2013 #

Wow! There are so many great dresses here. I’m especially awed by the Self-Designed Fabric category, because that takes extra special skills!

Caroline

May 20, 2013 #

Fantastic and inspiring. I have tons of new ideas! Yes to more competitions.

courtney

May 20, 2013 #

Thank you for having this contest! I’m a beginner, and this was a fantastic challenge for me – learning how to set a sleeve and put in an invisible zipper AND get my print to match up. I knew I wouldn’t stand a chance against the incredible creations, but still am so proud of my efforts – I LOVE my dress, and the process was fun!

Sarah

May 20, 2013 #

Congratulations to all the winners, what a talented bunch you are!

Danielle

May 20, 2013 #

Hooray for the winners, lots of wonderful talent here!

Amy

May 20, 2013 #

What beautiful dresses! I especially love the short-sleeved peter pan shirt. LOVE LOVE LOVE! Does Florence want to let us know how she included the collar? :) Great work everyone! Swoon’s all around. And such an amazing pattern. Thank you for the Laurel, Sarai!

Taylor

May 21, 2013 #

I second this motion!!

Catherine

May 20, 2013 #

Congratulations to everyone! Melanie’s cut out dress and the tattoo embellished dress are so fantastic but my favourite is the Melissa Ormonde’s coral Laurel.
Great work everyone!

Linda Armenti

May 20, 2013 #

Yes, it is great on so many levels. Love the inspiration (I bought the pattern), I’m a newbie learning to sew garments and this makes it even more exciting to learn. Would live to see a over-50 category:)

Ashley

May 20, 2013 #

Lovely and exquisite work by everyone! I’m full to the brim with ideas for my own Laurel now. Thanks ladies for your inspiration!

Julia Bobbin

May 20, 2013 #

Wow, congratulations to the winners, all well deserved! Well done to the judges, what a tough decision!!

Tracey Wirth

May 20, 2013 #

Congratulations to all the winners!!!! What a fun contest to be part of! Thanks for the opportunity to challenge ourselves!!

LLBB

May 20, 2013 #

congratulations to all the winners!!!

Andrea

May 20, 2013 #

I say YES to more contests, even if the prizes aren’t as big. I’m just starting out and even though I can’t compete against these fabulous ladies, it was really fun to enter. Plus a competition makes people pull out all the stops so now I have a lot of blogs to learn from. Thanks for everything you do. I love it. And I love all the dresses!

Trisha

May 20, 2013 #

WOW!! I don’t know how the judges narrowed these entries down- there were so many great Laurels on Flickr and more kept coming!!! These winners are all so beautiful, and I loved that we got to vote on a category. My friends- who don’t sew- even got excited about this contest! So yes, please, I would dearly love another contest, because this was so much fun.

Sarai

May 21, 2013 #

I liked the voting part too! I think if we did a smaller scale contest, I’d just have one reader’s choice category like this one. We had almost 2,000 people vote!

Lara

May 20, 2013 #

Lovely dresses – well done ladies!! I love the idea of further contests, I enjoyed having an excuse to get dressmaking and using a Colette pattern. Very inspired by all the different ideas too. xx

Lara

May 20, 2013 #

and a PS – I LOVE the Laurel as a top – it’s become my new favourite and I’m going to make lots more!

Jeri

May 20, 2013 #

All of these submittals rock! Thanks to the sponsors and I can’t wait to see the next Colette pattern and contest!

Colleen

May 20, 2013 #

These are all gorgeous and bring much (needed) inspiration. Congratulations to all of you — you’re all big winners in my book!

Sassy T

May 20, 2013 #

I absolutely loved this competition. So much inspiration.

cathy

May 20, 2013 #

Congrats to everybody! Even after the contest, I’m still so inspired by all the different Laurels – there’s so much to soak in. I loved participating as well, it was fun to see the flickr pool grow each day – especially that flood near the deadline!

Carie

May 20, 2013 #

They’re all gorgeous but I’m just blown away by Caroline’s sewing machine fabric, especially the little scissors on the sleeves.

Velosewer

May 20, 2013 #

Welll done everyone.

Sewing princess

May 20, 2013 #

Fantastic choices! The embellishments are spectacular. Congratulations ladies!

Maryall

May 21, 2013 #

Oh, I’m so happy Melissa won the readers’ choice! It is by far the best fitting dress for me, she has done a great job adding those darts, I wish she’d told us, beginners, how she did them!
And all those other entries, so inspiring and such a hard work behind the dresses! They all deserved to win!
Hope you will have more contests like this one, and cross my fingers for a pdf patterns sale coming soon, I really love all of your patterns and I’d like to try them! :)

Florence

May 21, 2013 #

Thank you so much for a wonderful competition – I’m so flattered to be in alongside the other winning Laurels – they’re gorgeous. Thank you! And yes, to more competitions – it’s wonderful to see the Flickr pool fill up so quickly with inspiration and fitting tips for a newly released pattern.

Dorine

May 21, 2013 #

They are all amazing!!! Well done everyone!

Jo

May 21, 2013 #

Well, I am in awe. They are all amazing. I am still on A-line skirts… GRRRr that invisible zip thing.

Melissa

May 21, 2013 #

Everyone did such a great job! Congrats!

Shannon

May 21, 2013 #

Absolutely yes to more contests! I didn’t finish in time to enter this one, but I love seeing what everyone else has done. So much talent and creativity!

ultrahedonist

May 21, 2013 #

I think Melissa Ormond’s coral laurel is very beautiful, but I don’t really see why you’d take a shift dress as the starting point for a fitted-at-the-waist dress when there are already so many patterns and designs in that vein. I kinda wish the reader’s choice had gone to something that actually worked with the spirit of the shift pattern itself – I loved the ombre and the geometical shapes versions, which were clever and beautiful shifts that worked with the form and actually made me consider buying laurel and deviating from my usual silhouette. I guess I should have voted then, eh? Congrats to all.

Heather

May 21, 2013 #

I know I’m considering adding some front darts on my Laurel after seeing Melissa’s dresses. Because I have a large bust, the fabric on garments like this just hangs down off of them and makes me look even bigger than I am. A couple easy-to-add front darts will make this dress go from the back of my closet to constantly in the wash. Isn’t that’s the whole point of sewing – making things work for me, not just putting up with clothing as-is? :)

Carolyn

May 21, 2013 #

So exciting to see the winners! All of the detailed hand work is so inspiring. Congrats to all! : )

Samina

May 21, 2013 #

It was tough enough to pick my choices for the Readers’ Choices. I don’t envy you guys picking winners for all the other categories! The dresses are all amazing, though. So much inspiration there for my own version of Laurel. Congrats to all!

Meg (Melanie)

May 21, 2013 #

Oh wow! I won something! Thank you so much for putting together such a great competition. I loved seeing all the ideas people came up with and I got so inspired by the whole thing. (Sorry I didn’t write much about my dress on Flickr, I only joined to post these pictures and wasn’t savvy enough to add any info… ho hum.)

Fiona

May 21, 2013 #

Congratulations to all the winners! Some spectacular dresses and lovely details there. I love both Melissa Ormonde’s dresses in particular.

Mugsy

May 21, 2013 #

WOW!! Congrats to all of the lucky and talented winners – and congrats to all of those that took up the challenge! As a (still) newbie sewista, all of these have provided inspiration for me and my (when I finally get to it) Laurel dress.

You all did terrific work, and should be proud! :)

Diane Hudson

May 21, 2013 #

Would love to see more competitions – I didn’t find out about the ‘Laurel’ one until it was too late for me but would so enjoy having a try at something in the future.

Marianna

May 21, 2013 #

These are awesome! Not just the Laurels, but also the women who made them. What creativity and style!

On the other hand, I have a slight problem as having been inspired I’ll now have to spend a year trying to recreate some of these….

Love to all XXXXX

Rene’

May 21, 2013 #

I think they’re all beautiful. The creativity is amazing.

Sarai

May 21, 2013 #

I want to send one more thank you out there to our judges, the lovely Rochelle of Lucky Lucille, Sarah of Rhinestones and Telephones, Erin of Miss Crayola Creepy, and Sarah Gabbart, former owner of Sew Crafty in Houston. They put a lot of work and thought into this, and did a wonderful job.

Sarah

May 21, 2013 #

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners! It was so very, very difficult to pick winners and I am so humbled and honoured to have been a part of this.

A huge thank you to Sarai for organizing this glorious contest!!

muenzeeins

May 22, 2013 #

gosh, they’re just all amazing!! what a wonderful, versatile pattern!! I love the scallop version and the coral collar with the turquoise (and the yellowish stockings, what a idea!!°…

Melissa

May 23, 2013 #

These are such great dresses! I love what Caroline did with embroidery!

Deb Cameron

May 23, 2013 #

Congrats to all the winners! And yes please Sarah this was a fabulous competition. P,ease do it again, love the versatility of the Laurel!

Deb Cameron

May 23, 2013 #

Sorry I did type Sarai, not Sarah!

Chanilly

August 5, 2013 #

Yes, I would love to see more contests. I found out about this one too late to enter, but it looks like it was wonderful. Lots of great entries!