Completed: Neolithic Hawthorn

Are you sitting pretty? Good, because I'm about to wax lyrical about my latest make - Colette Patterns' Hawthorn. As soon as I saw it, it was love at first sight - the fitted bodice, front button closure, flattering semi-circle skirt and the sweet collar! The silhouette has such a retro feel!



Not only did I instantly fall in love with the pattern, I knew exactly what fabric I wanted to pair it with - a unique seersucker gifted to me by the extraordinary Karen at a swap last year. I'm so glad I 'sat' on this fabric for so long, because it quite literally is perfect for this dress! I love the uneven stripes and hunting pattern. It reminds me of drawings found in ancient caves, maybe even Neolithic?!? Keen historians among you are probably cringing at my ignorance, so please do enlighten me if I'm saying something completely stupid.

I'm really pleased at how well I managed to match the stripes down the front, side and back seams. Because of the semi-circle skirt, the stripes create a cool chevron effect down the skirt side seams.


And the collar...oh, the collar! It's so sweet and low enough to show off the collar-bone, which is always flattering. The design also creates a cute little 'V' at the front...perfection! The best thing is that the collar is edge-stitched and top-stitched into place, so it sits perfectly.


Onto juicy fit and construction details and in both respects, I can honestly say Hawthorn is a dream. I know that sometimes Colette patterns get criticised for their extra ease which can lead to gaping necklines and whatnot. But, as Jo has already said, it seems like they're always paying attention and making improvements. I kid you not friends, but after cutting out a size 6 the ONLY adjustments I made to this pattern were to shorten the bodice pieces by my standard 1 inch and to take 3 inches off the hemline. That's literally it and I hope you'll agree it's a pretty good fit!

In terms of construction, this was a breeze! The minimal pattern pieces matched up perfectly and the dress comes together surprisingly fast. The most time-consuming part is lining up the buttonholes and buttons, but as part of the Hawthorn sewalong there's a post dedicated solely to this if you're feeling nervous.



Hawthorn is the perfect summer dress, it's casual yet chic and wearing it makes me feel so feminine! I'm already eyeing up some polka dot seersucker in my stash for the blouse variation and I've got my heart set on a colder-weather version made from either the Sorbet or Strawberry chambray from The Village Haberdashery...YUM! 



I wore my Neolithic Hawthorn to work the other day and I got SO MANY compliments. Like, a ridiculous amount...so thank you Colette Patterns and thank you Karen! I made this with the sole intention of taking it on holiday with me next week, but I love it so much that I'm now tempted to enter the Colette Pattern Contest.

Have you made this dress yet and are you entering it into the contest? If not, are you tempted at all by the design?

109 comments:

  1. The collar and bodice really suit you and this fabric is seriously cool. I think you should definitely enter it into the competition - what have you for to lose?! I reckon a polka dot blouse will look great. I wasn't too convinced about this dress on the model but having seen your version I like it more (not that I need any more patterns!!) x

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    1. Hehe, thanks Kat! I think this shape would look delightful on you ;o)

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  2. You should DEFFO enter the competition because this is just so cool and pretty and just generally awesome. I'm not big on shirt dresses but the sweet little collar on this is such a winner. Beautiful work as always xxx

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  3. This is lovely! I wasn't blown away by the pattern initially but I knew I'd change my mind when I saw a few versions made by bloggers - and yours has definitely shown the potential. Enter the contest! :)

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  4. Hi Marie what a great summer dress, pretty collar line and love your pattern/fabric match up, you should definitely enter the contest. Being a beginner haven't managed to sew in a zip yet (actually I'm avoiding it!) but quite confident with buttons so I'm going to have a go myself - thanks, you've given me a bit of confidence to try! x

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    1. Thanks so much Eilidh, I'm so glad I've given you a bit of confidence. You can totally do it!

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  5. Soooooo gorgeous! Your waist looks tiny; and isn't your hair getting long!
    Px

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    1. Thanks Portia! My hair needs and is getting a trim very soon!

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  6. You look absolutely fabulous in this! I must say, I wasn't that taken with the pattern when it came out (not sure why as it has lots of features that I usually love) but your version is definitely the best I've seen yet! DEFINITELY enter the comp!!

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    1. Thanks Sabs and I'm glad my version piqued your interest in the pattern!

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  7. Wow Marie, this is absolutely fabulous! And I am in love with your fabric. It really is the perfect summer dress isn't it, and I totally get what you mean about the compliments you get, I get more wearing mine than any of my other makes ever got. Anyway you look absolutely gorgeous and you definitely need to do the competition thingy.

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    1. Thank you Jo, I love your version very much too!

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  8. Woooo! This turned out sooo good! Congratulations on a beautiful dress.
    And thanks for showing me that amazing chambray on village haberdashery. I'm going to be hunting for nice chambray next weekend at the London meetup

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    1. Thanks Amy! I'm going to miss the meet-up, but please do let me know if you find any nice chambray and where!

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  9. I just finished taking pictures of my Hawthorn and I am going to post it soon but yours is better and now I'm jealous WAHHHH.

    Hahaha just kidding... sort of ;) I LOVE yours! God, that fabric is amazing, good job on the hoarding. Feels so good to know you found that ~match made in heaven~, yeah? I can't even get over how good this looks at you, I'm just gonna go back to being a creep and staring at you pictures for too long...

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    1. Creep ;o) Hehe! I wish we were neighbours and the same size so we could swat beautiful Hawthorns whenever we got bored of our versions ;o)

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  10. I don't know what it is about this dress - but it looks absolutely STUNNING on you. It's gorgeous!! You should definitely enter this into the contest.

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  11. Wow, you should definitely enter the contest! Your dress is amazing!

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  12. I just wasn’t feeling the Hawthorn so far, so was eagerly waiting to see what yours would be like- and I just love it! (To be expected..!) Crazy fabulous fabric, too!
    Def enter the comp, Marie! You’ve convinced me ;)

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    1. Thanks Tania...I look forward to seeing a version from you soon ;o)

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  13. great fit! no wonder you received so many compliments. :) lucky you only had to make minor adjustments. i don't fit into the colette body type, so for me it required major fitting! but that's okay, i was expecting as much. you should definitely enter the contest... you have nothing to lose!

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    1. Thanks Lisa! I'm pretty sure I don't fit into the typical Colette body type either, so I was pleasantly surprised when I had to make minute alterations. I'm glad you just went for it anyway ;o)

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  14. Super cute, and what a great fabric -- never seen anything like it! I've resisted this particular Colette pattern because I've had so many fit issues with Colette in the past. Maybe I should reconsider!

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    1. Do reconsider Andrea, I think this shape would suit you so much!

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  15. definitely loving the fabric. I was going to make it in the sorbet chambray. I have only just printed out the pattern so not sure I'll be entering this time. Looking forward to seeing all the hawthorns soon.

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    1. Oooh, I'd love to see your sorbet chambray version!

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  16. Oh Marie!! What a corker! The dress fits and suits you perfectly. And the fabric choice ? Genius and inspired. I think you've done a top job all round and was admiring your stripe matching too. Thanks for the good review on the HWthorn, I haven't got it yet and it's interesting to read about it. Your review and dress are very persuasive!!

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    1. Thanks so much Winnie! You would suit this pattern to a tee...no doubt about it!xx

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  17. it looks gorgeous! the collar is lovely and the dress fit you perfectly. love it! go and enter the contest!
    xoxo from Italy
    Giusy

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  18. That's a great fabric choice, and this style is really flattering on you. Hawthorn is getting bumped up my list after seeing this...

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    1. Thanks Rosemary, it's a great pattern!

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  19. Beautifull dress, I love the collar and the small details around the neckline! I'm not very tempted by the pattern however, but that's more because I have sooo many projects on my wish list already..

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    1. I know the feeling of too many projects on the go ;o)

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  20. What a fab dress!!! I LOVE the fabric! I fell for this pattern too, and just need to hem mine. I say definately enter your's in the competition.

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    1. Thanks Lynne! Good luck with your hemming ;o)

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  21. You should definitely enter the competition - it's the best version I have seen and it really suits you :)

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  22. Lovely dress. The material is great too.

    I might go over and have a look at the pattern, although I would probably add a bit to the length to hide my 40plus year old knees!!!

    Enter the competition.

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    1. Well, I shortened the length, so the original might be fine for you...but easy enough to adapt. I'm sure your knees are just fine by the way ;o)

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  23. This is probably a slightly odd things to say but your collarbones look smoking doll in this neckline. It's a really beautiful dress nice work :)

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    1. Hahahaha, thanks so much! I do have a thing for collarbones so it's exactly the kind of compliment I would give someone myself ;o)

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  24. Stunning ..... Wowww that it's perfect fabric and pattern match. Absolutely love this dress. Want to steal it....

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  25. this is so lovely! love the fabric too. I must admit I wasn't that keen on this pattern, but your version has changed my mind. Enter the competition!

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    1. Thanks Shivani, glad it may have made you change your mind about the pattern!

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  26. Omigod totally gorge. I really like the collar of that dress most of all. Great work.

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    1. Yep, the collar's the best bit! Thanks!

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  27. So fantastic! You achieved more with that fabric than I ever could have. From the streets of Paris to the Midlands - awesome. Very, very lovely dress.

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    1. Thanks a million Karen, this dress wouldn't be so special had you not provided the fabric!

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  28. You HAVE to enter. This dress is a winner! Gorgeous!

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  29. Amaaaaazing^^, what a gorgeous dress, you have the perfect figure for this design! Also I love your choice of fabric!

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    1. Thanks Cecili, it really is a flattering shape!

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  30. What an amazing fabric - and such a beautiful dress!

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  31. That is a very cute and flattering dress. Truly love the fabric.

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  32. My favourite so far, good job:)

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  33. This is such a flattering shape on you, and that fabric is da bomb!!

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  34. What a beautiful dress. You MUST enter the competition. The fit is fabulous and the fabric choice inspired.

    I have bought some purple/lavender chambray fabric from Ray Stitch to make a long sleeved version. Must crack on with it...the sunshine won't last forever!

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    1. Thanks very much! Oooh, your chambray from Ray Stitch sounds amazing...must go and check it out too!

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  35. Ooh I've really wanted to make a hawthorn and you've made me want to even more! You look amazing. Love the fabric too. So fun!

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  36. Oh my goodness, how amazing is your pattern matching on this?! So in awe! Totally enter the contest :)

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  37. I'm almost at a loss for words. This dress is absolutely wonderful. The print, the fit, the collar and the great matching is the icing on the cake!

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  38. Great dress! What interesting fabric! I just finished my Hawthorne yesterday and can't wait to make another one!

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    1. Thanks! It's an addictive pattern isn't it!?!

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  39. LOVE! the fabric is gorgeous, I love the chevrons at the side. I really need to start my Hawthorn!

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  40. What a lovely dress on you. The fabric really gives an extra boost to the simple silhouette.

    I've actually made two, that I have yet to blog about. And the only changes I made were to the sleeves (adding more sleeve cap ease) and shortening the waist a tiny bit, ohh and reducing the bust (sba).

    It really is a better pattern than the last few I've made from Colette, fewer alterations.

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    1. Glad you think so too, it's a lovely pattern! I adore your two versions by the way...gorgeous!

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  41. What a FABULOUS dress! Your stripe matching is perfect with that amazing fabric! Love how it turned out, and I can definitely see why you want to make more versions!

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  42. Your fabric is so cool! You even match up the print at the collar...You rock! :)

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  43. Like I said on Twitter - LOVE THIS. And seeing the dress on my desktop - vs my tiny phone screen - I think the texture of the fabric really makes it sing. Great job!

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    1. Thanks lady! I feel the same about your trio of Annas!

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  44. My previous comment seems to have dispappeared into thin air so I'll say it all again! Love this dress Marie and I COMMAND you to enter this into the competition! If you don't win the gold cup it's all clearly a fix! The style is the perfect partner for your figure - you look absolutely beautiful. And the Captain Caveman fabric is fab, love the chevron effect it creates. X

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    1. Aaaaw, thanks so much Jane! Captain Caveman - love it!xx

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  45. This dress is perfect for you Marie - you look gorgeous. I really like the texture in the fabric too. You should definitely enter this in the comp!

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  46. I love it Marie, brilliant job on the matching in the front. You really should enter the competition.

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  47. So super cool! This is all kinds of rad!

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  48. You should definitely enter the competition with your version. It is gorgeous! you fabric is soo nice, really fab!

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  49. Oooh, somehow I'd failed to see this pattern until now but I love it! This looks like an ideal summer dress, I hope the holiday is lovely :)

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    1. Thanks lady! The holiday is lovely and the dress has been worth to death ;o)

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  50. Ack, I love this!!!!! It's perfect for you-- absolutely perfect!!! Seriously stellar dress, girl!

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  51. Love the print. Looks really nice - You did a sewtastic job!

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  52. If this doesn't win the contest then I am going to be very surprised!!!!! :)

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    1. Haha, thanks! There are so many gorgeous versions though, so I'm just pleased to be in with a chance ;o)

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  53. Your dress is beautiful! I love that fabric too. You did a great job matching the stripes. :)

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  54. This is so lovely! It is such a flattering shape. That fabric is definitely perfect for the Hawthorne, and you did a great job matching the pattern. It's no surprise that you've received so many compliments. They are certainly well deserved. Your version has totally convinced me to just buy the pattern already. :D

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    1. Thanks Becca! I think this design will look gorgeous on you!

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  55. 75th comment ooee you're a star :) Think this dress is super dooper spunky and I like it on you better than on the collete website, I hadnt thought it was my style..untill now, I can see it may actually work with my body after all :) cheers ears :)

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    1. Wow, thank you so much! I'm sure you can make this work, it's such a flattering style!

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