Colette Hazel FBA Tutorial

Hi All!

So I thought I’d post a brief description of how I did the FBA on the Colette Hazel dress, in case anyone is interested in trying it out for themselves.

If you have done an FBA on a regular bodice, or kind of get the idea how it’s done, it’s essentially the same for the Hazel, only the pattern piece looks a bit different, and you have to adjust the adjoining pieces to match.

If not, there are some great FBA tutorials online, or in books such as The Perfect Fit, and Colette Sewing Handbook.

I always trace my pattern pieces and do the adjustment on the traced piece instead of the original, in case it doesn’t work or I wish to use the original again at some point.

First, you start with the Bodice Front piece, (the one that looks kind of like a triangle), and do the slash and spread as shown below:

Then, you must fill in the gaps of course, using scrap paper, and re-draw the bust dart. The sides and top must be straight and the grainline straight, so adjust as necessary if needed. Then match up the bodice side piece with the bodice front piece at the notches, and add length as shown on the bodice side diagram above.

I also had to add length to the bottom of my bodice back and bodice back side pieces as well, which I noticed when I did the muslin, so check those pieces where they join up to each other before you cut your fabric, and adjust as necessary.

Make sure you check the facing pieces as well, and make adjustments if necessary, so that they match.

I HIGHLY recommend doing a muslin for the bodice on this one, as it’s an unusual adjustment and many pieces mean many areas it may not quite work.

Also, as mentioned in my previous post, if you’re large busted you may want to consider making the straps a bit wider, as I found they were too narrow on me and didn’t quite look right. I made mine about 1/2″ wider than recommended, by just serging a smaller seam allowance, but you can do this without a serger, by sewing the smaller seam allowance and grading the bulk. Keep in mind if you do this, you may have to adjust the placement on the bodice a tad, so it might not match up to the markings exactly.

If you have any questions or anything is unclear please don’t hesitate to drop me a line! I’m happy to help in any way I can! 🙂