Colette Beignet

Hello again! It's been a while, hasn't it? I've been going to Halloween parties and birthday dinners, playing about a thousand rounds of this game, knitting and frogging my miette cardigan by turns (ugh fitting), and reading like a demon. You know, the usual.

I've also been fitting in some sewing here and there, and have spent the past month or so working on a Colette Beignet. After admiring the corduroy beignets by Andrea of Four Square Walls and Shona Stitches, I decided to hop on the ripoff train and make one myself (thanks ladies!).

It's a well drafted pattern and the instructions are pretty clear. All of my issues were, as usual, of my own making. I think after the success of my chambray shirt dress I got a little overambitious. I could knit pick my beignet death, so suffice it to say that the finish just isn't as nice as I want it to be. I mean, it's probably nicer than anything at Forever21 or H&M, but the whole point of sewing for myself is to exceed that (very) low bar.

Like others have pointed out, this was pretty time consuming, between the multiple panels, lining, pockets and twelve (twelve!!) buttons. The pattern is definitely intermediate, and I found it to be challenging throughout. It didn't help that I picked a fussy fabric that requires careful pressing and shows every ripped stitch. I do like the pockets though, and the panels are flattering.

I cut a size 8 in the waist and then graded down to a 6 in the hips, as recommended by the size chart. It's a little loose in the waist, so I probably should have cut a straight 6. It is pretty comfortable though, and as Tasia from Sewaholic always points out, you need room to eat a big lunch. Which is pretty important when you've got leftover butternut squash lasagna to devour. I did try to cinch it in at the waist a little bit, and now the buttons don't line up (argh!). If you see me on the street, pretend you don't notice, okay?

I used quilting cotton for the facings to reduce bulk. This floral print already in my stash from my remnants haul from Fabric World, and I love how it came out.

Overall, I'm kind of disappointed in this one. I'm not sure that it was the best choice for my figure, or match between pattern and fabric. Maybe I should have chosen a darker colored corduroy? What really tears me up is that my mom sent me the pattern and money for fabric for my birthday. After such a thoughtful, generous gift, and weeks of work, I feel terrible that the final result is so meh.

Chalk it up to a lesson learned. On the bright side, this only took a little over a yard of 60" fabric, so I think have enough to make a Grainline Moss skirt. On we go!