So, I finally did it! Something I've wanted to do for years and for whatever reason just never worked out. I made an entire outfit or "ensemble" if you want to sound fancy. I have been admiring the Colette Patterns line for awhile now and decided to give one a shot. The Beignet skirt looked quite flattering and not too difficult to make. It did not disappoint. JoAnn's recently had Simplicity Patterns on sale for a $1.99 so as usual I stocked up.( Patterns on sale and machine needles are pretty much the only things I can bring myself to buy there.) I wanted a nice button up- tuck in kind of blouse pattern. Although this pattern is actually a tunic syle blouse with non-functioning buttons.
Excuse the wrinkly skirt. I promise I did iron before wearing. That's the result of three hours at church with rotating intervals of a squirmy toddler and three year old on my lap.
I made the skirt out of a navy cotton/spandex twill sateen that got from Fabric.com
I loved the Beignet pattern. It had thorough instructions and was really pretty easy to put together. I made a size 16 because of the ample porportions of my back side but did have to take it in at all the waist seams. I love the lines of this pattern. Because it is a six gore skirt it's really easy to make adjustments to get a really nice cusom fit. And fit has always been the issue for me in sewing for myself. Overall I give Beignet top ratings. You should also check out http://www.colettepatterns.com/blog. They have a lot of nice tutorials and other fun stuff.
I chose Simplicity 2211 because, well it was simple. I liked the slight puff sleeve. And although I wanted a button up, the pull on style was a piece of cake to put together. Even with all that goes on in a house with six kids I was able to put it together in a couple hours total. I would say the hardest part is making sure your topstictching is nice and even. That's a detail that can make or break a garment. I had to make the arm bands a smidgen bigger as I have some "strong" arms and if I were to make it again I would make it an inch or two longer for tucking in purposes. But all in all it looks fabulous! I love dotted swiss. It's so pretty and classic.
