Pattern Review: Blue Beignet Skirt [Colette Patterns]


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Pattern: Beignet from Colette Patterns
Fabric: Blue cotton twill from Metro Textile in NYC
Size: 6

Top: Jasmine

This skirt was a long time in the making.  Back in January I attempted to make a Beignet skirt from some luscious green wool I bought on a shopping trip to New York.  There was my first mistake – the wool was way too heavy/bulky for this kind of skirt.  It was a matter of romance with the color: I envisioned a sleek, sophisticated moss colored skirt with light green buttons.  Sadly, the skirt looked like a big sack and the buttonholes were a nightmare, mostly because I wasn’t using the right techniques for sewing buttonholes and buttons in place.  Twelve buttonholes are not for the faint of heart.

Fast-forward to early April – I’m visiting my parents during Sewcation and using my mom’s sewing room to try my hand at this skirt again.  I omitted the lining (didn’t feel it was necessary and didn’t want to risk the bulk issue again) and sewed the skirt together pretty easily.  And then, it was just me and the buttonholes…


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I’m laughing because I conquered those bastards!

The automatic buttonhole feature on my mom’s Bernina has now forever spoiled me.  Helloooo…it remembers the buttonhole length for all the buttonholes you need to sew!!  No guessing or crossing your fingers (bad to do when sewing anyway), just press the button, guide the fabric, and voila.  Perfect freaking buttonholes.  It’s hard to go back to my hand-crank four-step buttonhole sewing machine after that little bit of sewing heaven…

I also learned the hard way that it’s more exact to make tailor tacks rather than use chalk to mark the holes.  I think that also helped out a lot in getting nice, straight, even buttonholes.

And then there’s the cutting open of the buttonholes.  I posted a video tutorial on the best way to open buttonholes when I made this skirt and really, it’s pretty great if I do say so myself.  There were no seam ripper nightmares on this skirt!


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Overall, I’m pretty happy with this skirt.  The fit isn’t as sleek as I’d like and seems to stand out more than other Beignet skirts, like Rachel’s from House of Pinheiro.  If I had been more concerned about the fit at the time, I would have taken in the seams a little bit in the front (it dips in slightly) and sides.  I feel like the waist should fit a little tighter…maybe it would fit better if I paired it with a belt (I didn’t like how it looked with the fabric belt at all).

Would I make this skirt again?  Maybe…it was a big time investment in making the buttonholes and sewing the buttons down (a trick I’ll try to share on here sometime).  I like Andrea’s version with no buttons – that seems more like a realistic repeat to me. But there’s other button skirts on my radar, too…(hello Kelly skirt). Only time will tell!

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3 Comments

    • May 8, 2013 / 12:53 am

      Thanks Rachel! I love your version, too 🙂

  1. May 12, 2013 / 6:49 pm

    This is so cute! I've actually just bought this pattern becasue I got sick of seeing so many adorable versions on the internet and not being able to join the fun. I'm definitely nervous about all the buttonholes, but whatever! I'm doing it. 🙂

    Also, Hello! Kerry has paired us up as swap partners for the Spring Sewing Swap. It's going to be awesome.

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