Beignet-Inspired Skirt: The Ethics of a Knock-Off

I've been making slow but steady progress on the next element of my Up North wardrobe, an ivory cotton sateen skirt, in the style of Colette Patterns' "Beignet".  I've been thinking about making a skirt like this for a while--I'd like to think I came up with the idea on my own, before I saw Colette Patterns' summer version of the skirt, which is also ivory.  But given my track record on having original ideas, I'm not so sure!

Once I got serious about this project, I found myself faced with a dilemma--to buy the "Beignet" pattern, or to draft my own.  Colette Patterns is a small, independent pattern company, and Beignet, like all its patterns, is the original design of the company's founder, Sarai Mitnick.  I try to support these sorts of businesses whenever I can, and I've heard glowingly positive things about Colette Patterns in particular.  Their designs are distinctive, their patterns are well-drafted and high-quality, and their instructions are clear and complete.

That said, Beignet is a very simple skirt to draft.  That's not to take anything away from it's design, which is original and compelling.  But structurally speaking, once you've seen it, it's pretty clear how one would draft it.  In fact, it seemed to me that altering the skirt to fit my proportions would potentially take just as much time, and yield less consistent results, than simply drafting it from scratch based on my personal sloper.  In the end, that's what I decided to do, but I'm still pretty conflicted about the decision.  So, I'm writing up the project on this blog, but only with several statements by way of a disclaimer:

1. "Beignet" is Sarai's original design.  She deserves all credit for this classic, flattering and versatile skirt.
2. Although I drafted my own version of this skirt, I won't talk about that process here.  I'll stick to discussions of the construction process and how the skirt fits into the planning of my Up North wardrobe.
3. If you like the look of this project, you should absolutely, positively buy a "Beignet" pattern from Colette Patterns!

Ok, now that I've got that all cleared up, here's an update on how the project has been going so far.  Frankly, it's been a slog.  I've got no sewing momentum right now, but I'm trying to make progress, since I have one or two more projects in my queue that are definitely for summer, and won't transition well into fall.  (This skirt is one, and my magenta ruffle-front blouse is another.)

I'm also not totally thrilled with my fabric choice for this project.  The fabric I picked is a stretch bottom-weight, but it's semi-sheer even with the lining, and you can definitely see the interfacing and the seam allowances (and sometimes, my underwear!) through from the outside.  I've also made one or two dubious construction decisions that I find myself second-guessing, and I'm dreading making all 12 buttonholes on the front.

What's more, I'm changing size right now in all sorts of weird ways (marathon training is at least partly to blame), so I keep making fitting alterations on the fly.  I'm already sewing at the tail end of the season, and while I'd usually be o.k. with stashing a project like this in my closet for a year, I'm not at all confident that this skirt will fit me next summer.

So I'm trying to soldier through and finish the skirt soon, hoping to get at least a few wearings out of it this year.  But given my frustrations with my fabric, I'm seriously reconsidering the summer jacket I had planned to make from the leftover piece.  On the one hand, a wardrobe doesn't really seem complete without some sort of "topper."  But on the other hand, it might not be worth the grief of working with this fabric.  Would a jacket like this look terrible if the darts & seam allowances showed through a bit?  Should I give it a stab, or run screaming?  What do you think?

Polling the Audience

Ok guys, I need your help.

Google Analytics tells me that I there are a few of you out there.  (Some of you even live in exotic places like London and Adelaide, which I think is just too cool, but I digress.) I'm desperate for your advice!

First of all, there's the matter of the brunch dress, which has literally been keeping me up at night.  When I went back to Haberman's looking for the perfect lining, I got talked into buying some divine pima cotton lawn that cost more than my fashion fabric, but feels incredible, and it was really, in my heart-of-hearts, what I wanted.  So now, the $64,00 question is: to line, or to underline?  The paisley fabric is opaque enough that I could either.  But neither method seems perfect.  Here are the pro's and con's as I see them.

Lining:

• Pro: I can sew and under-stitch the fabric to the lining at the neckline and armholes, which I think yields a really slick, polished finish.
• Pro: I can do Kathleen Fasanella's slick zipper installation...almost
• Pro: I'm a sucker for the polished effect of a fully-lined dress
• Con: The surplice bodice poses logistical problems with attaching the waistband.  Since the dress fabric and the lining overlap at the CF and CB, I can't simply sew the waistband seam separately for each layer of fabric (ie. fashion fabric to fashion fabric and lining to lining).  But if I sandwich all 4 layers right-sides-together and sew a single seam, that doesn't leave the lining free for the zipper application.  That said, the Slapdash Sewist has faced a similar problem, if I understand her correctly, and she managed to make it work.

Underlining:

• Pro: Underlining will stabilize my lightweight fashion fabric.  It might also be less bulky, and I'm told the finished dress will wash better.
• Pro: It's arguably easier to sew.  I can finish all the raw edges with my serger and still get a nice, tidy look inside.
• Con: I would probably do a rolled hem on the neckline, and I'm not sure how I feel about having a row of stitching visible there.  
• Con: I have no idea how I would finish the armholes with the side zip.  Can you use a bias binding in this situation?  Again, that would leave me with a row of visible stitching that I'm not wild about.

So readers, I'm stumped!  I'll keep working on the drafting in the meantime, but please weigh in with your expert advice.

My next quandary is a more familiar one.  So tell me: should I buy this fabric?

It's a light-weight rayon-lycra knit from EmmaOneSock, and I'm thinking about using it for this dress from Patrones no. 284.

This dress is without a doubt one of my favorite patterns in this magazine, and I've been hunting for the perfect fabric for it for months.  I think it needs to be a print rather than a solid, and a geometric print would be best.  But it also needs to be something that will work with all the pleats and the tie collar without looking too busy.  Do you think this fabric would work?  It's vaguely similar to what the Slapdash Sewist used, and I love her version.

Just to complicate matters, do you like the abstract lines more or less than this windowpane print from Fashionista Fabrics?  It's less austere than the abstract lines, but also busier.  So I don't know what to do.

I've been close to taking the plunge and buying fabric for this dress a number of times, but I keep losing my nerve at the last second. 

So, dear readers, I place myself entirely in your hands.  Clearly, I need all the help I can get!

Brunch Dress: The Planning Stages

My pattern paper is finally here, so while the bias skirt for my WGD hangs out, I can start drafting my next project, a summer dress.  This dress is also for the wedding I'll be attending in May, but unlike the satin dress, it should be much more re-wearable.

Having just had a wedding myself, I'll share my opinion that weddings are one of the few opportunities for adult, professional women (and men, if so inclined) to color-coordinate unabashedly.  Cousin Angela's "wedding colors" are shades of blue, and I've definitely jumped on the bandwagon.  The dress I'm sewing next will be for a swanky ladies-only pre-wedding brunch (with hats!)

Here's her invitation:

And here's the paisley cotton voile from Haberman's that I'll be using.  I think it has a very "brunch-with-the-ladies" vibe.

(As a died-in-the-wool academic, I can't resist pointing out the imperialist back-history of paisley, whose popularity in 19th century England reflected that nation's colonial presence in India.)

I'm planning a simple, sleeveless dress with a surplice v-neck and an A-line skirt.  Something similar to Vogue 8182, which I used to approximate my yardage.  I'm planning to use darts instead of gathers on the bodice, and a smooth waistband rather than a ruched one to get a sleeker look.

Since I'll be drafting this pattern from scratch, I figured it would be a great opportunity to write and share a series of drafting how-to's for each of the components of this dress: a midriff yoke, a surplice top, and an A-line skirt.  I'll be using my sloper as a basis, but if you don't have a sloper, you could use a pattern for a basic dress that fits you well.

So stay tuned for the first installment of the series, which will be about drafting a midriff yoke!

wedding-guest dress

I promise I'll post pictures of completed projects soon--the green dress is done, and I love it, but what with the holidays and the cold weather, I haven't had the opportunity or the fortitude to take pictures outside that will do it justice. And although the pleat-front dress just needs some quick finishing, I doubt I'll get to it before we leave town in a few days.

In the meantime, my mother-in-law (a.k.a my "Other-Mother") has got me scheming about a new project: a dress for a spring wedding.

The Mr. and I will be guests at his cousin's wedding in North Carolina this spring. The wedding ceremony will be in a neat "country gothic" church, and the reception at a historic manor house with beautiful grounds. As my Other-Mother points out, this occasion will of course require a new dress! Here's what I'm thinking:

BWOF 5/2008, dress 127


And here's the fabric I have in mind, a sheer silk chiffon from Gorgeous Fabrics. I've had my eye on it for weeks, and now it's even on sale, marked down from $18/yd. to $12.80.


I'm also inspired to see that the slapdash sewist has made this dress with such lovely results. We're shaped pretty differently, but it's still encouraging to know that the dress looks good on a real person, and not just on the model in the magazine photo.

In the spirit of financial responsibility, I can't buy the materials for this project until after the first of the month. But now that the seed has been planted, I can't stop thinking about it.

winter sewing

It's winter in Michigan. And winter here doesn't mess around--long underwear isn't an option, it's a way of life. So, although I'm pleased with how my pleated dress is shaping up so far, I probably won't get to wear it for months, and I'm determined that my next few projects should be more weather-appropriate.

Buying winter clothing that is both stylish and practical is tough, and sewing it is even tougher. But here are some of my ideas:



A wool jersey dress. This one, from the current BWOF might be a little edgy for me. But I'm a sucker for cowl-necks.

This skirt would look great in a medium-weight stretch wool. Gray would be practical. Although I would have to start tucking in my shirts. And since I have a bit of a tummy, I might want to consider adding boning to the waistband for additional structure.


Jeans. What I wear most, especially since I'm not teaching this year and can dress more casually. Inspired by Johanna's excellent series of posts, I'm considering using BurdaStyle Anita as a starting point. I've already bought denim (the sale was too good to resist), but I admit that I'm daunted by the alterations that will almost certainly be required to get the fit that I'm looking for.




Sweaters seem tricky to sew, but I'm hoping they'll prove more do-able now that I have a serger. The shawl collar sweater is Burdastyle Esther, and the belted cardigan is Jacket 119 from BWOF 12/2009.


Pleated wool trousers. I'm intrigued, but I'm also trepidatious, since I've never owned a single pair of pleated pants in my entire adult life. I think the key would be to go for a wide-leg style and use a heavier wool, to make sure all the volume looks intentional and the front doesn't get poochy. These are from BWOF 9/2007 via Miss Celie's Pants, but there are some similar styles in my 9/2009 Patrones.


And a swimsuit--since we're planning to escape the cold in January with a long weekend in Orlando. This pattern--Burdastyle Alison--must have been designed with me in mind. It has everything I look for in a swimsuit: a flattering neckline with lots of support for a fuller bust, and a style that is (comparatively) modest without being matronly. Even better, the pattern is a free download!