The Beignet Button Dilemma

I’m stumped! I can’t decide which buttons to put on the skirt. The top buttons are the ones I initially got for the other cotton twill wearable muslin that failed. I went back for more ideas and came back with the other three. (Sorry, this fabric is tricky to photograph, and my lighting is horrible!)

Now, on a side note, as you can see, I managed to do the buttonholes after all! I was in a bit of a panic about the buttonholes. Eventually I stopped being silly just tried one. To my utter astonishment, the buttonholes actually went in a breeze! I really was not anticipating this at all. My machine did some pretty decent buttonholes, especially with some thick thread under the stitches, sort of corded.

I also tested my old Greist buttonholer attachment, and found that they looked best when stitched around twice, with a larger stitch on the second round. This time using it was much easier with the corduroy (last time was on denim and it had a hard time keeping a grip on the fabric.)

Right, getting back to buttons. Here are the close-up shots.

 

 

So this is my dilemma. Which buttons look best? What do you think?

Beignet Progress and Panic

 This has to be one of the most involved makes for me in a while, and while it’s not difficult, it is beginning to get to me. I have reached that stage where you tell yourself to just get on with it!

This is it right now, with the hem half sewn. (I am so relieved with how invisible it seems to be.)

 

But it’s the buttonholes that’s got me in a panic. Should I have made bound or corded buttonholes? They’d be stronger and look really neat, but it’s way too late for them now.

After much googling and searching for tips, clues, ANYthing on making buttonholes on corduroy, I found this post by Vicki Kate Makes on her own beignet. Holy crap, her buttonholes turned out FANTASTIC!! And they’re machine-made.

The buttons were originally meant for my wearable muslin, but the heavy cotton twill fabric from IKEA (a neighbours old curtains) ended up being ripped ON the seam due to a nicked machine needle. ARRRGGGGG!

So, they’ll go on this make instead. I can’t face searching for more buttons again!

And the fabric used for the facing is a piece of cotton home dec remnant I’ve had in stash for a couple of years.

It’s nothing special, but the purple fibres running through the fabric (grid design) matches the corduroy and bemberg lining really well. It’s functional.

Oh and those are hanging loops up there. In Sandra Betzina’s book, More Fabric Savvy, she recommends adding these to bottom pieces instead of using the clips on hangers which leave marks.

So there we are. The end is in sight. Must push on!