Au Bonheur des Petit Mains - Skirt with Twisted Drape (JHL08001)

My first review of an Au Bonheurs pattern! :)

I fell in love with this skirt when I first saw it on the Au Bonheur des Petites Mains website. However, there were a couple tiny problems. First, the pattern is sized 36-44 and I am not a 44. Secondly, I don't "do" a skirt with a fitted waist. But I just loved the drape/pocket detailing on this piece, so I figured I would make it work.

Once the pattern arrived, I traced off the skirt, enlarging it to a 46. I then converted it to an elastic waist which involved altering both the skirt and the drape. The pattern piece for the drape itself is large and comes as two pieces that you connect together. The drape is intended to be cut on the bias, but with my alterations the pattern piece was too large to put on the bias. Instead, I cut it offgrain as much as possible. If you look at the garment in the photo, it doesn't look like they cut it on a perfect bias either. :)

The fabric, folded back on itself. It's very different on the two sides!

My hand is inserted into the portion of the fabric that is double sided.

This fabric was a very interesting piece I found last summer. I folded it back in the photo so you can see that it is double sided. Or maybe I should say that the purple portion is double sided. The other areas are a single thickness. The fuzzy "trim" indicates where the double sided part of the fabric ends. Also, the dark stripes between the purple are semi-sheer. The reverse of the fabric is a very sophisticated and slightly shiny stripe. After much thought, I decided to use that side for the drape. Where the drape twists, you can get a peek of the purple before it goes into the solid section of the fabric. It's interesting, eh?

The skirt itself is made from a black woven fabric with a slight stretch and a black stripe-on-stripe.

This was very easy and quick to sew up. I have not put the pocket on it. I am not sure about the pocket on me. The pocket in the pattern is fairly small so if I did use it, I would be tempted to size it up a bit. What do you think?

I have enough of this fabric to make myself another skirt. I am conflicted. I think I will use the purple side, but I also love that darker side...

Edited to add: I did make the pocket. You can see it here and here:

French Sewing Glossary

I started this glossary in this post. I am pulling it out as a separate blog entry. I am continually adding to it as I use the Au Bonheur patterns.

Please let me know if you find any errors or come across any phrases that should be added. Thanks!

Last updated: 4/1/2016. Thanks to Bessie Crocker for clarifying several of the terms, particularly about different types of stitches!

• avantbras - forearm
  
• bâtir - to baste
  
• boutons/boutonnières - buttons/buttonholes ("1 bouton pour la taille" = "1 button for the waistband")
  
• boutons pression - snaps (the kind you press, or hammer, that show from the front, not the sew-on type)
  
• les bretelles - straps
  
• coté - side ("Fermer les cotés..." = "Close the sides..." or "...du coté plat de la poche..." = "... the flat side of the pocket..."). I also saw it used to describe a side gusset, on the tee pattern with the 4 hanging points that are tied into knots.
  
• coucher - to place ("Coucher les coutures vers la poche." = "Place the seams towards the pocket.")
  
• coudre - to sew
  
• coudre à points de surjet - to serge (though it literally means "to sew back and forth joining stitches")
  
• ceinture - waistband; also belt or sash
  
• chevaucher - overlap
  
• col - collar
  
• col châle - shawl collar
  
• coutures - seams
  
• couture(s) du cote - side seam(s)
  
• couture(s) de dessous de bras - underarm seam(s)
  
• cranter - to notch
  
• dessus - top ("sur dessus de poche" = "on top of the pocket", "dessus de manche" = "upper sleeve")
  
• dessous - below or underside ("dessous de manche" = "under sleeve"); "dessous" can also mean lingerie (similar to "undies") or interlining
  
• devant - front
  
• doublure - lining
  
• dos - back
  
• droit fil - straight of grain
  
• emmancher - to fit one part into another, often with a fiddly bit that needs to be adjusted, such as easing a sleeve into an armhole
  
• emmanchure - armhole
  
• empiècement - yoke. Note that in the directions for the skirt I made with the twisted drape, they refer to the drape pattern piece as an "empiècement." My French friend thought this strange. She said usually an empiècement refers to a sewn-in yoke, like on a cowboy shirt.
  
• en piquant - (while) catching
  
• éncarter - press ("éncarter les coutures au fer" = "press seams open")
  
• encolure - neckline
  
• endroit - right ("endroit con endroit" = "right side to right side")
  
• endroit du patron - right side of pattern
  
• endroit du tissu - right side of fabric
  
• entoiler - to interface
  
• entoilage - interfacing
  
• entoilage thermocollant - fusible interfacing
  
• entoiler - to interface ("entoiler les parementures" = "interface the facings")
  
• entournure - armhole
  
• l'entrejambe - inside leg ("fermer l'entrejambe" = "close the inside leg seam" (from ankle to ankle)
  
• envers du tissu - wrong side of fabric
  
• les épaules - the shoulders ("assembler les épaules" = "sew the shoulder seams")
  
• double epaisseur - double thickness
  
• épingler - to pin
  
• faufiler - to baste
  
• le fil - thread ("1 fil de couleur contrastante épais" = "1 [spool of] topstitching thread in a contrasting color")
  
• finition - finishing
  
• les flèches - arrows ("coucher les plis selon les flèches du patron" = "form the tucks according to the arrows on the pattern")
  
• fond - background ("fond de poche devant" = "front pocket back", as in a front jeans pocket)
  
• la fourche - crotch ("fermer la fourche" = "close the crotch seam (from bellybutton to bottom)")
  
• le genou - knee
  
• de hanches - hipline
  
• haut - top
  
• jupe - skirt
  
• lainage - woolens ("tissu type lainage" = "wool type fabric")
  
• laine - wool
• lisiere - selvedge
  
• liens - ties ("faire 4 liens" = "make 4 ties")
  
• ligne de pliure - fold line
  
• ligne de taille - waistline
  
• largeur pied de biche - the width of the presser foot
  
• maille - a knit stitch
  
• maintenir - to tack (hold temporarily)
  
• manche - sleeve
  
• milieu - center ("faire la couture milieu dos" = sew the center back seam)
  
• molleton - flannel or fleece—a fabric with some loft, perhaps a Pellon-type fleece or batting
  
• les œillets - eyelets, as in the metal kind you press, or hammer ("Poser l'œillet selon repère du patron." = "Apply the metal eyelet where indicated on the pattern.")
  
• ourlet(s) - hem(s)
  
• pantalon - pants
  
• la parement - facing
  
• parmenture - facing
  
• parmenture du meme tissu - self facing
  
• parmenture de la talle - waistline facing
  
• passepoil - piping
  
• patron(s) - pattern(s)
  
• des pattes de boutonnage - buttonhole placket (or tab) ("Entoiler la moitié des pattes de boutonnage" - "interface half of the buttonhole placket")
  
• le pince/les pinces - dart/darts ("fermer les pinces" = "close the darts)
  
• piquer - to stitch/sew (verb). While the Au Bonheur patterns use the verb "piquer" to indicate stitching, it seems to be a bit inexact. The actual translation of "piquer" is "to sting" or "to bite". "Piquer a la machine" = a machine stitch. The word for a particular type of stitch is "point".
  
• piquer le bord - edgestitch
  
• piqure de soutien - staystitch; literal meaning is "support stitch"—soutien means "support", soutien-gorge means bra, as in "supports the throat"
  
• plaquer - flatten ("plaquer la poche" = "flatten the pocket")
  
• les plis - tucks or folds ("piquer les plis" = "sew the tucks")
  
• pliure - to fold ("dans le pli" = "on the fold")
  
• point - stitch (noun)
  
• point de croix - cross stitch
  
• point de devant - running stitch
  
• pointe de poitrine - bust point
  
• poche(s) - pocket(s)
  
• rabattre - to fold ("puis rabattre les plis" = "then fold the tucks")
  
• rep - ribbing made from silk, cotton, or wool ("1m de reps pour les liens" = "1 meter of ribbing")
  
• repasser - to iron ("repasser pour aplatir" = "iron flat")
  
• les repères - marks ("utilisant les repères B et A" = "using marks B and A")
  
• revers - reverse, as in reverse side of the fabric ("pull á col revers" = "pullover with reverse collar"). Also used to describe something that turns back on itself, such as a lapel, a cuff that is formed by folding back the sleeve hem, or a pocket that has a turned-down element.
  
• scotcher - tape ("scotcher les pièces 6a and 6b..." = "tape pattern pieces 6a and 6b...")
  
• le serre cordon - cord stopper (for round elastic)
  
• simple epaisseur - single thickness
  
• sous-piquer - understitch
  
• surjet - whipstitch. While the translation for surjet is "whipstitch", most instructions using the term mean a serged stitch (using a serger or overlocker).
  
• surjeteuse - a serger (overlocker)
  
• surpique - topstitch
  
• surpique nervure / surpiquées nervurées - topstitch the seam(s) close to the edge (edgestitch)
  
• soufflet - gusset
  
• tissu - fabric
  
• tissu fantaisie - literally translates to "fancy fabric", but is used to mean "novelty fabric" or "contrasting fabric"
  
• tissu souple - "supple" or "pliant" fabric - I think they mean knit fabric, but maybe drapey wovens as well
  
• tissu uni - solid color fabric
  
• triplure - underlining
  
• valeur - amount or width ("surpiquer valeur pied de biche" = "topstitch the width of the presser foot")
  
• veste - jacket
  
• volant - flounce or ruffle
  
• zip - zipper; this is not the "official" word for zipper, which is "fermeture éclair", but is used by these patterns ("le zip invisible" = "invisible zipper")
  

You might also check out this visual chart of hand stitches, or les points de couture.