Does my bottom look big in these? Colette Madeleine Bloomers

I temporarily gave up on corduroy trousers. I was chuffed with the material, I increased the crotch allowance and I even added pockets. It all seemed to work so well. Then I stalled on the zip. They're a faff to stitch. And since, I haven't really touched them.

Once upon a while I would have finished the damn project without allowing me to start a new one.
You know what? In the era of instant gratification and reduced attention span, I jumped to another project. Life is just too short.

I perused some time ago the Colette website, which has lovely patterns. A few of them are also free, including the Madeleine Bloomers. Kelly had already made hers, and they look adorable, albeit very low-waisted.

My derrière is fuller than Kelly's (not that I looked hers up, ahem) and I thought measuring well beforehand and making a toile would avoid any mishap. The measurement taught me there was a good 10cm/4 "difference between my ideal crotch length and the pattern. The toile taught me my modesty wouldn't be protected when bending over if I were to follow the original pattern.

So I went for it and added 8cm/3 1/4" to the belt.

Now, now, I didn't use any old scrap paper I had to heighten the belt. If you look closely you can see stock prices. Ahhh, good old Financial Time. Maybe the only broadsheet to use a salmon paper.

The result is cute. The fabric is a black lightweight cotton with little white flowers. I had fun with the bows.
I didn't follow the pattern with regards to the button holes on the legs. Once I threaded the elastic, I made a box split and stitched the bows on it.

The elastic bit is the most tedious part. They are 4 rows of it and between stitching the rows, one has to ensure the opening are still there (oops) and then thread it. It took longer than I wished for. Plus this fabric is really dark so spotting the openings was tricky. I initially put pins but they fell off.

I burnt the edges of the loose strands of the nots to stop fraying. And I used a chopstick to use as a stand and make the nots on before stitching them by hand. I made all three at the same time to make them the same size.

The only thing I'd like to say is that adding the surplus for the waist means that, whilst my modesty is protected, it is not the most flattering for my behind. Maybe I should have tried the size below and only added 6 cm to the waist height.

You know what this means? There needs to be a take 2!