Amuse-bouches: New Colette knit patterns

I was all set to finish my trenchcoat this weekend, but then I got the mail on Saturday. My new Colette patterns and Colette Guide to Sewing Knits book had arrived, and they aren't even officially released until tomorrow! I think that I was more excited to receive this bundle early than when my husband received his pre-ordered Madden 2013 game before its official release date earlier this year.

The two knit patterns and book were part of a bundle that Colette made available for pre-order at a discount last week. Colette didn't release any line drawings or other details about the pattern and only released a teaser first chapter of the book. I've seen some comments online that seem irritated with this strategy, but I figured that the new patterns pretty much had to be designs that would work for most women to use this pre-order strategy. These patterns are also the first to include Colette's expansion into the true plus size range.

I was excited about the book because I actually don't own a reference book for sewing knits, even though I sew them all the time. I liked the fact that the book covered serger and coverstitch use, too--two areas where I'm entirely self-taught (by internet and machine manual), and I thought that I would probably learn some nice, new techniques for my machines from the book.

I don't want to be one of Those People who posts spoilers on the internet for things, but if you're dying of a curiosity, I will share a few details about the new patterns:

• The knit patterns are sized from XS-3XL, going from a 33" bust to a 54" bust, so it's pretty inclusive and goes pretty far into the plus size range. I'm posting the size chart so that you can see where you fall into this range:

Size chart Colette knit patterns

• The two new patterns are a skirt (Mabel) and a dress (Moneta).
• Both the skirt and dress include three different views, although two of the dress views are very similar.
• Both the skirt and dress are fairly classic designs that should look good on a variety of shapes and sizes.
• The dress pattern is slightly reminiscent (to me) of another indie knit dress pattern that's currently very popular in the sewing blogosphere.
• The skirt is about as classic as you can get. Two of the views skew a little more youthful, but the third view is one of those that I think looks good on just about every woman.
• The pattern envelope says that the skirt can be made in an hour. I'd suspect that this is true for an experienced sewist making the easiest view.
• I'm not sure if this was a packaging error, but my pattern had duplicate pattern tissue for the piece that included two of the views.

Since I received my patterns a few days early, I got the idea into my head that "Wouldn't it be cool if I managed to finish one of these before the patterns are even officially released?" Because clearly, sewing new patterns is a race and a competition, right?

For another project, I had already pre-washed (and cut into) a length of black ponte knit that I thought would be perfect for the Mabel skirt.  I cut the pattern tissue and fabric on Sunday, then before work this morning, I constructed the body of the skirt. Here's a sneak peak that doesn't really give too much away:

Mabel skirt in progress

Tomorrow, I'll switch my Evolve to coverstitch mode and then finish the waistband and the hem. And then I'll win a prize or something by having my skirt done on the day that the pattern is actually released.

On a side note, after seeing a few mentions elsewhere online that others had received their patterns early, the cynic in me had to wonder if this was deliberate viral marketing, and not just super efficient shipping by our USPS. Granted, I work in an industry where leaving a prototype iPhone in a bar has set the bar for viral marketing. In any case, I suspect that most people who are big enough Colette fans to have pre-ordered the patterns will be happy with them; they're classic designs but true to the Colette aesthetic and should be flattering on most figures.