a~line skirt

I'm in the sewing zone this week - busting through my stash and trying new things. Last week I managed to buy Nicole Mallalieu Design's new A-line Skirt pattern at the Craft & Quilt Fair (it's also available online). I found a remnant of fabric I bought ages ago at Ikea which was just big enough, and made an a-line skirt ...

The pattern and instructions are great. I had never used an invisible zipper in a skirt before, but I certainly will again! I mostly followed the instructions - the only things I changed were the width of the yoke (mine is a bit narrower) and I topstitched (rather than edgestitched) around the yoke because I kind of like the look (although it would look more profesh to do it as per the pattern). It fits me really well and is comfortable - I see many more a-line skirts in my sewing future!

More creativity here, as always - pop over for a squizz or join in too. I hope your week is a good one!

skirts ... tick!

I am totally taking advantage of having some time to just make things for myself. On the weekend, I sewed up two skirts that have been on my "to do" pile of sewing for about 4 months. Both are made using using my favourite skirt pattern, Simplicity 2906 - only 2 pattern pieces, twill tape facing around the waist, split on the side seam and a zip. The other bonus is that depending on the width of the fabric, it usually takes less than a metre of material. I have made a few of these in the past, so now I can cut one out and sew it in just over an hour (if I have no interruptions - unheard of around here!). The first one is made from "Birdsong" by Echino (bought from Patchwork on Central Park) ...

The second one is made from "Trumpet Flowers" by Amy Butler (bought from Clegs) ...

I made about 3 of these skirts last summer and wear them to death, so it's been nice to have a couple of new ones. I'd be keen to know if you have a favourite skirt pattern - it's nice to have a fallback pattern, but nice to try new ones too. Flicking through pattern books in Spotlight with a 4 year old is one of my least favourite things to do!

Hope you're enjoying your break too, and getting some good sewing therapy (if that's your thing)!

signature skirt for tonight ...

 
t's Friday, which means that we get to see the redwork quilt project come to fruition tonight. I thought I would make a quick skirt to wear using some of the fabric I printed earlier in the week with my signature circles. I used Simplicity pattern 2906 - basic pencil skirt with a side split, made out of natural 100% irish linen from Clegs. I've included a couple of pics from the printing process, which wasn't totally successful because I had too many fine lines, but I like the rustic result anyway! It was also a bit of a lesson for me in pattern repeats, which was great for testing the old brain out!

 

Do you like the ornate "I" at the start of this post? It is the work of typographer and illustrator Jessica Hische who has created the The Daily Drop Cap project. Each day she posts "a new hand-crafted decorative initial cap for your enjoyment and for the beautification of blog posts everywhere." I found Jessica's work via the How About Orange blog - thanks!

Looking forward to meeting lots of bloggers tonight! Have a great weekend!