I've done quite a bit of sewing during COVID working from home, but have been slow to post things here. I aim to add a few of my makes before the end of the month, starting with these two skirts which were both made about three months ago.
First up is the Dolores Skirt from Le Maison Victor magazine in May Gibbs Flannel Flowers fabric in midweight cotton from Nerida Hansen. The May Gibbs print is lovely, and such iconic Australiana. This is the midnight shade - the fabric also comes in pink, summer blue and lemon, but I felt those paler shades did not show the print as clearly. This deep blue allows the flowers and bush babies to stand out.
First up is the Dolores Skirt from Le Maison Victor magazine in May Gibbs Flannel Flowers fabric in midweight cotton from Nerida Hansen. The May Gibbs print is lovely, and such iconic Australiana. This is the midnight shade - the fabric also comes in pink, summer blue and lemon, but I felt those paler shades did not show the print as clearly. This deep blue allows the flowers and bush babies to stand out.
This skirt is a very simple style and straightforward make, just a gathered button up skirt with a waistband and pockets. The gathering is uneven and almost pleated at parts, but because it's relatively full I felt the imperfections don't really show up enough to be worth redoing. The attention is drawn to the print, rather than the size of the gathers.
The buttons are dark wood from Spotlight. I considered white buttons to fit with the print but in the end the wood buttons suited the fabric better, by matching both the tone and feel of the print.
I really like the length of this skirt. I have a few skirts in this below the knee length, all with moderate fullness. They're relaxed and easy to wear and dress up and down.
This second skirt is from Burda magazine, issue 12/2016, pattern 105. The pattern is a very basic fitted skirt shape, but with the curved zip closure. The pattern actually suggests also having a hidden side zipper, but it isn't necessary so I omitted it. The zipper is a double slide zipper, with slides at top and bottom. I've had it in my stash for a while after picking it up for 50c at an op shop a few years back. When I bought it I didn't have a pattern to use it for, but it really seemed like it would suit a skirt. The zipper is slightly shorter than the pattern asked for so doesn't quite reach the hem, but it didn't affect the making of the skirt.
Construction was mostly straightforward. Inserting the zipper along the curved seams was a bit fiddly, but mostly just required careful pinning in place and sewing slowly to ensure it remained even. It was slightly bumpy when I finished sewing it but that was easily fixed by pressing the stitching. The harder part was attaching the facing behind the top of the zipper curve. The extra bulk meant that the front of the skirt sits about half a centimetre above the back to accommodate the seam allowance even after it was trimmed back. If I'd thought beforehand I might have made the right front (the lower curve) finish half a centimetre lower to help the waist align properly, but it's a minor imperfection.
The fabric is a Liberty of London cotton twill bought from the fabric store, although I can't remember the name of the print and it doesn't seem to be available on their website anymore. The weight is perfect for the pattern, because it has body and holds shape but was still able to handle curved seams. I liked the print as well - it's colourful but still pretty simple and versatile and works well with a lot of things.
