Colette 1027 Zinnia

I made this skirt for my bezzer mate as a gift for Christmas. Now that she has this gift I can post it!

This is the first time that I have made anything for anyone else and as you can imagine I was so nervous as I passed the wrapped, final product to her.

This pattern was so simple that I knew it would work as a gift and have a reasonable chance of fitting. You only need your waist size to make it, what could be simpler?

I really sailed through this one. Even though I took my time as I wanted to get it right (and I only had just enough of the fabric to make it once!). 

The fabric that I used was a Linen Cotton/Poly blend from Minerva. I went for the blend as I thought it would be easier to care for than 100% cotton. 

The only hiccup that I encountered was that the skirt was too big for the waistband. However, I remedied this by putting in some extra pleats.

I also made this small elasticated belt to go with it. I wanted to buy one, but I couldn't find anything appropriate in the shops. 

I like this skirt so much, that I think I'll have to make myself one in the not too distant future! It was a dream to sew and honestly it looks better in real life than my photos!

Back to basics with Simplicity 2906

I made this skirt a couple of weeks ago now, but for some reason I've not found the time to share it!

This pattern is part of the 'it's so easy' range from Simplicity and it really was. I think I sewed this one up in maybe 3 hours. But that's not really surprising considering that there's only 1 pattern piece.

I bought this pattern ages ago when I was just starting out, in hindsight I could have drafted my own pattern pieces!

The original pattern has this skirt really long, I guess that's for tall people, but as I'm only 5'4" I had to chop 3 inches from the pattern. This brought it, after the hem allowance, to sit on my knee. The one piece that it has was still massive and didn't quite fit on my table.

I measured this pattern, I measured it twice and I went for size 12, but my measurements were either wrong or there was too much give in the fabric I used because I had to take it in 1.5". It still feels quite loose too.

The fabric was some wool mix that I won (sounds like I got it for free ha ha!) on eBay. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it definitely has some wool in it.

I've since worn the skirt twice and I love it. It feels so feminine and flirty. It has been worn for both work and out to the pub, I can add so many tops to the outfit.

Too impatient

Joel Dewberry's Meadow Spirit Skirt pattern arrived the other day, thanks to Rainbow Silks in Great Missenden, who appear to be the only UK company to sell the pattern. I keep looking at it longingly, I just can't wait to make it, but the fabric that I have bought to make it with hasn't turned up yet. I then keep looking at my stash, trying to envisage it made from what I have, but it's just not happening for me. So I've picked out the Simplicity pattern of the week from last week and some fabric with boats on that was a bit of an impulse buy from Minerva earlier on in the year...