I have lots of “little” skirts, but it’s nice to have some longer, looser, wider skirts too. To be more refined, relaxed, ladylike and elegant, and less, er, whatever I was before. This pattern is Burdastyle 02/2014, 106, and delivers the required dose of elegance quite nicely, I think.
Even in an annoyingly brisk breeze that turned up, just at the right time to buffet it about in my pictures here! The wind tried, but never once did I come anywhere near doing a Marilyn in any of my shots. Thank goodness for that! Ladylike personified. Or, should I say, skirtified? Yeah, I think maybe I should 😉
So, yes, it is looking a bit windblasted here, but that’s “real” or whatever. My fabric is a mid-heavyweight, richly creamy-coloured satin remnant from Fabulous Fabrics; I suspect from the bridal section. Probably if I’d made it up in the suggested brocade it would hang properly smart with the big box pleats standing out nice and stiffly-straight and looking just like the one on the magazine cover, at right, but I think that the luxurious feel of the satin rippling and swishing against my legs is a happy bonus.
The skirt is pretty simple; wide, deeply pleated skirt sections attached to a fitted, curved yoke. The pattern is super straightforward, all going together very easily and quickly. I would describe this as fast gratification; a nicely stress-free project.
There are two views to the pattern; the other, illustrated in the line drawing, is a more complex version with a bigger rectangular piece of fabric pleated over the yoke as an over layer. This feature you can just make out on the magazine cover, above, at right. I made the simplified version with plain yoke because hello, remnant.
I lined the yoke in ivory polycetate lining fabric, also from Fabulous Fabrics, and used an off-white invisible zip in the CB seam. I wanted the skirt to be as long as long as I possibly could make it, and managed to cut the skirt pieces to be about 10cm longer than the pattern. Then hemmed as stingily and as meanly as humanly possibly, by stitching to the lower edge a bias cut strip of pale ivory/yellow cotton voile in a very narrow 2/8″ seam. This enabled me to only turn up a mere 2/8″ of my satin but still to have a nice deep hem. The hem is slip-stitched by hand.
Super elegant!
Beautiful and very ladylikely elegant! I love it.
Ah! So this is the first of the patterns you were given as part of the Best of Blogging thing? Nice skirt! Pleats from a hip yoke are a fairly normal feature, but the shape of this yoke makes it quite different.
And you remind me: I should really get started on one of my Burdastyle patterns.
Beautiful skirt…elegant, and such luxurious fabric. Neat trick with the hem too.
Oh wow! This is so glam and swishy!
Gorgeous and so elegant! I think that your choice of fabric is just perfect.
Oh, dear Carolyn! I am looking for a skirt with simple lines like this and you have given me the solution … definitely, I'll look for this pattern because this skirt is wonderful !!
Beautiful! I have this Burda issue and was considering this skirt – although my fabric is a medium weight wool suiting; do you think it'll be too bulky? Thanks!
JJP
thanks JJP 🙂
It's hard to know without seeing the fabric, but I do think a wool version sounds really nice for a wintery skirt!
I suggest you might want to try folding and pinning a couple of deep pleats in your fabric, and holding them up against yourself to see how you feel about the wool in this style, before cutting into your fabric. Probably this simplified version with a plain yoke would be a better choice for a thicker fabric, I think the other version with pleats on the yoke might be quite bulky in wool.
Thanks! Such a good and simple idea 😉 And yes I need "wintery skirt" here in North Quebec 😉
Gorgeous!!
This pattern is amazing ! Your skirt is just perfect ! KISS
You make gorgeous things. Question, where is your dog? haven't seen her for a few posts.
thanks Julie! and she was actually with me here! just didn't grace any of my photos with her presence on this occasion 🙂
Beautiful skirt. I wouldn't have thought bridal-type satin would be something to use for "regular" clothes, but it really works here.
That's a lovely skirt and you handled the disclaimer just fine. IMHO, if you get something without charge and post it on your blog, you should always include a disclaimer explaining what you received and if any conditions were imposed.
I love how unique and feminine this is. I has great design details. It turned out beautifully.
I like your version of this so much better than the one from the magazine–it's so beautiful! And the details are perfection, especially in that fabric.
Beautifully elegant. I like how your skirt is drapier than the Burda cover version. It's a nice proportion with your trim Audrey sweater, too.
Wow – your skirt is so beautiful…so elegant. Your version is a million times nicer than the one on the magazine cover.
It looks lovely! I really like the movement it has in the wind.
Very flattering line across the hips. Especially the back view.
Ooh congrats on winning the Burda comp! Looks lovely with your blue cardi – very pretty combo.
I want this skirt! So nice!
Beautiful! I love it in the ivory satin.
It is so pretty-looks as though made of pearls.
It's just lovely; and the "swishier" fabric gives it a really different look to the one on the cover.
Your skirt looks so much better than in thr magazine! Suits you beautifully, and I love that cardigan too..
And a lady-like sweater- very flattering outfit!
Very elegant skirt – and the cardigan, oh, I really love this cardigan, it suits you so beautifully!
A gorgeous elegant skirt, it looks like it would be so lovely to wear.
I love this skirt. I would never have made it from the pics in Burda but your version is gorgeous…and better photographed, too! I love the cardigan, too. I will, in fact, be in Unst over Christmas.
I often find it difficult to imagine some Burda patterns made up and this one probably falls into that category. I love your interpretation though. It is lovely!