Hello! I’ve finished the second part of my little autumn wardrobe-lette… a new skirt! using a printed, upholstery-weight cotton canvas from the Fabric Store in Melbourne, the fifth fabric from the top in this pic of my Melbourne acquisitions…
I absolutely fell in love with this print at first sight, in fact the very minute I spotted it I GRABBED IT! Not even counting the rather yummy autumnal colours… it reminds me of bookshelves, stacked not quite full, with the colourful spines of the books tipping over a bit into the gaps between them. I love libraries, in fact it’s been a lifelong daydream of mine to have a room that is completely lined with shelves of books, from floor to ceiling, and a big squishy armchair right in the middle of the room, either faded rusty-red or bottle-green velvet, can’t decide but either would be nice, big enough for me plus at least one cat, and with one little curly-legged side table just big enough for a stained glass lamp and a cup of tea perched on top. *sigh*
Wait, where was I? oh yes ahem…SKIRT.
Pattern; Vogue 8363, one I’ve used many times before, actually I’ve just counted and have made it TWELVE times previously! You can look at ALL of them by clicking here….
Some of the many reasons I love this pattern so are; a) gorgeously deep slanted side pockets, in fact I can’t help noticing I have my hands shoved deep deep down into those pockets in, only like, every single picture. They’re just that wonderful, I simply can’t resist! Also b) straight side seams, making it a nice one for pattern matching, c) double darts in the back which lend themselves very nicely to the wide hips/narrow waist/slight sway back adjustment that I usually make. I tend to use view D for the pockets, which has a button front placket at the centre front; I obviously eliminate this though and instead have an invisible zip closure at the centre back. I also like to cut the skirt part roughly two sizes up from the waist part, because I like that boxy with nipped in waist silhouette on me.
Also, this time I added belt loops because I decided all that psychedelic tipping-stripe-y action could probably benefit by being visually reined in with a solid, sombre, no-nonsense belt. Now it’s finished and I’ve worn it thus, I think yep, this was a good idea
Partly because I stingily didn’t buy much of the print, and also partly for the same visual grounding reason as having a belt: I cut the pocket bags in a thick chocolate brushed twill, a small bit of leftover fabric harvested from Craig’s old pair of chocolate moleskins and which I used to make this skirt, also Vogue 8363.
Inner workings; I had to piece the chocolate moleskin to get pieces big enough for the pocket bags, but the seams are tucked down deep in the pockets… I used plain black cotton for the waistband facing and pocket facings. Because I’m a bit of a stickler for matching threads, I switched threads on BOTH my sewing machine and overlocker several times during the making of this skirt!
Above, I spaced it to turn up the hem exactly between two horizontal stripes in the print. The lower edge of the skirt is finished in bias cut black cotton, the same as for the inner waistband and pocket facings. See that little tiny row of mustard stitches along the top? I initially started hemming with black thread to match the bias; but quickly realised that even though I made my stitches as tiny as tiny could be, that row of minuscule black dots did show up on the right side of the skirt if you looked closely enough, and I didn’t like it!! So I switched to the same mustard thread that I’d used in other seams, which disappears nicely into the print.. so they’re pretty much invisible on the right side, which is the main thing!
Above; I chose a mustard invisible zip. When it came to placing the belt loops, I put two on the front, spaced just outside the waist-shaping dart; and three on the back, the outer two just outside the outer waist shaping dart, and one in the centre back. It abuts the waist closure, which I wondered would make it difficult to put in the belt; but it doesn’t, it slips through just fine and isn’t a bother at all. Oh, and waistband closure? there’s a wide hook/eye stitched in under there.
Also, darts?! One of the most serendipitous things I discovered about this print is that you can barely make out any darts at all! can you even see them in the above picture?? they’re just buried there in amongst those higgledy-piggledy books. WIN!
I’m wearing today paired with my basic black Tshirt because I wanted the skirt to take centre stage in this, its own dedicated post… but I also think it looks quite nice worn with the, as yet one other piece in my autumn mini-wardrobe, the apricot top. Actually, I only picked up the apricot crepe because of this fabric!
sorry for the blurriness. Clearly I’m busily dashing off on a very important mission… like, to get the leaf blower
Details:
Skirt; Vogue 8363, printed cotton canvas, my review of this pattern here
Black Tshirt; self drafted, details here
Belt; had this for about 30 years
Black shoes; designed and made by me! details here
Above picture:
Apricot top; the epaulette cut and sewn, pattern no.4 from “she has a mannish style” by Tuko Takada, details here
Brown and ivory clogs; also designed and made by me, details here
Also; on Eagle Bay beach, Western Australia… Every time we come down here I have to walk along the beach and clamber over the rocks each day. This is one of my favourite places on Earth.
Really cute! Pocket love must be something one is born with. I’ve never cared if I have them or not but my 6 year old daughter can’t get enough of them.
It does look very bookshelf like! I’ve been wanting a bookshelf dress or skirt for ages, so I don’t blame you. The colors look like you’ll have all sorts of fun mixing and matching.
Such a great skirt, great use of pattern. That’s one of the thing I love about repeat makes – you know the perfect finished length straight off and can use it to ideal stripe-hem placement advantage! Winning!
This skirt is a total winner – the fabric, the pattern, the colors, the fit – everything’s perfect!
What a wonderful skirt!
I love this skirt so much I wish I could copy it exactly 🙂 This is such a great print: it’s simple and a little abstract, but they’re so clearly books!
And the more I think about it, the more I see this skirt silhouette as a must-have. I just need to draft some slash pockets for a pattern I already have… Almost too many ideas, Carolyn 😉
great use of that fabric and SO your colors.
Very beautiful skirt, I love your fabric!
This skirt is beyond fabulous!!! Loving the pockets with the contrast and the belt loops are a brilliant addition.
Yep – perfect skirt for this fabric – just beautiful ;o)
So beautiful! Those details make such a difference. I learn so much from your posts, hope you aren’t planning to stop posting anytime soon 🙂
I love this skirt!
Love your bookshelf print. The colours look perfect for autumn and should be great for mixing up with other pieces. I like how you’ve got stuck in straight away to your new purchases too!
This skirt has so many wonderful colors in it that it will match with several tops! This is such a great wardrobe piece to take on vacation too. I love it!
I don’t think I would have instantly grabbed this fabric because I didn’t see it’s potential. I’m glad you did because made as a skirt it looks fabulous, really, I mean it. I’m so impressed with how neatly you finished the inside and thank you for sharing your favourite spot, it looks beautiful 🙂
Glad to know I’m not the only person who daydreams about their perfect library! Lovely print, lovely skirt.
Love, love, love. Wish I could wear these colours but I look like a zombie in them, so colour envy too! I was fine without pockets until I had kids. Now….they’re a must. Including a back pocket to slip my phone into.
Your invisible zipper insertion skills are amazing!
This is such a gorgeous print, Carolyn. I love the pockets. As usual you did an amazing job and it looks great on you.
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A fanstastic skirt and I can see it having a lot of different tops being worn with it.