I’ve made a new little mini skirt! It looks sorta plain at first but it has an interesting folded front that makes it a little bit more exciting.
It’s comfy and easy, and I also think it’s pretty cute too:)
Remember that fun “pick three descriptors that define your style” thing that we were all doing a few years ago? The three I kept coming back to for myself was : Simple, slightly sporty, and with a twist. It’s hard to define the complexity of yourself in just three things, but I still think those ones pretty apt for my style, and they also describe the style of this new skirt, and actually this whole outfit pretty well I think!
Pattern; the Jade skirt, by Paprika patterns. This first came out a year ago? I think? and pretty much every single version I’ve seen has made me sit up and pay attention like mmmm ooo, nice! must get that pattern! So finally I did. An early Mother’s Day present… from me, to me 😉 This skirt is version A, the short one, obvi.
the back is quite plain
Fabric; light but sturdy, charcoal grey cotton jersey, from KnitWit; stretchy but stable. I opted to make a version with no zip, since I thought my fabric was plenty stretchy enough to work without one. And, turns out that it’s not really. Ooops! The waistband doesn’t stretch enough to get over my “child-bearing hips”, as my grandmother used to call them! so I pull the skirt on over my head. I’ve got quite slight shoulders compared to my hips, so this is pretty easy. I’ve had a few things in my lifetime that I’ve had to put it on in this way!
Adjustments; the skirt seemed at first quick perusal to be reeeeeeally short, so even though I knew I would only be wearing it with tights I added about 2cm in length. Of course this then diddled about with the folding on the front bit but I managed to incorporate the extra length fairly seamlessly by slanting the lowest two folds each just a touch further downwards than they should be. I think you can hardly tell, which is good. However I probably wouldn’t bother with adding any extra length to any future versions , since I think it would be fine without it.
I fully lined my skirt with the same fabric, the design has a nice, neat and tidy construction whereby all the seams are hidden between the two layers, with the very last step hand-slipstitching the inner waistband facing down inside the skirt.
It’s a lovely tidy way of putting it all together
Final verdict: I LOVE it! Simple, slight sporty, and with a twist! It’s perfect for me! Ok, I don’t have much else to say, so if you’ll excuse I think I need about a hundred more in all different colours…. *plotting*
Details:
Skirt; Jade, by Paprika Patterns, in charcoal cotton jersey
Top; Burda style 111-04-2014, in white bobbly fabric, details here
Tights; self-drafted, black stretch, details here and my tutorial for drafting your own tights pattern is here
Shoes, my own design and made by me here
I’ve made some boyfriend jeans! Hehe, I actually made these aaaaaaaages ago! and have been dying for the pattern release, just so I can wear them more often. They’re so comfy and easy to wear, they’re my current favourites. I really really love them 🙂
Fabric; these are designed for a non-stretch denim, so I found a nice, crisp, deep dark charcoal cotton denim, mid weight and with absolutely zero stretch to it in Spotlight. No stretch, and the jeans still feel fantastic! I also used coppery-brown Guttermann’s upholstery thread for the topstitching, and copper-y coloured jeans buttons, all from Spotlight. The grey cotton for the pockets and waistband lining is the same fabric as my 
I’ve made a new dress… a sweet little autumn dress. It’s a quiet dress, and demurely plain in colour; which really throws up the details of the design into the spotlight. The colour fits in with my current clothes-making criteria; to have things in my wardrobe that go with as many of my self-made shoes as possible! since I will be wearing only my own shoes this year and some of my shoes are kinda colourful and not basic.
Below is my full outfit for today… I included it here because I’m absolutely loving how the grey looks with my mustard cardigan! so much so that I’ve worn this same outfit twice this week, throwing it on again the minute it came off the clothes line! There’s just something about mustard and grey together, I just have a thing for it. Though I’m sure it will go really well with all my other cardigans too. As well as my shoes and some tights. It’s a real autumnal dress, and I can’t wait to mix and match it with all the rest of my more cool weather-y stuff during me-made May. Hurrah for new dresses! 🙂
I’ve made a softly floaty blouse 🙂 of course just as summer is on the way out… o no, wait, actually summer is over! However we’re still getting days of 40C. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I love the warmth! Only thing is that I’m getting tired of all my summer things thus the decision to make a new summer thing, ha. #seasonallyinappropriatesewingforthewin It’s light and pretty and easily breezy; and delightfully cool. I fully expect the weather to turn cold now.
n, I’m so happy with it!! It turned out just exactly how I hoped, and was the most wonderfully cuddliest, comfiest thing to have with me in our recent visit to Japan; I loved bundling up in it each day in Tokyo and used it as a snuggly rug while on the plane… without a doubt the warmest coat I’ve ever made formyself, evah. Like wrapping myself in a fluffy blanket, and I was perfectly snug enough even in the subzero temperatures of Hokkaido.
wrt this one; well I’ve wanted to make a shearling jacket for oh, about ten years now. Ever since the first time I clapped eyes upon one belonging to our friend S; a colleague of my husband’s who is always super suave and cool and has a slightly alternative, very hip and happening taste in clothing. He owns a beautifully thick, oversized shearling jacket that he’s had for years and years and trots it out every winter once or twice. Every single time I see it I’m struck all over again by how awesome it is and have harboured a secret desire for one of my own…
I made the sleeves extra long, so I could turn them up and have a woolly “cuff” on the sleeve ends, and also made wrist strips. These are sewn to the sleeve, then wrapped around and buttoned to themselves. The seam allowance of the cuffs are topstitched down for a neat look when they are turned back, and then I stitched-in-the-ditch of the sleeve seam down to the sleeve so the cuffs stay folded up permanently.
