Hiekka release, a reversible wrap skirt

My eldest daughter told me two weeks ago that she would prefers all her clothes to have something special.  She likes her clothes to have a story, which she happily shares with the people around her. She loves to tell people that this was a tablecloth, or that this was a pillow case, or that this was a skirt. In case of store bought fabric, she can settle for reversible clothes or twirling skirts. Tomorrow Pienkel is releasing her first pattern, the Hiekka reversible wrap skirt. The reversibility makes it perfect for my daughter, who would like me to sew something else than dresses.

The skirt has two tie options (long ones wrapping around the body, or short ones), two front views (curved or straight front flap) and like I mentioned before, you can choose to make it reversible. Besides this being just a cool feature, it can be very useful because kids tend to get dirty quickly, and this way she has a spare skirt on her.

The blue/green version was actually the second skirt I sewed. I used soft cactus on one side and an Eline Pellinkhof on the other which I used here and here already). The bias tape was a leftover piece of the bias I used for this dress. I love how well it matches with both sides.

This pattern can be sewn into a fancy skirt. Especially at fancy dinners, my kids tend to be covered in food stains, making the reversibility extra valuable. The skirt is also great for everyday wear, you can see that the skirt gives a lot of freedom movement, she can easily play in it.

The blue/green reversible skirt closes with snaps (and short ties). The snap version was officially not reversible, but I made it this way by adding the small ties on both sides. I used small transparent snaps, so they are almost invisible.

During the early testing phase, I had made her a non-reversible skirt. The skirt is a bit too big (issue that is fixed in the pattern now), both length and width wise, which means it will perfect for next year. I still had to cut the strings when I put it on her, but she actually preferred it like this. The strings now go round three times. In the end version of the pattern, the long string version has small loops to keep the strings in place.

For this early version, I also made my own bias tape this time with a leftover from this dress. The main fabric is again from Eline Pellinkhof (I am really trying to decrease my fabric stash),  I once bought it for myself. I still have a big piece left, so it can still happen, I think it would be a nice June.

The big advantage of using snaps is that the skirt is a bit more secure, but the strings will give the skirt a long life. I am thinking about making one with buttons and button holes.  Buttons you can move when your girl grows. I now finally conquered my fear of button holes!

So, hop over to check out the pattern at Pienkel's site, if you subscribe to her newsletter, you will get a discount to the pattern. The discount is valuable for a week. The pattern is available in a long range of sizes, from 2 years up to 16.

I love to hear what you think of my creations. Feel free to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than English, German, Dutch or Hungarian).