Showing posts with label skirt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skirt. Show all posts

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Julianna skirt; Free pattern



I did not blog much in February, but I did sew, I actually sewed a lot because we again had a sewing weekend! One of the things that I sewed on the weekend was this awesome teen proof skirt. I sewed it from a scrap that was left after sewing this dress. Seeing that the scrap was oddly shaped I had to be extra creative with the lower ruffle, but due to the black fabric, the extra seams to do not show. Another awesome thing of this skirt, it is made with a new FREE pattern. The pattern is a collaboration between the lovely ladies behind Lilyenwoody and Kaatjesnaaisels.


The Julianna skirt is a fake wrap skirt, the fronts overlap, but they are kept together by one closed waistband. The waistband contains elastic so the skirt is easily put on and off. The black fabric hides the extra seams very well, but it also does not show the construction that well on the pictures. The pictures that you can see on the sites of the creaters make the lines in the skirt more visible. During our sewing weekend I borrowed her coverlock again and I added a contrasting seam to the bottom ruffle, so at least that line is nicely visible.


I slightly hacked the skirt (would you have expected less from me?). The ruffle is designed to have a curve at the top, but I was afraid that I would not be able to hem that curve with the 2 centimeter hem allowance that I use for jersey, so I drew the ruffle straight at the top and sewed the short edge of the beginning of the ruffle into the waistband. She also sewed a lovely Julianna in jersey during the sewing weekend, and she hemmed the curve at 2 centimeter without issues. I also shortened the waistband and cut it from rib knits (there is still elastic in it) such that the waistband does not contain gatherers while it is worn.


The skirt is designed for both woven and knit fabrics. Our eldest was a bit over the top of the size table, seeing that she prefers skirts to really hit her knees. I therefore added a bit of length to the largest skirt. The skirt comes in five sizes starting at 2 years, going up to 10. The free pattern can be downloaded from Lilyenwoody, but also visit Kaatjesnaaisels for her lovely versions.


Friday, November 30, 2018

Micis release



Today, Sofilantjes releases a new pattern, the Micis skirt. This easy and quick to sew skirt has five official version, but with a little imagination you can easily create many more. Hacking is for another day, today I will only show the official versions of the Micis (with one exception). All versions are created with just five pattern pieces and due to the small size of some of the pieces, the skirt is perfect for color blocking with scraps.


The first option is an asymmetrical color blocked pleated skirt. Either doing the pleat in print, or having print on the outside skirt both gives a gorgeous result. I, of course also had to go full crazy and to have one with three bold fabrics. Our little model herself paired it with a hairband like this. I love it when they get involved in the whole sewing and picture process.


The second option has double pleats. This gives a symmetrical front. The rest of the skirt is the same as thep previous option. The back of the skirt is straight in all but the last option. But you can easily switch out the straight back for one of the fronts.



The third option is a cross-over skirt. It is a true cross over, there is no full skirt on the inside. Due to the wide cross-over, it does stay closed well during wearing. The fourth option is a faux cross-over. There is a full basic skirt with a flap on the front. The faux cross-over skirt is the most narrow option, all the others have more freedom of movement due to the pleats.  Still, also the faux cross-over is play proof. I do not have a version of this skirt sewn from the final pattern. If you scroll down I do have a s small Easter egg, a faux cross-over of which the small front is the faux flap. This is just a little the tip off all the other options that you can easily hack yourself.



The fifth option has a simple pleat, no color block. This skirt has a more classy style and would also be perfect for Christmas dinner. This does depend on your fabric choice, because in a bold fabric this is option is a canvas for a lot of fun as well. For this skirt also the back has the simple pleat.



All options have an elastic in the waist which makes it very easy to create a perfect fit. The skirt comes in a wide size range from 3/6 m until 13/14 year. It is super easy to adjust length. I personally like to sew a rather long skirt, such that they can easily wear a skirt two years. Our youngest two actually share their skirt collection even tough they are two years apart.


The Micis is on sale for 5 euro excluding taxes until Sunday night CET. Be sure to check out the listing to see the gorgeous skirts that the testers sewed!


Sunday, August 12, 2018

One Thimble issue 20



A few days ago One Thimble 20* released. This new issue contains ten patterns and today I am showing you four of them, four patterns that work together very well. I am showing the Ringer Raglan, the Saltwater skirt, the Riptide board shorts and the Big Ocean appliques. With these four I created two complete looks for our two eldest kids.



The Big Ocean appliques by Swoodson Says are a shark and a whale applique that you can sew or glue on anything that you like. I decided to sew them on two Ringer Raglans. The appliques are perfect to use with all kind of small scraps. Depending on your sewing style, you can either spend hours contemplating on the optimal allocation, or like me just grab some fabrics that have similar colors and just hope for the best. I really like how mine turned out. Because I sewed them from scraps that I worked with before, they also are a reminder of other things that I sewed.  From every fabric that I ever sewed with I still remember the project. I used an inexpensive stabilizer, because that is the only stabilizer that I have, so I know from experience that I have to zigzag the applique together, with a straight stitch the sides would start peeling.



In the previous paragraph I already mentioned the Ringer Raglan that both my son and daughter got for today's looks. The pattern is designed by Thread Faction who contributed two patterns to this issue. The Ringer Raglan is a slim fitted Raglan shirt with short or 3/4 sleeves. The pattern is perfect for both boys and girls, and sews up super quick. A Raglan shirt is the perfect canvas for people that would like to try their hand on color blocking but are afraid of making too bold fabric choices. The Sleeve Raglan lines make almost any combination of fabrics look natural.



To create full outfits, I also added a bottom pattern to each other the shirts. Our daughter got a Saltwater skirt. The pattern is designed by Jen herself. It is a cute full skirt with pockets. You can either create a wrap skirt or a faux wrap one with three different tie options. I went for the faux wrap with button / snap decoration. The fabric that I used is woven wrinkled very drapey rust colored rayon type of fabric. I bought it last year and it seemed to be made for this playful skirt. This skirt is perfect for dancing. Jen also created a super cute summer dress for this issue.



The last pattern for today are the Riptide Board shorts by Bubby & me. They are designed for Peach Skin, but seeing as my stash does not contain that fabric and it does contain an abundance of jersey, I simply made it in jersey. The Shorts have some of the weirdest shaped patterns pieces that I have ever seen in trousers, but they came together beautifully. If you follow the instructions and pin your curves this is a perfect projects for beginners as well. It even has less seams than regular shorts, so it sews up super quick.


All these patterns and more are available as stand alone patterns*, but they are even more attractive as the bundle which is called One Thimble 20*. For just 25 Australians Dollars, so that is just a bit over 18 US dollar you get ten patterns and even more interesting articles.


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). If you buy anything through my affiliate links (*), I get a small commission (the price stays the same for you), I am very grateful for everything that feeds my fabric addiction.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Skirting the issue: Rugam, free skirt pattern



Like last year, I am again a guest on the Skirting the Issue tour and this year, I am offering a FREE pattern. Skirting the issue is a beautiful idea, you are invited to sew skirts for charity, and to motivate you, the whole month is filled with free skirt tutorials and patterns, you can read everything about it here. Visit the Project Run and Play site to see what others already suggested to sew.




My skirt pattern is based on the free Liv skirt from Sofilantjes* and is available in six sizes from 9/12 month to 11/12 years. It is an easy skirt with a double circle bottom, which is perfect for dancing (without showing their underwear). The skirt has a fold over yoga waist, without elastic. I drew instructions, which are part of the pattern file and you can find the pattern in the file section of the Sofilantjes Sew and Show group.



I of course made several skirts to test the pattern. I somehow thought that the skirt would look best in one fabric, so that is how I sewed most of the skirts. The last skirt that I sewed, the one for my eldest daughter was impossible to squeeze out of the piece I had in mind. I therefore made it a dual tone skirt, and I have to admit that I like that one best. The color block shows off the lines of the pattern best. My next one will also be color blocked.



I used good quality organic cotton jersey for all parts of these skirts. After making these skirts, I gathered more insight. I think you get the best result with a fabric with a nice drape for the lower skirt. Some rayon or modal jersey would look beautiful. I think you could even use a woven fabric. The diagonal seam makes the stretch level of the under skirt irrelevant.



Like I wrote before, this free Rugam skirt, but also the free Liv (the skirt the pattern is based on) can be downloaded from the Sofilantjes Sew and Show group in the "file"section. 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). If you buy anything through my affiliate links (*), I get a small commission (the price stays the same for you), I am very grateful for everything that feeds my fabric addiction.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Antje and Lina, a matching set



Näh Connection has released new translated patterns, the Lina and Antje, a cute skirt and top. They are separate patterns, by two different designers, but I made a matching set out of them. I am not a matching set type. I actually try to avoid them as much as possible. This one is probably the only one that I made, and they were actually made not be worn together. This Lina and Antje set is super cute though and both pieces will easily match with other pieces from her wardrobe.



The Antje skirt is a quick and satisfying sew. The skirt has box pleats and a yoga waistband (without elastic inside). I love the suggested crosses to keep the box pleats in place, I used them as a cute detail and sewed them with gold colored thread (I used the same for a pretty hem). The pattern gives the crosses as an example, but you can be as creative as you like of course. I sewed a slightly higher waistband (the height of two sizes bigger) due to my daughter's toddler belly. This way there is a bigger likelihood it stays covered up.



The Lina skirt is a faux layered shirt. It gives the illusion of a tank top on a shirt and gives you the possibility to color block or add additional trims. I went with a rather plain version, but I did use the puff sleeves (two types are included). Both patterns do NOT have included seam allowances, which made it super easy to slightly adjust the pattern to have a regular bottom hem instead of a waistband. I thought the outfit's look would be better like than, than with two waistbands on each other. This way there is the illusion of wearing a tank on a dress.



All of these fabrics were bought at Joyfits, but they are a gathered collection from multiple orders. The brown dots were bought at least three years ago and I used it here (on the back). The fabric with the deers was from last fall and I used it in this dress. I recently ordered several ribbing fabrics.



Both patterns are now on introduction sale until Sunday. The Antje skirt is also available for women. Here you can find all my sews as a Näh Connection ambassador



Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Runway Skirt blog tour



If you follow me, you know about my love for the girls behind the blog Skirt Fixation. I hope that one day my girls will sew and blog together with me as well. Now, Audrey did something else that I hope that I will follow her in once in the future, she released her first pattern. As could have been expected, she released a skirt pattern and it is called the Runway skirt. The vintage skirt comes in three lengths and has eye catching godets. The skirt is designed for stretch fabrics, so it is super comfortable.


I chose to make a knee length skirt and I used an coupon from Textielstad. I have no clue what kind of fabric it is, but it stretched remarkably well, is sturdy and looks great. I chose lining fabric for the godets, but with hindsight I should have chosen something with more drapey. Even after a few years of sewing, I am still learning about fabrics and their characteristics. The godest are a bit stiffer than how it was intended, but they still look nice.


For the pictures, I wore my shirt in the skirt. I know this is a totally allowed look, but it is not how I will wear this skirt. I did it to show the nice waist of the skirt without having to lift my skirt. I really love the way the skirt fits and I plan to hack the skirt by using the front twice, to make a true staple skirt for my wardrobe as well. I omitted the zipper due to the stretchiness of the fabric. Ironing it will not be necessary neither, really a dream skirt.



We made pictures a few weeks ago already, so I was not actually freezing in my shirt and bare legs. Due to the blog tour the skirt is now on a 20% discount available in the Skirt Fixation pattern shop. You can also enter the give away below. You can win (back) a copy of the Runway skirt and a $25 gift certificate to Urban Sew! Make sure you check out the Monday and yesterday stops of the blog tour and keep an eye out for the posts of the other participants.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

12-5  Friends Stitched Together & Very Blissful Blog

12-6 Call Ajaire & Sew Mariefleur

12-7 Rebel And Malice & Inspinration & Shaffer Sisters

12-8 Paisley Roots & Feather Flights & Skirt Fixation

12-9 Enantiomerproject & My Sweet Sunshine & Sew Haute Blog

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Skippy skirt, (free) pattern release



I keep coming back to my sewing weekend group, but with very good reason. Now, the one that organized the weekend actually released her first FREE pattern, the Skippy skirt. So Popo made a pattern for a jersey skirt and even has different options. For the ones that know me, I of course was sold on the pockets, fully functional big pockets, every girl's dream.



The first option in the pattern is a skirt with kangaroo front pocket. I am usually from the unconventional fabric combi's but for this skirt I went for a rather plain one. The skirt has to be paired with something right, and that will usually be a more colorful top situation. The instructions ask you to iron the seam allowance inward before sewing the pocket on the front piece. I am not such good friends with my iron, so I serged the seam allowances. This way it was very easy to push them under (or iron them in place).




The second option is one with a hidden pocket. I have seen many versions with vertical piping and they looked great. Be sure to check out all the examples that will decorate So Popo's blog the coming days for the blog tour. The tour started yesterday en will last a few days. This skirt will really be a great combiner in her closet, dots go with everything right ;)




We had a lovely location for the shoot. I shot them the same day as the ones from my previous post, so I just realized you already got a super tiny sneak picture from the skirt earlier this week. While posing together, they remembered what they did last time, when they had pockets. Lately, I have been more efficient in my shoots, if I know I am going somewhere nice, I just redress them quickly.



To summarize, this lovely FREE skirt pattern is now available through the blog of So Popo. It is her first pattern, so let's all show how much we love it, by sewing a bunch. She has many more ideas in that creative head, and I am already looking forward to the next pattern.



Blog tour: