When I bought this mid-weight floral cotton earlier this year, I immediately knew I would turn it into a skirt during the autumn months. Admittedly, it is not the warmest fabric, but the colours seemed to fit this season best.
Being short on time, I opted for a pattern I had used before: no. 7 from Knipmode 10/2009. For the first version, which dates back to 2010, I used vintage cotton with a Paisley print (I am wearing it in this post). Although that skirt had some flaws, I wore it frequently up to 3 years ago. Now it is semi-retired. I still love that fabric, though!
Knipmode 10/2009 # 7.
The fabric used in the magazine – a gorgeous ombré-dyed wool crepe – is much more drapey than my stable cotton. The pattern has you secure the pleats with two horizontal lines of stitching. I tried this on my first version, but it did not work well in cotton, so I sewed them like ordinary pleats. As my fabric was only 90cm wide, I had to narrow the skirt a little, but I do not think this makes a big difference.
The skirt has ten pleats in the front. And handy pockets!
Something that bugged me about the skirt I made 6 years ago were the gaping and sloppy-looking pockets. This time around, I made sure to stay-stitch and reinforce the pocket openings. They are still gaping a bit, but I think that might also be due to the fabric and/or where the pleats are opening up.
We quickly took some pictures outdoors and then went back in, as it was freezing and my poor photographer had a cold!
The instructions have you leave the skirt unlined and use a facing instead of a waistband. This version is lined and I considered adding a waistband too. I, however, wanted to be able to wear it a bit below the waist and so I improvised and reinforced the waistline with bias tape on the inside. Nowadays, I regularly wear my shirts or blouses tucked into my skirts, so I wanted the waistline to look neat (it looked pretty messy on my first version).
Two darts in the back and a mint-coloured zipper that had been in my stash for over a decade.
The skirt’s back is only slightly flared. Nevermind the big wrinkle on my lower back.
The hem is finished with bias tape and stitched by hand. And look, all these hues of green match the sewing machine I got for my birthday!
My Husqvarna Automatic Class 21 from the 50s. Not only elegant, but also practical and strong, making nice even stitches.
Enough about the machine (for now), back to the skirt: as the pictures show, the fabric looks brighter and greener from a distance and I am still trying to figure out what to wear with it. Most of my basics are black, but I think a brown or green top might be a better match? I grabbed the green scarf on the way out and it was too cold to take it off, but perhaps a cardigan in that colour could work?
Materials and cost
Fabric: 90cm x 1.7m floral cotton, thrifted (Öppna Hjärtat), SEK 25 (c. EUR 2.60).
Notions: 2.5m bias tape, Stoff & Stil, c. SEK 12 (c. EUR 1.20). Zipper and lining from deep stash, no idea how much I paid for them, but it cannot have been much.
Congrats on the new (to you) machine! Such a beauty 🙂
I don’t feel autumnal at all, looking at your skirt! I think it is fresh and reminds me of spring, the pale green of flowerbuds about to burst 🙂 which is a good thing in the dark of winter!
Thanks, I plan on writing more about the machine in the future, when I have had more time to try it out. It is funny that you mention that about the fabric, because after looking at the pictures it did not seem that autumnal to me either! I guess I was focussing on the dead and decaying brown leaves, probably a reflection of my general mood these days!