One of main ambitions for #MakeNine2022 was to create some really warm clothing. So, I added garment plans that included lots of wool fabric. However, due to some constraints in my ability to buy fabric in-person this year, it was only when I attended Sew Brum towards the end of the year that I finally got the fabric that I was after.
I bought this window-pane check fabric in 100% wool from Barry’s in Birmingham (they do have a good selection of wool fabrics) and I was finally able to make my wool skirt.
The pattern
For this make I used the zero-waste pattern, the Clair skirt designed by Liz Haywood. I decided to go for the mid-length skirt, which I hoped would fall to a below knee to mid-calf length depending on where in the circumference of the skirt you look.
At first I was a little intimidated by the pattern, as there really isn’t one at all! There are just instructions, which is daunting departure from my usual modus operandi. Essentially, the instructions are to draw two quarter circles templates – one for the waist and another for the hem and use these for cutting out. The novelty of this approach made me read and re-read the instructions half a dozen times (even though they were well-written and clear) to make sure I was on the right track. I admit that I breathed a sigh of relief when I had done the cutting out without any mistakes and I was onto the sewing stages.
The construction
Once underway with the sewing, everything was a lot simpler, The skirt falls into two halfs; the top half attaching itself to the waistband and the lower half joins to make the asymmetrically shaped hem. Because I have a checked fabric, I offset my lower skirt so that there was pattern-matching, at least at the front. At the back the checks don’t match but are reversed (the yellow stripe matching with the black stripes).
The pattern is clever because the piece of fabric cut out for the waist becomes a pocket. For some unknown reason, this ended up on the left rather than the right as intended, but I’m not that bothered about this. I will recluse this as an “intentional design deviation” on my part.
As my fabric was a few centimetres wider that the pattern requirements I had a little left over and decided to make some belt hoops. I haven’t actually used these for a belt, as for once my waist circumference and finished skirt seemed to miraculously coincide measurement-wise, although I suspect that this won’t last and a belt may be required at some point. Generally speaking I usually include belt loops on everything I make because of my fluctuating waistline.

The outcome
I’m wearing my skirt today and I’m working from home. The weather is cold (below zero at night) and being stingy with the heating, we have kept it between 14 and 17 degrees during the day. So, not warm by most people’s standards. I must admit that I do feel like I am wearing a blanket; my legs have been warm and I think it works well worn with my Lett lopi wool jumper. There is a kind of luxury to wearing so much wool, I find. Anyway, I’m not sure what aesthetic I’m aiming for here. I like it, even though I am getting some distinct Viking vibes wearing this ensemble!

Keeping it real, it was so cold at home I also put a hoodie on over the top. Not so elegant now, but I was the right temperature.

Of course, I haven’t really finished by make, as the remaining fabric can be used on one of three different projects; an apron, a hat or a bag. I’m going with the bag. I am glad that there is a choice of projects here because it really makes this pattern far more versatile.