Skirt Experiments

June 27, 2015 by steelyseamstress 9 Comments

You may recall the True Blue Skirt from earlier in the year which is quite a simple self-drafted skirt I made. After I made that skirt, I experimented with a couple more variations.

I introduced some in-seam pockets and lots of top-stitching for the blue denim version. I think this version has a seventies vibe about it. I love the little tricolore buttons I found too.

The black and white version has some piped details and the pockets too. To my mind, this is definitely a sixties mini skirt.

 

Of the three skirts, the back and white version is my absolute favourite. I wore this quite a few times during Me-Made-May and it makes a perfect work skirt worn with tights as it isn’t too tight getting on and off trains! I’m not so sure about the denim version. For some reason the yoke doesn’t sit as flat as on the other versions – it bubbles a bit. In fact, now I’m looking at the photos even the hem doesn’t sit flat. Perhaps the fabric was too stiff. It is, what I would call, a medium-weight denim so I thought it would work. Perhaps I should put this down as a bad fabric choice on my part. On top of this, I’m not that smitten with the colour of denim. It really is very similar in colour to the first blue skirt I made and I was really after a darker indigo type of denim. Still perhaps it will grow on me as a skirt. I’m debating whether some applique or embroidery on it might give it a lift.

So much for my skirt experiments! I also thought I’d share something with you that I’ve been working on for the last few months. I’ve been dabbling with pattern drafting….well, all the cool kids are doing it! I’ve drafted a digital pattern for this skirt. It’s called The Viale Skirt.

I hadn’t realised quite how much work this was until I started and I’m really in awe of those who manage to produce more than about one pattern a year. But, I’ve had to do a lot of learning and I’ve been using a rather badly installed version of the freeware program Inkscape, which might explain my woes. So, because this is an experiment and I’m unsure of my abilities in this area, I’m offering the pattern for free!

Click here to download the Viale Skirt PDF pattern.

Click here for the Viale Skirt Instruction booklet.

Any feedback is very welcome. However, there are some things that I know I will definitely include or spend more time on. I’ve only tested this pattern on myself, for instance and there isn’t a cutting layout in my instructions. I simply ran out of time and I really wanted to post this during the monthly stitch’s indie pattern month. Enjoy and tell me what you think!