Wednesday 16 March 2016

The best ever skirt pattern

I am quickly becoming of the opinion that Simplicity 6862 is the best skirt pattern:
1. It only takes one meter of fabric
2. No darts, pleats, tucks etc, it's incredibly quick to sew up
3. The shape is really flattering
4. If I wanted to, there are some fun pocket pieces and belt tabs
5. You could easily have a whole wardrobe of these, this was my Mum's main skirt pattern back in the 1970s
6. There's a few patterns on Etsy and Ebay, even if they'd be single size, it would be a really easy pattern to resize.

I first made this skirt last year out of some tacky pink wool. I thought it would become a good wardrobe staple, but the waistband was never finished nicely, and Mum, who is thankfully always honest with me, told me she hated it. It was also a smidgen too tight. I wasn't prepared to give up on this pattern yet though. For a while I have been wanting some floral skirts, so found this small length of cotton in the stash. It has a deep brown background, so I think it's from the 1970's, and it's much too stiff for anything other than a skirt.

To fix the sizing I just let out the seams slightly. I sewed the centre front and side seams at 3/8 inch, and kept the back at 5/8. This is an incredibly quick sew, only complicated b the fact I had to redo the zip multiple times. I decided to finally try a tab on my waistband, which worked wonderfully after a few goes of aligning the zipper. I finished it off with tw small press studs. Only tip would be always cut the waistband much longer than you need.

I liked the length of the skirt as is; it falls just below my knee, so I finished with mauve bias tape.

I absolutely love this skirt. Even if it's a bit different from what I usually wear. At the moment it just goes with my white blouses, but I am hoping to soon fix the no plain blouses problem as well. The colour scheme will hopefully allow it to be worn through autumn as well.




10 comments:

  1. It's always a good thing when you discover a tried-n-true pattern!

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    1. Isn't it? I love the ease of not having to fuss about fit, leave that for the complicated and fun projects!

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  2. Great shape skirt. I love using bias to finish skirts it's so fun.

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  3. Thanks Louise :) I use bias to finish most things, especially armholes

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  4. Cuteness! I have yet to discover the "perfect" skirt pattern, but for all I know, it's already sitting in my "to-make" box. I've been on something of a sewing hiatus / in a rut because of being really busy, but I want to get back to trying out some basics!

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    1. Sewing basics is more fun that it seems (it better be now I have black skirts to make)

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  5. Really, really lovely! Come spring this is the sort of garment I want to live in from sun up to sunset. Great project, sweet Kaitlyn!

    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Thanks Jessica :) I was a bit worried when making it that it would come off too 1970s, but I find myself wearing it a lot, and really loving it

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