Hi everyone!
Its nearly the end of August eek! Must get on with finishing my summer projects – my head cannot stay buried in the sand forever. I will have to say “Good bye summer I hardly got to know you this year“.
Anyhow, allow me to present another self drafted skirt. This one is a taffeta lined, high waist A line skirt with pockets. It’s nearly the same as this one I made in Feb however it has a waistband instead of a facing. Drafting it took about 45 mins because I faffed around with whether I was going to keep the front waist darts or not. This was important because of the pockets. The positioning of the pockets is in the dart area. In the end I just kept the darts because I wanted a fitted look. I lengthened the skirt by about 6 inches to hit my knees. The pockets were split into 2 pattern pieces – one of the pocket bag lining and one for the visible part of the skirt. I did this to reduce bulk as my fabric was a cotton canvas. A Cath Kidston cotton canvas…
Say WAHHHHHHH!!!! Yes I bought 1m of Cath Kidston ‘Birds’ fabric. For months I had been looking for something to make for the Monthly Stitch Put a bird on it Challenge (I had voted Foxes and have plenty of foxy fabric in the stash but no birds). Took a while of searching but I finally found this birds fabric as something I could get down with. Unsurprisingly I first saw it on InstaGram (Thanks IG…for a free app you are turning out to be quite expensive!)
The fabric came in this lovely spotty packaging (which I still have). It was so exciting! – the thrill of receiving a fabric package. Waiting till I had enough time to savour opening it (little people having naps ;-). My next issue was the lining. I went shopping specifically for lining and found this red taffeta and I knew it was prefect.




All things assembled cutting was next. Took longer than normal because I had to get the optimal pattern placement. I did not want decapitated bird heads. So everything was cut single layers. Because cotton canvas frays it had to be overlocked straight away. I also overlocked all the lining pieces as well since I was at it.
Sewing it was quick work. I use an 80 sewing needle which made a nice difference to the stitch quality. For the waistband there were a few options for me and I tried the fold a band which was a first for me. It creates a crisp sharp waistband without a lot of work. I also did a button waistband for the first time and used a hook and bar.



To maximise length I went for a bias hem and it looks so neat on the insides. Its a very nice skirt – I feel very To the Manor Born in this. Love it very much, all that’s missing is a wide brim sunhat and Daiquiri with me swanning around saying “Dahlin…”.
Overall I am very pleased with this skirt …Despite the invisible zip not being quite invisible (DONE is better than PERFECT)– I enjoyed taking my time over the new techniques and getting a neat finish. Plus, the fabric is lovely, it has pockets and I think that the shape of this lends itself well to a few more skirts in different fabrics/colours that could become easy wardrobe staples.
In all honesty, I’m immensely proud of how far my sewing and dressmaking skills have come. To think just over a year ago I was tentatively dipping my toes into sewing, now I am designing, drafting and creating my own clothes!
xox
love those birds – the red accents are perfect ;o)
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Thank you! I did consider olive green too but am glad I went with red instead.
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Great job! I need to push myself to start drafting my own patterns. How did you get started on pattern drafting?
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Thank Carmen! I bought Suzy Furrer’s Patternmaking Basics: the Skirt Sloper during Black Friday sales last year. I actually watched the class in Jan this year and started drafting. I have since bought the other classes she offers. I highly reccommend this class. Its excellent.
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I love your Blog! What fabric is that?
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Hi Debra and welcome! The fabric is Cath Kidston “Birds” cotton canvas. I bought ot from their website.
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When I saw your skirt, I found the fabric amazing. No wonder when I see the brand… Well done ! Your skirt is really nice, with a perfect finish. You could enter the sewing bee competition with your skills !
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This skirt is phenomenal! You should be proud! It fits you perfectly and the details look great.
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Thank you!
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Lovely! 😍
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Thanks!
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Another great fitting garment in a beautiful fabric! It’s great that you’re still extending your sewing skills by trying new things. I cannot believe you’ve been sewing just over a year!
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Thank you! I think with sewing the more you make the better you get. Its funny to think in another year I will be looking at my makes now as inferior sewing😂.
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Love it! Beautiful fabric and I actually like seeing just a flash of red at the zip. Let’s hope you have a bit of late sun to get out and about in it, fingers crossed…
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Thanks Theresa! Am making the most of my summer clothes as we have had some lovely weather these last couple of days.
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Love those pockets:-)
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Me too Trisha! Useful and cute😃
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An exceedingly cheerful skirt. It must just make you happy to look at it – and your dressmaking skills are great. Well done.
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Thanks! I have it hanging on the bedroom door so I see first thing when I wake up. Love seeing my memade clothes hanging up – it makes me feel good😃
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It looks lovely, especially the pockets, and I can relate to the excitement of receiving new fabric in the post, I also wait till I can open the parcel with maximum enjoyment!
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I love receiving fabric post a little too much😃. Its such a nice feeling lol
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Gorgeous fabric, gorgeous lining, gorgeous skirt, gorgeous outfit – its just a whole gorgeousness fest!!
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Thnak you!
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Another fab skirt from you is another reminder to pull my finger out and make my block! Must be 3 months since I bought the class.
Love the fabric, and the red details are perfect 🐦
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Yes you should! You are so incredibly creative I cant wait to see what you will be making😃.
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Aw thanks! 😀
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Ha! I have the overnight bag in the same fabric!
Love it. And really like the flash of red of your invisible zip. My zips have been a little too invisible recently, in that I’ve tried to make them so invisible the zip gets caught up in the fabric. So I’m all in favor of not quite invisible.
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I am a sucker for interior canvas fabric. Good point on the zipper. I did that with my barkcloth Hollyburn skirt and have since had to replace zipper. Its time I learnt lapped zips.
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Beautifully made and terrific fabric choice.
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Thank you. Cotton canvas lends itself well to an A line shape.
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Adorable – well done you!!!
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Thanks hun😘!
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Well done indeed! You really put a bird on it and very well! Thanks you for sharing a bit of your process! I am new at sewing and this helps a lot! Anyway…zipper lining fabric…and shirt…are good match!
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Thank you!
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That fabric is outstanding and your drafting skills are enviable. I’d like to try my hand at that. Did you take a class or …?
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Thank you! I bought a Craftsy class called Pattermaking Basics – The Skirt Sloper by Suzy Furrer. Its an excellent class and thoroughly worth every single penny and more. Cant reccommend it enough.
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Thanks for the tip! I’ve wondered about that class. I think I’ll have to give it a try.
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Its really good and worth it. Wait for the sales though to buy it Craftsy has a lot of great 50% off sales. I have never bought a class at full price😃
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Oh! I didn’t even know they had sales! Thanks for the heads up!
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Lovely, beautiful fabric! I too went looking for a bird-print when that challenge was published, and in the end designed a fabric myself over at Spoonflower. Naturally I was waaaaaaaaaaaaay too late to post anything at The monthly stitch by then, so I never made anything out of it. Seeing this I kind of regret that 🙂 I also like how you combined the pockets and the front darts, and the whole skirt fits you perfectly!
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Thank you!I missed the challenge too but thats ok. I have heard of Spoonflower and it sounds interesting. I need to draft a variation with a box pleat at the center front.
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This fabric is AMAZING!! Love the style and you have totally nailed the fit! It was well worth the effort to cut the fabric one layer at a time, it works perfectly. Great work! 🙂
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Thanks! Its more work cutting single layer but I think in future I will make full pattern pieces.
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Gorgeous! Love everything about it! 🙂
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Thanks!😘
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LOVE IT and I am SO jealous, I want it!!!!!!
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😃. Thank you! Pattern drafting is definitely worth it.
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Oh the fit is amazing!!!!!
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Thank you!
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Oh it’s so lovely! The fabric looks great, especially the quality. Choosing red for the lining was a good decision as well.
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Thank you! I absolutely love this fabric and because its canvas weight I hope to get a lot of wear out of this.
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You have done well Hila, and all the more amazing as you have so much going on in your life. This skirt looks so cute. I also liked the sarong with the red cardigan and striped T shirt. A great look.
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