| Pattern: | Miette Skirt by Tilly and the Buttons |
| Size: | 3 |
| Fabric: | purple-dyed cotton from my stash |
| Details: | contrast topstitching, floral waistband lining, Hong-Kong seam finishes, finished pocket openings and hem with bias tape |
| Alterations: | Omitted the pocket lining, changed shape of pocket opening, shortened by 8 cm |
| Make Again? | I would love to! It’s such a quick and easy make and it looks so cool! |
I haven’t talked much about the progress of my destashing year so far, but it’s actually going pretty well. While I didn’t completely abstain from fabric shopping, the challenge helped me to be more aware of what fabric I already had and what it could be made into. So far, nine fabrics and all of my knits have been made into projects.
This purple cotton is one that I had for about five years which is kind of crazy. It started with a beautiful table cloth that I discovered in a department store in Sweden: Beige linen with a light tint of purple. Unfortunately, it was too expensive, so back at home I tried to dye my own. The fibre didn’t take the colour very well at first, so I impatiently poured more and more purple dye onto it which eventually ended in this darker shade of purple.
Still beautiful, but not what the light lavendery colour was going for. So the table cloth went into my “Hey, it’s basically free fabric, so think of something to make from it”-pile.
The initial plan was another Cambie dress, but it was barely enough fabric, so when Tilly set up a small discount code for us loyal newsletter subscribers, I just it would be a Miette skirt.
The pattern was a dream to sew. Just a fun and easy weekend project. You could probably make this skirt in about two hours if you had a serger and wouldn’t bother reinventing the wheel by making changes to the pattern and going all detail-crazy like I did.
Since I didn’t have enough fabric and the cotton I used would be too bulky, I omitted the pocket facing and just went with bias-bound pocket openings. I was worried about the seam finishes weighing down the side seams so instead of my usual flat-felled seams I went with Hong-Kong seam finishes from some lightweight floral bias binding. I used the same fabric for a contrast waistband lining.
This was made on a Sunday (when all shops in Germany are closed), so instead of waiting a day to buy the right hue of thread I just went with the closest thing I had in my stash: A medium grey. Originally intended as contrast topstitching, it doesn’t even show all that much.
If you’re making this skirt and you’re short on fabric do yourself a favour and check the skirt length in advance. I didn’t and ended up cutting a good 8 centimeters off the hem.
And because I have this crazy desease that keeps me from sewing up a pattern just as is, I changed the pocket opening into a more rounded shape.
This was such a surprising project! It took me three evenings from idea to reality and now I love everything about this skirt. The colour, the details, the overall style … everything. The length and the shape make it looks modern and elegant but the details like the pockets and waist tie give it a slightly retro, craftswoman/art teacher look.
Fun fact: I wore this skirt taking my school project to the bookbinder and the lady who served me was wearing a work apron with the same pocket and waist tie details. She stared at me for a puzzled second or two, but didn’t say anything. Maybe, when I pick up the book I’ll go all “Heeeeyyyy, … clothing twinsiiies!” :-D
I’m more and more looking forward to autumn now. This is such a great colour for that season.
Have you started autumn sewing yet? Any cool plans and projects? Let me know.
