the first skirt of spring!

In my last post I promised (myself as well as you!) that my next garment would be something easy. This skirt, made from pattern 114 in the July 2008 issue of Burda Magazine, is certainly that but it does have some very nice details.

Here’s the line drawing so you can get a clearer idea of what’s going on with it
Burda’s description: “Your favourite skirt boasts loads of topstitching lines on the hem and a wide, shaped hip yoke with eyelets and tie bands for a sporty look.” Some of these details, especially the rows of topstitching, don’t show up very well in the photograph but in real life they do work nicely.

The fabric I used is an African print cotton. I would love to tell you that I purchased this in some exotic, far-flung location but, in fact I bought it from a market stall in Leeds (Yorkshire in the north of England). I absolutely LOVE African prints, the colours are always so alluring and the designs so wonderfully attractive. It appears I am not alone, African prints often make an appearance on the runway - L.A.M.B. featured some fabulous African prints in their Spring 2011 show

image courtesy of Style.com

But back to my skirt. The most nerve-racking part about making this skirt is adding the eyelets

There you are, with your skirt all beautifully constructed and you have to take a pair of scissors and cut two holes in the front yoke. Yikes! But, fear not, a couple of sturdy eyelets, a few confident bashes with a hammer and all is well again. If you have never done this before, I would, however, recommend at least one trial run with some scrap fabric just to be sure you know which way round to place the eyelets and how hard you need to wield the hammer.

I really enjoyed making this skirt – fun to make and easy to wear. I hope your Spring sewing has got off to a good start?