Big Flowers, Little Skirt

I would like to take a moment of your time to share with you a skirt I recently made. This won't take long; it's not a very big skirt.


This fabric appeared at work in one of the fortnightly stock deliveries. These are when we receive all the donated garments and bits of fabric that we make garments from. When I saw this print I was almost sick, thus is the power stunning mid-century prints have on me. It came in the form of a pair of curtains, in very good condition save for a distinctly (and forgivably) musty smell. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't get 'first dibs' on all the fabric and garments that come through our studio as such, but occassionally I am permitted to take some of a large piece of fabric in exchange for a monetary contribution to the 'karma tin'. So having cut out a couple of skirts for the traidremade line, I was given the go ahead to use the last part for my own purposes.

The remainder was quite small, so I wasn't able to make a garment in a style that would be completely in keeping with the late 50's era of this fabric. In an ideal world, I would have made a delicious wiggle dress that would give a decent canvas to those massive cabbage-y roses. Alas, there wasn't even enough for a knee-length pencil skirt, so this wasn't going to be another 'New School Vintage' creation. I suppose I could have made a basic A-line mini, but then that still wouldn't have been correct with the era either, so I decided to go the other way and create a more modern shaped garment from this distinctly vintage fabric. So I turned to Simplicity 2451 (pictured below).


Those of you in possession of the keenest of memory (and have read my blog for a while, bless ya!), may recall that I have used this pattern once before. I was pretty pleased with the last skirt I made from this pattern, aside from probably needing to make the size smaller, which I did this time round. I would definately recommend this pattern. It's pleasingly quick to make, yet possesses enough detailing to make it a satisfying make. I'd even recommend this pattern to a beginner who has already completed the obligatory A-line skirt. It will help you tuck a few new skills under your belt without taking you too far out of your comfort zone. For me, having already made a plain version, I was interested to see how this style would cope with a print. Answer: pretty good, IMO.

So far I've worn this skirt once, then the weather tunred a bit colder again. I loved the fit and kept finding myself staring down at the lovely print, but it was difficult to find something to wear it with. I'm thinking maybe I could rock some mustard with it (I'm thinking something like Cecili's incredible blouse). What would you wear with this skirt? I didn't take a modelled photo because I'm pretty sure it'll pop up in MMJune '11, and I'd like to keep at least one card close to my chest for that!