The Best Denim Skirt Ever (Made by Me)

First there was my 'Comfiest Skirt Ever', and now it's the 'Best Denim Skirt Ever'. These are bold claims, are they not? Of course, I'm open to finding a comfier skirt or a better denim skirt, but at the time of writing, both these statements are holding true for me. 

Fabric:

When I blogged about the Ponte de Roma version, I told you there'd be more knit pencil skirts on the horizon. My intention was to dig about in my stash for something suitable, but before I had a chance to do so, another piece of fabric that is perfect for this pattern turned up instead. This faux-denim knit fabric was spotted on the shelves at the recent Fabric Godmother open day. The owner, Josie, kindly allowed me to choose some fabric as a thank you for me helping out, and this is one of the pieces I took away with me. I saw something similar in a different fabric shop years ago but didn't get any, and I've kicked myself on several occasions since when I remembered it. 

Lemme tell you about this stuff. The right side has a indigo-denimy look, and back is cream. The dye transferred something chronic so I washed it at 60 degrees as soon as I got it home. The fabric came out a slightly lighter shade but the washing had stopped the transferring. The listing for the fabric says 100% cotton, but I'd be surprised if there is no elastane/lycra content as this stuff has an amazing 4-way stretch and recovery. It has a much chunkier feel to it than the Ponte de Roma, so I was keen to find out what kind of look it would bring to the pencil skirt pattern...

Pattern:

Just to back up a sec: the pattern I'm talking about is the knit pencil skirt pattern from the Gertie Sew Vintage Casual book. It consists of just one pattern piece that you cut twice on the fold, and has an elasticated waistband. My first attempt making this pattern helped me to determine that I should lower the waistline by 3cm and raise the hemline also by 3cm. I made one final adjustment by making the waistline slightly curved rather than straight, which would help the waistline sit correctly at the lower position.

When I had a fitting of my Ponte de Roma version, I found I needed to remove 4cm of the total circumference. I'm glad I didn't make that a permanent adjustment on my the pattern piece because this time round, I found the fit to be perfect with no alteration of width required. I think I did slightly straighten the side seam from around the knee level to the hem though. For this denim version, I finished the waistband as the pattern instructions suggested, which gives a really clean finish with no visible anything (see above). 

The only other thing I can think to note is the topstitched hem. It's a total hot mess because I used an 80/12 thickness needle with chunky top-stitching thread, a combination that my machine HATED. It made awful clunking noises at regular points, but I refused to halt this project long enough to buy a proper, thicker twin needle. I had to stop and restart stitching several times so there are sections where there's overlaps of stitching, and parts where the needle refused to pierce the fabric (see above) and the back has heaps of birds nests (see below). But I'm pretty sure that the messiness is only noticeable up close. At some point I may uptick the whole hem and redo it, but it certainly hasn't stopped me wearing it yet. 

Thoughts:

Perhaps I should qualify this title with 'yet' at the end of it, although I already think the title is long enough! The only niggle I have with this skirt (aside from the messy hem, which really doesn't bother me) is that this skirt does start to migrate up a little bit, for some unknown reason. But generally it stays in place far better than pretty much any skirt I've ever worn, so I can forgive it this one misdemeanour. Maybe if I took more off the top and added it back to the length, then the curve of the side seam would match the curve of my hips more accurately, or something. I may try that next time...

Even as it stands, this is by far the nicest denim(esque) skirt that I own. Now that I own this, I'm seriously thinking of donating my denim high waist bow skirt to the charity shop because I have worn it exactly twice since I made it three years ago, and both those times did not feel very relaxing. What's the best denim skirt you've ever owned? Was it self-made?

The Comfiest Skirt Ever

These pictures are rubbish. They do not convey the awesomeness that has landed in my wardrobe. This is the third and final garment I have to post about that was created from my haul of free fabric from Girl Charlee. If you have yet to enter the free fabric giveaway and live in Europe, then you still have a few days to do so. Maybe this post will sway you towards picking the Ponte de Roma...

Pattern:

So, I need to back up a bit. Back at the very beginning of this year, I decided to try wearing a knit skirt in the hope that I could combine the look of wearing a pencil skirt with the comfiness of wearing jeggings (bliss?!). I bought and tried the Colette Patterns Mabel skirt pattern (take one and take two), but there were things that I disliked about it. Despite its flaws however, I wore the second attempt quite a lot during Me-Made-May'15 so I felt that I was on the right track.

Lynn from Tialys blog left a helpful comment on my Mabel skirt take two post mentioning Gertie's easy knit skirt pattern from her Gertie Sews Vintage Casual book (pictured above). As luck would have it, I received a copy of the book last Christmas but I hadn't tried any of the patterns from it. The easy knit skirt pattern (pictured below) was potentially just the ticket: pencil skirt shaped with elasticated waist. I decided it was worth a punt.

I have to mention this skirt pattern's major selling point: it consists of just one pattern piece. You cut one on the fold for the front, and one on the fold for the back. BOOM. According to the book's size chart, my measurements corresponded with one size for the hips and the next size up for the waist (although I can't remember exactly which sizes, and I am currently exiled upstairs in order to get this post done and the book is downstairs...) so I blended between the sizes which worked perfectly. 

The instructions in the book recommended basting the side seams together and then popping the skirt on to see how the fit is going. I basted the seams together with a long straight stitch on my regular sewing machine, then having decided that I needed to pinch out 1cm from each side seam evenly all the way down (so removing 4cm of width in total) I restitched the side seams with my overlocker. 

Apologies for the ugliest/most boring picture ever above! The elastic is stitched into a loop, then attached to the top raw edge of the skirt (I did this with a three-step zigzag stitch on my regular sewing machine because I didn't want to risk cutting the elastic by using my overlocker) and then simple turned under so it is out of view. Having done that I then tried the skirt on again but decided the waistline was a bit too high for my liking. Instead of unpicking, I just turned the elastic under again and topstitching it in place with my twin needle, which I also used for the hem (which I made 3cm shorter than the pattern, BTW). The finish on the outside looks great, but the extra bulk I created by turning the waistband under makes the whole waistband slightly more visible through certain tops than I would have preferred. I'm over it though. 

Fabric:

I've already talked briefly and at length about this navy Ponte de Roma, so I have little to add about it here, other than to point out that 2m gives you enough to make a Jenna cardi AND a pencil skirt. Which is pretty great, IMO. 

Thoughts:

The title of this post may have given away how I feel about the finished garment. The pattern is exactly what I was hoping for from a knit skirt pattern, and it works really well in this lovely, soft, inky-blue knit. What I didn't expect, though, was just how much movement I have in this skirt; it's the leggings of the skirt world. There's enough movement for me to run about playgrounds, it's comfy enough around the waist to take long train rides and eat large dinners, AND it is long enough to pick stuff and children up off the floor without concern for my decency. Although it doesn't make for super-exciting photos, it is the Girl Charlee creation that I have worn the most, in fact I have barely taken this skirt off since finishing it. Expect more of these knits skirts coming soon...