Bibi Pinafore Business

Like so many other sewers, it would seem (I just wrote 'seam' there at first!), I fell hard for the pinafore variation of the Bibi skirt pattern from Tilly's Stretch book. However, it wasn't on my 'sewing project priority' list until, A) MMMay made me face the fact that my previous denim-look stretch skirt had to go and, B) I was looking for a way to repurpose the fabric I salvaged from a recent failed project. A plan was born...

Fabric:

You may have noticed by now that the majority of the new fabric that comes into my life these days comes from Fabric Godmother. This is because I work for them from time to time, so have the opportunity to get up close and personal with their inventory, which is invariably both gorgeous excellent quality. After helping out at one of their recent open days, some of this denim jersey (pictured below) came home with me. Personally, I'm not sure if it makes more sense to call it a denim-look knit, or a stretch denim. It looks like a woven denim, but has the four-way stretch properties of some kind of knit fabric. Either way, it looks amazing and is clearly going to be really comfortable to wear. 

(Image source: Fabric Godmother)

A couple of months ago I made the (in hindsight foolish) decision to have another whirl at the True Bias Hudson pants pattern. I had a previous failed attempt at that pattern four years ago, which, I surmised, was a FAIL because I used a 2-way rather than 4-way stretch fabric. This denim-knit-whatever-you'd-call-it definitely fit the four-way stretch bill, and I had dreams of creating a cool and clever jogging/jeans hybrid that I'd never want to take off. Except that didn't happen and the whole thing became a massive FAIL. Possibly due to the thickness of this fabric and/or choosing the wrong size on the pattern, or whatevs. Now I've been burnt twice, I'm going to leave the Hudson pants pattern well alone going forwards, and stick to jeggings styles for my super comfy bottoms unless persuaded otherwise. Anyways once I realised the Hudsons were going to be a FAIL, I cut them up to reclaim the fabric from the front and back legs and the waistband piece. I then made the most of the MMMay celebration discount codes and bought an additional metre of this fabric so that I'd have enough for the Bibi pinafore project.

Pattern:

The Bibi skirt is really cleverly drafted, consisting of one main skirt panel piece that you cut out four of. Once stitched together, the skirt is worn on the body so there are no side seams at all. You also need two waistband pieces that are faced (plus two bibs and two straps if you plan to make the pinafore version). The reason I had to get rid of my stretch denim skirt during MMMay was because my waist measurement has grown a bit. Therefore, for the Bibi, I started out by tracing the size 5 at the waist grading down to the size 4 for the hips, and held off cutting out the waistband pieces until I could check the fit. I basted the skirt panels together (two of which I squeezed out of the back leg pieces of the failed Hudson pants) and a quick fitting showed that I could proceed with no further alterations needed. Because the denim knit is quite thick, I used some plain black cotton-lycra knit I'd recently bought from Girl Charlee to cut the waistband facings and the reverse of the bib section. 

Having stalked the #bibipinafore hashtag on Instagram, I'd seen than some people's versions gaped a little at the top edge of the bib. It seemed that most of those women were perhaps fuller busted and although I wasn't sure where I stand on that particular spectrum, just in case I decided to make the width of the top of my bib section slighter narrower (1cm each side) in an attempt to avoid any gaping. I also positioned my straps (which I've made about 1cm wider than the instructions in the book suggest, FYI) so that they joined the top of the bib at an angle rather than coming straight up so hopefully that would help too.   

Thoughts:

I'm very pleased with this pinafore! When wearing it (as I am now), I feel more put-together and more stylish than I usually do. It seems to hug my shape nicely, but the thickness of the fabric skims over much of the lumps and bumps. And the best of all? It's crazy comfy. If I had to pick metaphorical holes though, I'd flag up that the skirt seams show the white lycra content of the fabric more than I'd prefer, and the bib gapes a bit at the sides (but not at the top!). 

I love wearing it with my hands print Freya top, as I am in these pics, but I've decided I prefer it with trainers more than with these shoes for a more casual vibe. I'm looking forward to working out some outfits to wear it in cooler weather, and I can definitely see myself making the skirt pattern, if not the full on pinafore version, again in the future when the right fabric comes my way. 

My Perfect Knit Skirts

Now, these are not the most exciting garments you'll probably see on a blog today, but in my opinion, they may be the best! These are stealth garments: not attention grabbers (well, maybe the spotty version is a bit), they're just quietly doing their job really well. They are the result of my penultimate nippy weather sewing plan. Please read on...

Pattern:

The pattern I used for both of these is the third (and possibly final) incarnation of the easy knit pencil skirt from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual book (pictured above). If you recall, a navy Ponte de Roma skirt was my first attempt, and I made some tweaks to the height of the waist, hem length and side seam shaping as I went. My second version (the faux denim skirt) was improved further still. And for these two I made one more adjustment by lowering the waistline even more so that the waist elastic sits below my belly button rather than on it. 

I stitched the side seams using my overlocker (having basted them together first to check the fit, every knit fabric behaves differently), then finished the top and bottom edges with my overlocker also. Next, I used the lightning flash stitch on my regular machine to hem them and make the elastic casings. 

Fabrics and notions:

The black skirt, although nothing to write home about, is actually super soft and feels quite luxurious. It's made from a small piece of black Ponte de Roma that's been in my stash for years. I think it was probably a sample piece that I got whilst working for TRAIDremade, however this jersey Roma from Fabric Godmother looks pretty much the same, and Girl Charlee has some really fun printed Ponte de Roma's here that would also work well. 

The spotty Ponte de Roma was something I actually bought with my own money specifically for this purpose. I first saw it at the Fabric Godmother's open day last August when I went to help out. Josie was very generous in offering me some fabric for my troubles, but I picked the light weight denim and faux stretch denim instead. I kept thinking about the spotty stuff though, and when I went to visit her before Christmas, I bought about 70cm which was the perfect amount for this skirt. 

I utterly adore this fabric! It's not a solid black, you can see some of the white showing through the black which gives it a lovely textural look. It's bobbled a bit after a few wears and washes, but it's still my favourite skirt to date. 

Finally, I added a couple of cute labels so that I could easily identify the fronts from the backs. I'd already started doing this for Dolores's clothes, and it makes sense to do it for my own as well when it would be useful. These woven ribbons come from my blog sponsor Textile Garden which have a superb and adorable selection. I stole this idea from Marilla Walker who swears that she in turn stole it from someone else! If you haven't started doing this yet, feel free to steal it from all of us! 

Thoughts:

I now own four of the best and most useful basic skirts in the history of (my) skirts. I love the simple, close-fitting silhouette, but the elasticity of the fabrics and the elastic waistbands mean they are also as comfy as can be. My levels of comfort when wearing these skirts are now entirely governed by the tights I wear with them, as I can bearly feel the skirts themselves at all! I don't think I'll need to make any more for a number of years, however that could all change if I came across some leopard print Ponte de Roma! Oh, and I'd also like to try this pattern with an unwanted men's wool jumper (a bit like this). So maybe I'm not done with this pattern at all. 

Cost:

Pattern: £0 (I received the book for free in exchange for an honest review, however it can currently be purchased here for £17.94)

Fabrics: black = £0, Spotty Ponte de Roma = £10.49

Ribbon for labels: £0 (I was given them by Textile Garden, however you can find their selection here with prices starting at just £1.25 per metre, which would make A LOT of labels!)

Elastic and thread: £0 (from my stash)

Total: £0 for the black skirt, £10.49 for the spotty one.

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...