Since making two tops in the kids summer holidays I set myself a target of making one garment a month. That’s not quite gone to plan, as it’s now the end of October, but I’m going to claim that the Arielle skirt is possibly a ‘two month’ kind of project.
It’s the first smart ‘garment’ I have made to date and I chose it because it’s not the kind of skirt you see in the shops. The Tilly and the Buttons packaging is just gorgeous. The instruction booklet very clear, with step by step photos in a very Tilly style which were importantly easy to follow.
The wool tweed, is something I came across in my ‘large fabric’ box, which is normally reserved for old charity shop curtains, I will eventually make some use of. The fabric is lovely, medium weight and grey – one of my favourite colours – and I really have no idea where it came from. It’s possible it was from my lovely French friend Maud who skipped off to Qutar last year leaving me all sorts of crafty things and some pretty nice furniture to boot.
Anyway, to spice up the grey I thought I’d go for a citrus contrast – one of my other current favourite colours – so this is the lining I chose from Leons in Chorlton, South Manchester and the buttons from the old faithful Abakhan.
I’ve taken to tracing all of my pattern with baking paper, which is a fairly time consuming way of starting out on a pattern, but when using an indie pattern I simply don’t want to spoil it! Also at some point I might want to make it for someone else or in the very, very long term my daughter might want to make it – she’s 4!
It’s a pretty fitted skirt with a gorgeous curvy waist. I’ve discovered after my ‘fit buddy’ (aka Mum) had pinned me into the skirt, that I have the waist and hips of a boy with next to no curve at all. It meant a lot of pattern alteration, which gave me a few headaches, but I’ve been very conscientious and remarked all my pattern pieces ready for the next time I make it.
One tip I would give is to tailor tack the buttonholes and button positions onto the fabric, as this was critical when my mum fitted the skirt. It would have been impossible to know where the buttons and buttonhole would have lined up, if I hadn’t hand stitched them in.
The verdict is I love it and I’m wearing it today for a visit to the Sewing Made Simple office, so somebody had better ask me if I made it!
a tin of pins 