Indigo skirt and a Yellow Brick Road

Well, I finally made a denim skirt!  This is the Moss Mini from Grainline, although I made it up in the not-so-mini version with the hemband.  It's a fly-fronted, slightly A-line skirt with pockets and a back yoke, and it's fab!  The instructions are extremely clear which seems to be the case with all of Jen's patterns.

You will see a lot of this skirt, either if you read the blog or if you know me in real life, as I could happily wear it every day (and have done, virtually, since I made it!).  It fits my lifestyle perfectly!  I've had this denim for a couple of years, bought from the stall in Coventry indoor market.  It's a lovely deep indigo, although I imagine it will fade a fair bit over time.  Despite being a stretch denim it's still quite a stiff fabric, but that works well with the shape of this skirt.

I took a lot of care with the seam finishing so it looks nice on the inside (for a change!).  I flat felled the yoke and front/back centre seams, and bound everything else with bias binding.  I used this IKEA botanical print fabric for the pockets and waistband/hemband facings and I love the contrast.  It also meant I probably used less than a metre of the denim.  Yay!  I have enough left to make another!  

Overall I love this pattern.  It sits lower on the waist than the Miette or Kelly skirts, neither of which I got on with terribly well, and it's nice that the length is variable.  If anything I could probably have done with making it a little smaller - I always err on the side of caution when it comes to sizing.   Also, I think I would add more interfacing to the waistband next time, but otherwise I am very happy with it.  The only problem is finding something else to wear so I don't wear it everyday!

The cardi is also a recent make.  This is the Yellow Brick Road cardi by Ela Torrente, found on Ravelry.  l made it in a bid to replace another beloved yellow cardi (shop bought not handmade) that a friend gave me, but which I stupidly left in a park.  I was gutted, although also secretly pleased to have an excuse to knit a yellow cardi (after all, how many yellow cardigans does one girl need?!).  

It knit up fairly quickly and was exactly the style and shape I was after.  The expanding arrows patterns was very straight forward, and the sleeves have an interesting pleat design which curves them forward slightly as if you've pushed them up at the front.  I went for a shorter length than the pattern stipulates, and also a looser fit, again to try and match my inspiration garment.  The only difficulty I had was with the button bands which I did over and over again and which still have a tendency to twist inwards.  Not enough to make me want to do them again though, and I'm hoping that I might be able to sort this out if I block it a second time.

I love this pattern and I've already cast on again to make another in navy blue.  It's very comfortable to wear and the colour goes with practically anything.  Gotta love a yellow cardi!

Rags to riches

Or at least trousers to skirt...

So I started my refashion plans with the stretchy purple cords.  They're actually almost burgundy - not vibrant purple as they appear in these photos.  It was a bit of a no brainer to try and make them into a skirt.  I had decided that in the shop, and I must admit that I didn't even try them on as there was no way I was going to wear them as trousers!  Also, I had a baby strapped to my chest, so I just held them up to my waist and decided they'd probably do.  They have a good waistband already, a short zipper, and inset pockets, and most importantly they fit me at the waist so I can keep all that.  

To start with I unpicked the inside leg seams then cut the bottom half of the trouser legs off.

I guessed with the length as I wanted the cut pieces to be almost as long as the skirt to make sure that I ended up with enough spare material to 'fill in the gaps' (technical term!).  I'm quite short, so this worked out fine for me.


I laid the 'skirt' out flat and measured out some triangular pieces to sew into the gaps.  I pinned them in and sewed it up on my machine.





I ended up with this.....

Not bad!  In fact I think I was very lucky that the triangles went in so well - particularly the front.  It could easily have been a fiddly mess!  Beginner's luck I guess!  Anyway I wasn't happy with it yet as I was aiming for more of an A-line shape, and trying it on confirmed that I was right - this shape didn't flatter me AT ALL!


So onto stage 2.  I unpicked the side seams this time up as far as the widest part of my hip.  I folded over my two remaining cut pieces lengthwise and inserted them at an angle until I was happy with the A shape.  Then I pinned them in and sewed them up.



This is what it looks like on the wrong side after sewing.  I'd love to say that my seams are neater now but that's not true. I don't have an overlocker so I tried using my overlocking foot on the sewing machine, only to find that I'd cut the seam allowances too short so that the foot kept sticking or slipping off.  That meant that I had to pull the fabric through which caused the stretchy fabric to ripple.  Eventually I gave up and left my seams 'au naturel'!

Here's the skirt before hemming:

I used my overlocker foot again (this time more successfully!) to finish the edges and first tacked then hand sewed the hem.

And TA DAAHHH!!  An A-line skirt that I am VERY happy with!  I'm sure it could have been executed better, and certainly tidier, but I love the shape, and the material is so soft that it's a joy to wear.  I can see this becoming a wardrobe staple, at least until I lose weight or it falls apart!  It could do with a lining (to cover up those unsightly raw edges!) but I don't have any lining fabric at the moment.  I shall make a mental note to keep my eye out for something suitable on my next charity shopping outing!