One Week, One Pattern 2016

The past week has seen me wearing different variations of New Look 6217 each day as part of OWOP (One Week, One Pattern) 2016. The challenge was run this year by Hannah at Cinderellis Sews and I had a lot of fun mixing and matching garments made from my current favourite pattern.

I cheated slightly as I've made both tops and skirts from the pattern, so it wasn't actually much of a stretch. But considering the pattern also includes trousers and a kimono jacket I think I was actually quite restrained! What I like about the top and skirt patterns is the fit: they have a fair amount of wearing ease but still skim the body to show off your curves. I already had three versions of the top and two of the skirt, but just managed to squeeze out another last minute top to give myself a bit more choice. Here's what I wore:

Day 1 - Red Swiss Dot NL6217 top and Gap jeans. I was visiting the Undressed exhibition at the V & A museum with Scruffy Badger. 

Day 2 - Denim NL6217 skirt and 1960's Shoulder Tie top (without shoulder ties!) I was at the allotment pretending to help, so this combo was actually really comfortable, although a white top probably wasn't the wisest choice for picking raspberries...

Day 3 - Liberty print NL6217 top and denim Arielle skirt. I hadn't tried this combo before now and was surprised how much I liked it.

Day 4 - Denim NL6217 skirt and Gingham Granville shirt. The Ginghamalong went live today so I wore my new gingham shirt with my New Look denim skirt. It's a bit of a polka dot/gingham clash but I think they look good together! This photo was taken outside my local boozer, complete with splendid old tiles.

Day 5 - Ivory Crepe NL6217 top and Liberty Carline Delphine skirt. This is a new, unblogged version of the top made from a 80cm remnant of prestige crepe from the Fabric Godmother sale. The drape is perfect for this pattern and I loved wearing it on its first outing. Being off white, it's also useful for pairing with garments that are difficult to match things to (like this skirt!) 

Day 6 - Black crepe NL6217 top and Bamboo skirt. Suitably smart attire for visiting the Buckingham Palace state rooms with my mother-in-law!

Day 7 - Black Crepe NL6217 top and Sew Over It Ultimate Trousers. Here I am meeting the lovely Mark from Girl Charlee UK at the Handmade Fair in Hampton Court (more on my visit in the next blog post).

A few reflections on the challenge:

• I'm sooooo pleased I chose this pattern, everything I've made from it feels like such a natural part of my everyday wardrobe. 
• The top is a simple shape and easy to make, but I think fabric choice and colour are key to wearing them often. The fact that I had three solid, neutral colours tops meant they could be paired with anything. Plus the lovely quality of the fabrics made them feel just a bit more special than a T shirt or cotton top in the same colours.
• I love the slim silhouette of the skirt and the quirky little side split - I'll definitely be making more of them.
• I'm still not very adventurous with accessories!

Thank you to Hannah for hosting the challenge and I'm looking forward to seeing what everybody else has been wearing for the past week! Have a great weekend. x

SaveSave

Finished: Arielle Skirt

As is often the case, not one but two of my favourite handmade skirts have had to be retired due to being thoroughly worn out. They were my beloved denim Ginger skirt and my navy-with-red-buttons Beignet. Both were made using Colette patterns during my first year of sewing and have been on constant rotation ever since, so they were well and truly worn to death. I needed to make replacements, and fast!

The shape and style of the Tilly and the Buttons Arielle Skirt seemed to be the perfect solution. And as there was now a denim-skirt-shaped hole in my wardrobe, I decided to make my version in denim. The fitted silhouette and cute button detail of the pattern also reminded me of my Beignet skirt, so I felt like I was channelling my two old skirts into one new one!

The instructions for the Arielle pattern are very clearIy written, with good, explanatory photos to guide you through the process. Unlike the Beignet pattern, it didn't take very long to sew at all (I made it over the course of two afternoons) and there are very few pattern pieces, especially if you make the unlined version. The side seams are contoured to fit around your waist and hips, making the skirt very close fitting - using a stretch denim was definitely a good move as it really does yank you into place! Size-wise, I made a size 3 and the only adjustment I made was to the length - I took about 10cms from the length of the longer version. I didn't adjust the waist and hips at all and the finished fit is great. I think it's an ideal pattern for a confident beginner to tackle, perhaps as a second skirt project.

The fabric I used is a stretch denim in a very dark blue from Ditto Fabrics. I pre-washed it, but it still feels quite stiff - hopefully it will soften up after a few washes. Because of this, the overlapped front edge doesn't lie completely flat, but that's just me nit picking. My version is unlined as that's what I've always done with denim skirts (I think of them a bit like jeans!) I would also normally use a lighter weight fabric for the facings to reduce bulk, especially when sewing with denim. In this case, however, I did actually use denim facings and I think the skirt benefits from the extra support. 

I'd planned to simply overlock the outer edge of the facings, but once I saw this post on finishing a facing with bias binding, I had to give my skirt a polka dot edge. I love how the inside of the skirt looks now, it has such a neat, professional finish.

Talking of polka dots, do you like my buttons?! They were given to me by Kerry a few years ago (I think!) and I couldn't resist adding them. Hopefully, the plain, functional denim stops them looking too twee. 

I have a feeling I'll be wearing the Arielle skirt a lot. It seems to be a good match with every single top half I throw at it (as evidenced by the unusual amount of costume changes in this post!), which I'm  taking as a good sign!  I'm so happy with it - I've ended up with a gorgeous, retro looking skirt that was born to live in my wardrobe.  x