Silver party skirt

Need something snazzy for the party season but don't have time to sew a dress? Here's the next best option: a faux leather party skirt! This skirt is ridiculously easy to make, cheap as chips and, depending on how much drink you manage to knock back, allows you instant access to your inner rock chic...

I bought my silver faux leather from Fabric Godmother (also available in black or gold) or Girl Charlee have a good range in stock, including red, navy and some lovely metallics. It's softer than I was expecting, with a decent drape and a reasonable amount of stretch. At £10 a metre it's good value too - after cutting out my skirt I still have quite a bit left over that I plan to make into purses and make-up bags for presents. 

Any pin holes, needle marks or unpicking will be clearly visible on faux leather, so my main piece of advice is to choose a pattern that fits well to avoid any unpicking mishaps. I chose the lace pencil skirt from the GBSB Fashion with Fabric book, which I've made before and is a good fit on me.  This time round I added a split to the back seam - a pencil skirt without a split is fine if you're posing for blog photos at home, not so good for getting in and out of a taxi! I also cut the skirt pieces two inches longer than my first version as I wasn't planning on hemming it.

Construction was seriously quick: two darts to the back, two side seams, invisible zip and back seam. Done! I rebelliously used pins (positioning them within the seam allowance to avoid puncture marks) and a leather needle. Faux leather doesn't fray, so my seams were pressed open and left unfinished. I used fabric glue on the back seam to secure it open and give the split a neat finish. I also used it on the top edge of the skirt, which is simply pressed under and glued into place. I secured the seam to the zip at the back opening with a few hand stitches for extra security.

I wore this skirt out for dinner with friends a few nights ago and felt fabulous in it. Being silver and faux leather, it's quite a statement in itself, so I made sure the rest of my outfit was a bit more toned down. A fitted black cardigan, high boots and a sparkly bracelet was all it took and I felt glammed up but not over dressed. Definitely £10 well spent! x

Fashion with Fabric book review

Just as the Great British Sewing Bee seems to have evolved as a TV series (more challenging tasks, contestants working with a variety of different fabrics and techniques etc), so too does the accompanying book. I reviewed the book for the first series here and was mostly positive about it, my main criticism being the lack of patterns included. I was recently asked to review the book for the current series - Fashion with Fabric - and wow, what a difference a couple of years makes!

The focus this time is on the fabrics used, which makes for a surprisingly interesting read. The book is split into four main chapters based on the most widely used and popular fabrics: cotton, wool and other animal fabrics, stretch fabrics and luxury fabrics. The reader is encouraged to use the book as a starting off point, then experiment with their own ideas, which I think is a great approach to take. Lots of projects also have 'hack' suggestions, some of which are improvements on the original pattern in my opinion! Each chapter also contains advice and tips on working with these different fabrics, which I found really useful.

Unlike other pattern books (and I include the first GBSB book here), there is a comprehensive section of the book dedicated to adjusting patterns for an accurate fit. As well as standard bust, waist and hip measurements, the reader is told to take a high bust measurement to determine whether a full or small bust adjustment is required. It then shows you how to do one. This is such an important fitting step for a lot of women, yet it's only ever skirted around in a lot of books. There's also advice on moving darts, broad or narrow back adjustments and a page of useful tips on fitting trousers and fiddling about with crotch depths and lengths. The author - Claire-Louise Hardie - has years of experience as a theatrical and costume designer and runs her own sewing school. She's also the sewing producer for the show and this working knowledge absolutely shines through in the book.

There are 30 projects in the book, including a few from the series to date (Capri trousers, Walkaway dress, men's kilt and curtain skirt), and a couple of men's and children's patterns. For those who want to get their teeth into more challenging projects, there's a corset dress (with bustier hack), a leather jacket and the afore mentioned kilt. The patterns come in a separate pack, which in my case anyway, will actually encourage me to use them. Patterns that live in the back of books tend to get easily forgotten in my world, but if they're in a separate pack, they can live with my patterns! The patterns are full sized but need tracing off as there are several on each sheet. This isn't the headache it sounds as they're all clearly marked and colour coded - nothing like a Burda magazine!  The women's patterns come in seven different sizes ranging from size 8 (32 ½" bust, 25 ½"waist, 36" hip) to size 20 (45 ½" bust, 38 ½" waist, 49 ½" hip)

Of the patterns themselves, there are several that I'll probably try out at some point...

… the sleeveless shell top ...

… the silk woven tee ...

… and the sleeveless collared blouse.

I also like the look of the Capri trousers, despite the hideous example the poor model has to wear in the book…

There are some patterns that I can admire from afar but will probably never try: the men's kilt is one - although I'm tempted to make it for the sole reason of getting Jon to model it! The drapey knit dress is another as it's so far removed from my personal style. I can admire it on others who CAN rock that style though, I'm thinking specifically of Karen's version from Did you Make That? Simply stunning.

I've been keeping one final pattern up my sleeve  - the lace pencil skirt - as it's one I've already made!

I kept coming back to it in the book and in the end just decided to give it a try with some leftover fabric from my lace top. For the underskirt I used a sea-green lining fabric previously used to line the sleeves of my boiled wool coat, so all in all, a good stash busting exercise! The skirt is a simple, elegant shape with no front darts, an invisible zip and a facing. I only ever intended it to be a practice run to test out the pattern, but I think the finished version is totally wearable. I also made it before this week's episode of the GBSB and let me tell you, I could NEVER have finished it in 3 hours or however long they were given. Hats off to the semi finalists!

Using the finished measurements as a guide, I made a size 10 with no adjustments, and the fit is spot on. The two skirt layers are made up separately, but attached around the zip as a single layer. They're then treated as two separate fabrics below the zip. It's a brilliant technique which I'll definitely use again. I also used hairline seams for the first time, where the seam is stitched, narrowly zigzagged and then trimmed. A hairline seam is a good choice for sheer fabrics and it worked well for my lace overskirt, creating a very light finish.

I'm amazed by the number of excellent tips and techniques I've picked up from reading this book - I learnt two new ones just from making a simple skirt! I'll keep you updated with anything else I make from it, but so far, it's shaping up to be one of my favourite sewing books to date.

'Fashion for Fabric' was given to me free of charge for review by Quadrille Publishing. All views my own.