I've definitely got a midi skirt addiction....
and when this fabric arrived at Mendel Goldberg last month, I bought two yards immediately. It's a serious stunner, a rich saturated cotton sateen with a really nice soft but stable hand.
But, as I had recently retired my go to Marfy pattern, I started a hunt for a new/newer?! shape that had some design options and used less fabric.
And I was thrilled when I came Just_Patterns on Instagram and discovered their new line.
It's a relatively new company - patterns are downloaded on PDF through Etsy and are ridiculously inexpensive - the skirt was only $3 (way to cheap for the amount of work involved, no?!)
To date, they have three patterns, a Skirt, Bias Cami and Bias dress but I see that there are more to come....
And the skirt pattern is good, well drafted, easy to assemble and easy to sew.
The patterns come without instruction, but the pdf itself is full of info. Being self-taught, I struggled initially with some of the symbols but worked it all out eventually!
And while I went back and forth about underlining, I did add a single layer of silk organza in the end just to help stabilize the pleats and keep their shape.
And of course, as an added benefit to using organza, I was able to sink a two inch length of fell stitching into each fold, on the outer edges of the pleating which helped to keep everything sharp and neat.
Lovely large side pockets...
And a soft and rounded hem. I snipped the inside seam allowance down to the turn and kept each panel separate so they could bend and fold independently when worn.
And I know not pressing makes for a less neat hem but I like the organic look and feel more than a sharp edge.
So, overall, I really liked this pattern - it's excellent, exceptionally well drafted, uses just under two yards in total and both the cutting and finished garment measurements are exact which are alway find impressive!
(I did add an extra inch to the waistband width, and two inches to the length but other than that this skirt is completely unaltered from the original pattern...)
And I'm actually already using it again on my next garment - "the dress that never seems to get finished" - sorry Tracey, its getting there!!!! I'm inching closer day by day......
I've given myself a deadline - two weeks from today to blog about it, so see you all again then!!
Have a lovely week!
Leisa xx
Disclaimer: Although I work part time at Mendel Goldberg this fabric was purchased by me as was the pattern from Just_Patterns.