Over a year ago, a friend proposed a trade. She would take photos of our family and newborn son and I’d make her a couple skirts. For the skirts, my friend was inspired by this post at A Couple More Hours and this post at Everyday Chaos. I used Simplicity 2606 view A as the basis for both skirts. This first skirt is mostly unmodified from the pattern other than I used a wider elastic for the waistband, left out the seam at the top of the waistband (it created a little ruffle that showed under shirts) and shortened it a bit. The contrasting hem band is just as wide on the inside of the skirt for a nice weight and finished look. The instructions have you fold the band in half, baste it together then stitch it to the skirt with the raw edges on the inside. Instead, I folded the top edges in by 1/2″ and encased the upper part of the skirt, then stitched it all together so there are no raw edges around the hem. This version of the skirt has discreet pockets! The fabric is Summerlove by Pat Bravo (Tokens of Love in Aqua and Retro Harmony in Sugar). This print came out awhile ago but it’s currently still available at Hawthorne Threads.
For the double layer skirt, I cut off the top 4 inches of the skirt pattern (not including the waistband) and used that for the dark gray. For the under layer, I used the remaining bottom of the skirt pattern but cut off 1 1/2″ off of the width (measured at the bottom of the skirt then matched up with the top of the skirt) so there would be less of a flare.
Then I cut the bottom 7 inches off of the pattern and used the remaining pattern piece for the upper layer. I removed a 3″ section from the front piece, to the right where one of the pleats from the top would line up, then trimmed the bottom and sides with bias tape.
Next I basted the two layers together, then used an overcast stitch to attach them to the top dark gray piece of the skirt. I then added the pleats and finished the waistband as directed in the pattern instructions. The fabric is Notting Hill by Joel Dewberry (Pristine Poppy in Poppy and Frames in Fern). Both are currently available at fabric.com (affiliate link). Below you can see the skirt after the layers have been stitched together and the pleats were added, but before the waistband. For the hem I folded under the bottom skirt layer by 1/2″ then 3″ and sewed it using a blind hem stitch. The wide hem give the skirt a nice weight and looks more finished.
And here’s the final skirt (with a few of Jayne’s chickens checking it out)!
What about you guys? Feel free to link up any summer clothing you’ve been making in the comments below!
