I won’t be making this pattern again. After 2 re-makes, I have finished a Christmas present just in time for Mother’s Day.
The remit was for a summer weight skirt that would match everything, but I decided to be clever and make two, having found some faux suede in Barry’s which I thought would make up nicely. The right hand one of a cotton – linen mix from Minerva Crafts, and is summer weight.
Sew Simple Sophie skirt is supposed to look like this:
which looks OK on the pattern cover……..
Well, the photo doesn’t really do it any justice, and I think this is a publicity picture, but apologies if I am offending anyone……. There is just loads of fabric at the sides.
By the time I had adjusted the pattern twice, I had taken 36″ off the hem circumference, all of it from the sides. I took pictures during the first re-make:
Too much fabric at the sides. It didn’t hang well.
Below – removing the first 20″; 5″ from each side of the side seam. I removed another 4″ from each side seam on the second re-make.
Because the zip goes into the waistband, the waistband had to come off everytime that I altered the skirts, which was a pity because I had inserted a good invisible zip. I managed to only partially re-sew it each time. And finally I got out my TNT A- line skirt pattern and used it to re-shape the side seams for the versions shown above.
There could well be an argument that says that I didn’t make a good fabric selection. In the case of the faux suede, perhaps that’s valid. It holds the A-line shape and more, very well, but the cotton – line mix should have suited the pattern well. That bulge in the side is just not slightly.
I retained the pleats. They are a nice detail, but there are almost certainly other patterns with nice broad pleats, and less fabric at the hem, that would have made a better pattern selection.
And the whole fitting and re-make matter was made more complicated by the fact that the present recipient is in Leeds and I am in Birmingham. I will stick to TNT patterns in future .