I took part in another pattern test during the last few weeks and sewed a rather untypical piece of clothing - a skirt in a soft viscose.
The pattern or rather the sewing instruction for this skirt is the first clothing pattern by Jana from Jana.Diy. I've been following her on Instagram for a while now. I love her style and am always very inspired by her insights and her kindness. So when she was searching for someone to test her very first pattern I was all in!
The basis of her pattern is a simple skirt out of two rectangles, which is gathered at the waist with a rubber band. In her instructions she explains in great detail how to calculate the size of the rectangles for each body. This is followed by a step-by-step guidance on how to sew the skirt and insert the elastic. Jana gives different options how to sew the hem and how to topstitch the elasitc waist. The pattern also includes various add on details such as in-seam pockets (which I sewed in my skirt), patch pockets, a ruffel and a tie band to insert at the waist. Her instructions are supported by several videos, in which the more complicated steps are explained in even more detail.
During the test, where we testers had a lively and friendly exchange in a Facebook group, I sewed my skirt from a black viscose with a white flower pattern. The fabric was given to me by my boss as a gift. As I said before, a skirt is rather untypical for me and this fabric is so as well. I don't know if I would have chosen it myself but I thought I would give it a try as it met the specifications of the pattern.
I wanted my skirt to be knee-length and quite simple with only the in-seam pockets as the fabric is wild enough. Also the skirt had to be quite wide as my hip measurements differ about 40 cm from my waist measurements and I didn't wanted the skirt to be to tight at the hip. Therefore I've determined the size of the rectangles as 68 cm x 77.5 cm according to the instruction.
Sewing the skirt was quite easy and the instructions by Jana really helpfull when it came to the details. I decided to topstitch the elastic waist with two parallel rows and to sew a rolled hem. The rolled hem can definetly be improved but I'm getting better with practice.
When I sewed the skirt there was still a minor error in the instructions on how to calculate the length of the rectangles which I wasn't aware of. This error combined with my decision to sew a rolled hem resulted in the skirt becoming longer than I wanted. But I thought I'd leave it like this for now, because I didn't want to sew the roll hem again and I could shorten the rock later if it bothers me a lot.
And here comes a confession: I not longer own this skirt. Even tho, the pattern test was only finished last week and I sewed it the week before it's no longer part of my wardrobe. I took the pictures before giving it away and they turned out really good but in real life I didn't feel like myself wearing this skirt. I don't know what it was but I got the feeling the skirt made my butt bigger. Besides, I couldn't get warm with the print of the fabric.
But of course I didn't throw it away! Thankfully my sister and I have similar measurements but different taste in clothing. So when I asked her if she would be interested in a new skirt she said yes. She picked it up the next day and I'm happy to have made her happy and now I don't have a skirt that would just hang in the closet. Also, she's a bit taller than me so it's the right length for her.
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