The Last Days of Summer - A Tale of Two Skirts

Summer is winding down here in the Nation's Capital, and I have much sadness.  My local outdoor pool has closed for the season, the morning bike rides into work are getting decidedly nippy (and dark), and my sandals tan is fading.

But the good news is that while I haven't been blogging (four posts this year - what the heck?) and doing all the householdy things that become essential when your partner busts his hip (later this afternoon I am apparently getting up on a tall ladder to check the gutters. Yeah.), I have managed to make a little time for clothes sewing.

I'm sorry to disappoint, but I've made a couple of skirts from a TNT (tried and true) pattern. How boring, right? I had a think about this while we were taking blog photos this afternoon - why is it that I keep returning time and time again to the same patterns, the same shapes, the same wardrobe staples? It's not as if I don't have the skills to make something different, but I suppose when your figure has the foibles mine does, you tend to stick with what you have worked hard to adjust, and know works. And when you are in desperate need of a couple of skirts because you've thrown out all your old ones, you kind of get lazy (well, I do).



Oh McCalls 2873. I'm so glad I met you.



I actually cut both of these skirts out together - one piece of fabric on top of the other, both on the fold. It's easy enough to mark out the darts this way - just insert a pin in each marking point, and peel the layers apart as you mark where the pin is.



The gingko skirt was very straightforward to make. I do love the 2 1/2 inch hem the pattern gives me. And I've worn this skirt all day - at the movies, and at drinks after, and it hasn't crushed too badly at all. The fabric is a linen/cotton blend by Kokka that I picked up at Addicted to Fabric a couple of years ago. I also bought a citrus handkerchief linen to make a shirt to go with it, but I still haven't made that, and it's getting a little late in the season for a sleeveless linen shirt anyway. Next summer.



I'm not one for pattern placement at the best of times, but this one I took a little care with, and while it's not perfect I do love the results. And referring to the back view, I once again did my "third dart" adjustment on each side of the back - adding an extra dart to counteract swayback and sharp hip-to-waist incline.



The red and cream fabric in this skirt in another Japanese linen/cotton that I bought at Addicted to Fabric. I can't remember the designer (and I think the selvage was in Japanese anyway) but it's quite soft for linen cotton and wears really well. The shirt is a Simplicity 2938 in white linen that I made quite a few years ago. I don't wear white often, but it's handy to have in the wardobe when nothing else goes with your skirt.



For the first time in my life I put a zipper on the outside. I like it, although this zipper, bought at Studio Mio at the last Canberra Quilt Show, hasn't worn well at the sides. I suspect it is supposed to be washed by hand, but in this house that kind of behaviour is verboten! So a shabby exposed zipper it is.



I've since made a couple of more McCalls 2873s for work, and there will be more again before autumn is done. Next post I might blog about how I am questioning my style at the moment. It always happens when the season changes.

Or perhaps I'll post something new that I made. Not a TNT pattern at all.