Burda Knit Skirt

This is my fifth Burda 112 skirt from the 05/2019 issue. My first attempt at the pattern was a failure, as the skirt came out too broad, especially at the waist, and too long. Then I made two of these for Gaby, reducing the size to 34 and another one for myself.

A week ago I finished a hoodie for husband out of the big piece of knit fabric I received as a present from a friend. His hoodie is very much a repetition of my own favourite hoodie out of the same fabric, but in a male version (and obviously, using a different pattern).

In the end I was left with an almost good for nothing piece of fabric. But I am a petite person and I love using fabric to the last scraps, so I thought - why not make myself a tiny knit skirt. My initial idea was to self-draft a super simple skirt with an elastic band. But how about pockets, I'd so much love it to have pockets. And where to put them. Then gradually the form of the skirt clarified in my head and I realized that the perfect pattern for it would be my old favourite Burda 112.

 

Pattern: Burda 112 05 / 2019

Fabric: houndstooth knit fabric

Size: 36, reduced

Time to make: 5 days

I was so grateful to my former self, that after the last super successful iteration of the pattern, she had made a new copy, introducing all of the changes in the width and the length of the pieces. This time I made an additional copy, further reducing the length of the skirt, mostly due to lack of fabric, but also because I didn't need 1 cm seam allowances for the serger. Unlike my previous skirts, here I don't have decorative seams and my front yoke and skirt are made out of single pieces.

I didn't have fabric for the inside of the skirt, which is fully lined, so I used suitable scraps from other knit projects - the inner pockets are from some ponte for Alex's joggers and the inner yoke is from my favourite black joggers. The inner skirt is from an old and discarded black T-shirt.

Notes: I absolutely love the skirt and I am so happy to have been able to use all of these otherwise useless pieces of fabric. However, I think the zipper might have been redundant - the fabric is stable, but stretchy enough and I can actually pull the skirt off without unzipping it. However, if I decide to repeat this pattern with knit fabrics in the future and skip the zipper, I should consider adding an elastic to the waist, as it might quickly stretch and deform. Another note - the T-shirt lining was not a good idea, as the fabric sticks to my stockings, I might consider replacing it with a stretchy acetate or other slick material.

Skirt 112 Burda 05 2019

 I had 2 m of the wool with elastane fabric and I managed to make not only the pair of pants I showed you here, but also TWO skirts - one for me and one for Gaby. This is the one for me - my fourth skirt #112 of Burdastyle 05 / 2019. This is a very comfortable sporty style of skirt, which I like and intend to wear a lot and make again in other fabrics as well.

My first skirt 112 was size 36 and was too big, especially around the waist. So to cut this skirt I used the pieces of size 36, but reduced the widths by 1 cm (a total of 4 cm) and additionally reduced the waist by 1.5 cm (total of 6 cm). Now it fits me like a glove!

The pattern features a double yoke, pockets,  an invisible zipper at the back and lots of decorative stitching, which I decided in the end to make in black. My plaid fabric is busy enough with horizontal and vertical lines, so additional obtrusive decorative lines seamed a bit redundant.

A few shots with the sweater tucked in, to demonstrate better the construction of the skirt.

Pattern: Burda 112 05 / 2019

Fabric: wool with elastane

Size: 36, reduced

Time to make: 2 days

As for the lining - the pattern envisages lining only for the yoke, I had initially added a full lining, made out of acetate lining fabric, but it was too tight and messed with the fit of the skirt, especially when I tried to adjust it around the waist - the lining kept peeking out above the waist line. So in the end I removed it and added cotton lining only to the yoke, as per pattern. However, I believe full acetate lining, but properly fitted, would be better, as the wool does stick to the tights and I know wool garments benefit from lining. So, in the future, I might reconsider adding a lining to the lower part of the skirt as well.

Odyssey Shawl

Yesterday we hiked again to one of my most favourite places in the world - Lake Pchelina and I took advantage of the beautiful scenery to photo shoot my latest shawl - Odyssey by Joji Locatelli.
Initially the shawl was meant as a present, but Gaby liked it so much that I decided that it would be wiser to gift it to someone who really wanted it, so it is for her.

As my yarn is different from what the pattern calls for and I wanted to use up all of the 200 g I dyed for the shawl, I didn't follow strictly the pattern and made my straps of garter stitch in between the lace straps wider. And I'm so proud that I was able to calculate it so that finishing the last picot bind off row I had zero yarn left!

Pattern: Odyssey Shawl by Joji Locatelly (free on Ravelry)
Yarn: Italian Bobbin 100% merino, hand dyed, in two threads, 650 m / 100g, total 200 g
Needle: 4 mm
Time to knit: 10 days