Made It (by the skin of my teeth) in May

I desperately wanted to get a second skirt finished for the Make It In May challenge, so of course, I procrastinated and left it literally 'til the last minute (I finished the bottom hem at around 7PM lastnight).

The pattern had been sitting on the kitchen bench for over two weeks just waiting to be traced and cut!

This is the Lisette Market Skirt (Simplicity 2211) in View A.

I found this black corduroy (which is really hard to photograph) in the stash. I'm pretty sure it was op shopped a while back.

There was only just enough for the skirt.

I made a couple of small changes - I omitted the tabs that sit along the waistline, and I added pockets instead. I figured that I didn't need to add both details as I wanted the skirt to be quite plain.

Those cute pleats at the front are mirrored at the back, and there's a side zip.

This skirt was really easy to make and would be cute for summer in a nice quilting weight fabric too!

This one's a keeper.


Sign Up Post
Flickr Group

Nearly the end of the month...

The Make It In May Skirt Sew-Along has been lots of fun, and it's given me some much needed motivation (and a kick up the behind) to make some clothes for myself.

I know there are still some peeps who are working on their skirts, so I'll keep posting round ups as they come in.

Here are the ones that have made it before Pumpkin O'clock (ie. the deadline)!

Skirt 1

Butterick B4461 by Marina from Wink Designs. This is such a cool design - totally up my alley. Adding it to my 'I want this pattern' list in Evernote. PS - make sure you click over to check out Marina's new boots.

Skirt 2

Nikki's You Sew Girl A-Line skirt by Mousiemouse on Flickr. Love the embellishment that runs along the bottom, and there's another fantastic a-line skirt with doileys too!

 Skirt 3

This skirt has a very sweet story. Susie from Flowerpress is teaching her daughter to sew and this skirt is their first project together.

Skirt 4

Clothkits Trellick Skirt by Tania from Myrtle & Eunice. I know she loves a last minute challenge and she certainly didn't disappoint!
 

Skirt 5

An almost finished freestyle skirt by Nicole from Dabbling All Day. I'll re-visit this one soon.

Skirt 6

The second of Nikki's You Sew Girl A-Line skirts  this time by Liz from Arty Lady. The retro fabric is completely gorgeous and this version is also fab as is gives you a great comparison in how the shorter length gives a completely different look.


Thankyou so much ladies!

I managed to finish my second skirt before the deadline, but not in time to actually take any decent photos... so I'll have to save that for tomorrow.

If you've finished and I haven't added you to the linky list on the left hand sidebar, please email me to let me know.


Sign Up Post
Flickr Group
 

More From Make It In May

It's full speed ahead on the Make It In May Skirt Sew-Along... lots of finishers before we reach the end of the month, and a great range of totally different skirts today!

Skirt 1

This is Kwik Sew 3914 by Coco from Coco's Loft.  Such a lovely flowy style, and I must admit that I love that one of the pattern adjustments she made was to add pockets in the side seam (Oh how I love pockets).

Skirt 2

Cherrie from Willy Wagtail has made one of her wonderful tablecloth skirts. Every time I spot a circular tablecloth now, it makes me think about Cherrie's skirts.

Skirt 3

Rachel from Four Wise Monkeys sewed this Collette Ginger Skirt while on a weekend away at Sewjourn (totally jealous).  I'm really loving the high waist and that cute front seam.

Skirt 4

Michelle from Buttontree Lane has made a freestyle no pattern skirt using this gorgeous ponti knit from Spotty (I totally want to try this out at home). Swooning over the rose print here...

Skirt 5

Lara from Thornberry has made a denim version of Nikki's You Sew Girl A-Line skirt with gorgeous yellow topstitching, and groovy pockets from a vintage pattern.


Skirt 6

Sarah from If I Only Had Chocolate has also made Nikki's You Sew Girl A-Line skirt.

I can't seem to work out how to retrieve a photo from her slideshow to show you!



Thankyou so much for joining in the fun ladies!

Please follow the links and check out all the details on each post.

These sew-alongs are fantastic for gaining really useful sewing tips and tricks. Seeing how people can make simple modifications for a better fit for their particular body shape, or how adding a little embellishment like coloured top stitching can such a difference, is a real eye-opener and can make you much more brave when it comes to the challenge of sewing your own clothes.

More Make It In May Skirts

We have six days to go.... I wonder how many more Make It In May skirts will get finished?

Nikki whipped up two versions of her You Sew Girl A-Line skirt this week.

A lovely long version...

... and a gorgeous short version.

Which reminds me, that I must try out a panelled skirt for myself.

Carmel also made the You Sew Girl A-Line Skirt. It looks fab in denim.

Checkout the schmick invisible zip!

Thankyou Ladies


Sign Up Post
Flickr Group
 

The Make It In May Skirt Sew Along...

I'm a little bit behind in skirt features... so here's this weeks group of finishers.

Number one is Beccasauras with Simplicity 2226 made using a vintage curtain (note the lovely handmade bag too)!

Number two is Jody Pearl with a variation of the Splice Skirt in a plain denim. Plain skirts are the perfect wardrobe staple!

Number three and four are both by Dione from Sew Funky (number 4 isn't in the Flickr group sorry). Dione drafted a pattern based on a skirt that she already had in her wardrobe, and after a little adjusting - voila!

Number five for tonight is this Burda 3058 by Brenda from Mira Narnie. Check out the supercute pocket!  This skirt is really similar to the Lisette Market Skirt that is on my list.

Number six is a Nicole Mallalieu  You Sew Girl A-Line Skirt by Sheridan from Chaletgirl 

Thankyou all so much for joining in and sewing along!


Sign Up Post
Flickr Group
 

The Make It In May Skirt Sew Along - Group 2

Two more gorgeous skirts are on show today as part of the Make It In May Skirt Sew-Along!

First up is this beautiful Jody Pearl Splice Skirt by Denise from Hot Possum.

And.... Leonie from New Views Clues and Reviews has managed to finish another Wrap Skirt from Nikki's You Sew Girl Book.

Thankyou ladies!

Don't forget, if you've finished your skirt, please add it to the Flickr Group (with your blog link) so that I make sure to add you to the sidebar and feature your skirt on the blog.
If you don't have Flickr, then just email them to me instead (mscurlypops (at) gmail (dot) com), and I'll upload your photos for you!


Sign Up Post
Flickr Group

The Make It In May Skirt Sew-Along - Here's mine!

Unfortunately Frances is not as wide as me, so the skirt is clipped in at the back to stay up

I've finished my first skirt for the Make It In May Skirt Sew-Along!

It's a little bit later than what I'd first hoped, but I'm completely chuffed with it and I love it.

The pattern is the Nicole Mallalieu Design You Sew Girl A-Line Skirt Pattern which I stock in my shop here.

The pattern doesn't have pockets - I've added them using my own template to satisfy my slightly absurd pocket obsession!

Reasons why I love this pattern:

• It suits my shape
• The fully interfaced waist band does wonders for my belly
• It's comfortable
• It can be shortened to any length (I choose to make mine knee length as I rather like my lower legs)
• There is an instruction booklet with a step by step guide and lots of photos.
• My finished product looks like an expensive shop-bought skirt
• The pattern is paper (not tissue)

I picked up this wool suiting fabric during the Spotty 40% off sale, so the fabric for the entire skirt only cost around $7.

**Edit: I just found the receipt from Spotty - it's Wool Suiting CLT #22 Grey, 147cm - it was $8.99 per metre (after the 40%) off and I only used 1 metre for a knee length in size 14, so the actual fabric cost was really $9

I originally intended to use an invisible zip at the back, but I had a little accident and mangled the teeth of the zip. Then while trying to fix the teeth, I completely broke the zip... so instead of taking another trip to Spotty, I used a dress zip from the stash instead.

I've never sewn with wool suiting before. but I'm loving the way it drapes. It's hard to get excited about a plain grey fabric when you're shopping and sewing, but this skirt is going to make lots of coloured/patterned tops in my wardrobe much more wearable during the winter months.

I'm taking it for the first test run in the city tomorrow. It should fit in well in the centre of black/charcoal grey loving Melbourne!

The Make It In May Skirt Challenge First Finishers

We're only a week into the month and there's already three finished skirts. Whoah that was speedy work!

I had grand plans yesterday, but then had a little detour, so fingers crossed for a start today.

Photo Courtesy

This lovely skirt (Simplicity 2226) is by Lisa from The Princess and The Monkey.  Pop on over to her blog for all of the pattern details. I've already added this to my pattern wishlist as I think it will really suit my shape too!

It has pockets (my obsession)...

Thankyou Lisa.

Photo Courtesy

Next up is this gorgeous Wrap Skirt (from Nikki's You Sew Girl Book) by Leonie from News Views Clues & Reviews.

Leonie is an artist and has added a screen printed panel of one of her own works to the front. Gorgeous!

Thankyou Leonie.

Photo Courtesy

Finally for today, this amazing skirt is a Jody Pearl Splice Skirt by Wanda from WandaWorks.

It's just beautiful!

Thankyou Wanda.



So, first post and three completely different skirts!

The wonderful thing about this challenge is that by the end of the month there's going to be a whole range of different skirts that will suit different shapes and sizes. So if you're looking for the perfect skirt pattern to suit your own body shape, I'm hoping that this will be a great resource.

You can still join in the challenge at any time during the month. Links to all of the completed skirts are on the sidebar.

Please join the Flickr Group and add photos of your finished creations during the month.

Sign Up Post
Flickr Group

The 'Make It In May' Skirt Sew-Along

It's time for a Make It In May Skirt Sew-Along crafty peeps!

Here are the rules (should you choose to accept them):

1. Sign up on the dotted line below
2. Choose your favourite skirt pattern
3. Pick a fantabulous fabric
4. Sew Sew Sew
5. Blog it and show it off

I'm making myself a winter version of the You Sew Girl A-Line Skirt using some gorgeous dark grey wool suiting that I picked up at the last Spotty sale. I'm hoping that I'll also have time to make at least one of the Lisette Skirts too (fingers crossed)!

I've been using some of my newly learned photoshop skills on the button - feel free to add it to your blog and link it to this post!

You can just right click and save the button above (it's 200px wide) or copy and paste the html code below

<a href="http://www.curlypops.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/make-it-in-may-skirt-sew-along.html"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/7127652389_f0a392cd72_o.png">

Lets go!

Random Friday

The first photoshop class was fabulous yesterday. It's been so long since I've been anywhere near a classroom, but it's really re-inforced to me that I'm most definitely a teacher/classroom/textbook type of learner.

The bonus bit - I finally met Cintia from My Poppet as we're both doing the course (thank goodness she tweeted about it or I may have missed out)!


The festival of birthday begins today with watching the Preppie in a class performance at school assembly, and then we have the sisterlyopshoppingpalooza (I'm sure that's a real word), and lunch at my favourite cafe (sorry pulmonary rehab, but I'm ditching you today)!

 Photo courtesy Copper Patch

Abbe needs some help answering some Craft Retreat questions here.

I'm testing out my newly learned vector drawing skills on the May Skirt Sew Along button. I'm hoping that it looks like a skirt in a wintery type fabric?

Anyway, check out the blog on Monday to sign up for the Sew Along. You can make any skirt that your heart desires for the challenge, but if you're thinking about making a You Sew Girl A-Line Skirt, the pattern is available here.

Happy Random Friday!