One Week One Pattern 2014 - Day Six/Seven

For the final couple of days of this challenge and in an attempt to reboot my sewing mojo, which seems to have deserted me, I decided to make myself a new skirt or two using this pattern.  I had stacks of fabric in my stash and as this Butterick pattern takes just two hours or so to make from scratch, I managed to find a bit of time, now Little Bird is back at school, to make some new ones.

I decided to use this spectacle-like print fabric for the first one, as it is quite an unusual and colourful print.  It is a very inexpensive synthetic fabric picked up in one of the local fabric shops I often frequent, for £1 per metre.  Not the usual sort of fabric I would use for a skirt of this type, but I like the finished effect.  I'm not sure how it will wash and wear, but I'll soon find out.

For Day Six I teamed it with a black, tightly fitting top, and teal patent leather sandals for a late summer day to evening look.

Here's a close-up of the print on this fabric.

For the second skirt I made this week, I decided to use a very special fabric that I've been keeping for who knows what.  It's a vintage Liberty of London print fabric, probably from the 70's or earlier, called Barnabus.  I bought it in the form of a pair of vintage curtains a few years ago on eBay.  The fabric had perished at the very edge due to sunlight, but otherwise it was in immaculate condition.

 

I love the jewel like tones in this fabric and as I don't have any need of curtains, as we tend to go for blinds here, I thought I would use some of it for this challenge.

If I'm honest, I wanted something that I could wear with my brown suede knee high boots and this was the most suitable thing I could find in my stash.  In addition, I've been reading in the fashion magazines lately, how dark floral prints are in this winter, probably not prints such as this granted, but this is my version of the trend.

Anyway, it's a beautiful quality fabric, I like the finished result (although it could be argued to look like it's been made from a curtain) and I know I will love wearing this come autumn/winter.  I teamed it with a lovely little black sweater which has little puffs on the shoulders, my brown suede boots (of course), brown tights and a brown necklace.

It felt good to get the sewing machine out again after a hiatus of a good few months, and good too to use up more of the fabric in my stash.  Mental note to self:  MUST DO MORE SEWING.

Many thanks to Jane at HandmadeJane for hosting this challenge.  I've really enjoyed reading the posts of participants and admiring everyone's creativity.  It's been incredibly inspiring.