3/7 Tulip skirt

Big change, this week I decided to try another pattern book!

I thought I could handle it easily but as a beginner, I really missed the pictures from Tilly and the Button’s patterns explanations. They are so much clearer! Don’t get me wrong, Vestiaire Scandinave does a big effort with drawings and instructions (much more than your regular classic pattern), but I got in quite a few tight spots of rage unpicking the belt 4 times last night.

I picked out Vestiaire Scandinave at Eyrolles this summer because it has lovely pure lines and quite a few wardrobe staples I thought I could handle. I was rather surprised to find that my size was the largest possible, and I’m a 42, not very inclusive!

The material is a raspberry coloured jeans I found at Les Coupons de Saint Pierre. Les Coupons is definitely my favourite shop, they have piles of three meters ‘coupons’ in all kind of colours and materials, you just need time and patience to dig through them to find some pure gems. Also if you spend more than 20 euros they give you a nice reusable purple bag!

Main takeaways from this project :

1. There is a reason why they tell you to use invisible zippers! Yes, it is not a scam, invisible zippers are indeed easier to sew. I used an oh-not-so-invisible one on this skirt (didn’t have the right shade of darker raspberry otherwise) and a lot of swearing was involved in the process!

2. The pattern didn’t originally have pockets, but what’s the point of a jeans skirt if it doesn’t have pockets, right? The only problem is I hadn’t taken into consideration the shape of the skirt and pockets make it puffier on the hips.

3. I debated a long time on the waistband if to make it larger or keep it small like in the pattern. In the end small won, it was extremely fiddly and had to baste it in place after the third attempt to get the top-stitch line more or less straight. More swearing, in multiple languages!

Even if it was a struggle, I’m quite happy with the finished skirt, it’s comfy and can be dressed up (for whenever we will be allowed out again!) or down.

Voilà