Monday 22 September 2014

Floral Miette Skirt (and Bonus Playsuit Combo!)

Diary of a Chain Stitcher: Tilly and the Buttons Miette Skirt in John Kaldor Crepe

Today I've got a fairly simple make to share with you that makes a whole lot of difference to the wearability of my Holly Playsuit which I shared a couple of weeks ago. This project came about for a couple of reasons. After making my first cotton twill Miette Skirt and realising what a speedy and wearable make it was, I knew I wanted to make another in a less crisp fabric to achieve a softer and less obviously a-line look.

Diary of a Chain Stitcher: Tilly and the Buttons Miette Skirt in John Kaldor Crepe

Secondly the silhouette of the bodice and shorts combo from the initial design of By Hand London's Holly Jumpsuit  (which just to reiterate is not the bodice variation included in the final pattern now available) gave off a bit of a 1950s pin up vibe to me. My boyfriend said to me while we were taking the pictures that I was pretty much as exposed in Holly as I am in both of my Bombshell Swimsuits so I might as well model them for the blog. It was at that point that an image popped into my head of those stunning 1950s sewing patterns for bathing suits or beachwear that come with an additional wrap skirt to wear over the top. I've always loved the idea of these and thought why not whip up my own, slightly more contemporary version? I realised that the perfect solution for making my playsuit a little more modest already existed in my plan for a second Miette, and the ideal fabric for my second Miette already existed in the generous leftovers of crepe from my playsuit.

Diary of a Chain Stitcher: Miette Skirt with Holly Playsuit

The John Kaldor French Crepe I used for Holly is the absolute perfect fabric for the silhouette I wanted to achieve with this skirt, it has a good weight to it but still a beautiful drape which suits the simple silhouette and wrap of this perfectly. The skirt has been worn separately, paired with a simple t-shirt or cami, quite a lot over the summer. It's an easy thing to reach for in the morning on a hot day and suits my fairly active working lifestyle perfectly as it does not crease or wrinkle at all and falls back into place neatly.

Diary of a Chain Stitcher: Miette Skirt with Holly Playsuit

The crepe also worked out great for the skirt and playsuit combo. I was worried about things getting a bit too bulky around the waist area with the wrap of the skirt on top of the waistline of the playsuit but it's just light weight enough for this not to be an issue. It feels great as a dress and I think from a distance you can't even tell that it's not! It's got me excited about using this and the two released variations of the Holly bodice as part of a dress.

Diary of a Chain Stitcher: Miette Skirt with Holly Playsuit

I don't have much to report on the Miette Skirt pattern from Tilly and the Buttons as I sewed this up exactly as before; cutting between a size 2 and 3 at the waist, grading out to a 3 at the hips and taking a good 4" off the length. I again omitted the waist ties in favour of two buttons fastening each end of the wrap at the back of the waist. I used exactly the same buttons as I did for my first Miette. They are a good size for the waistband and the colour looked great with the gorgeous vivid colours of the print.

Diary of a Chain Stitcher: Tilly and the Buttons Miette Skirt in John Kaldor Crepe

With the exception of the ties I followed the throughly detailed and pictured instructions pretty much to the letter and was again incredibly pleased with the tidy finish. The crepe presses beautifully and holds a lovely crisp edge to the wrap. After much deliberation I used white thread throughout with the exception of the buttonholes for which I used purple. The white showed up nicely against the colours as a topstitched line but I felt when used for the dense stitching of a buttonhole and combined with those purple buttons it might have been too bright and jarring. I overlocked all the raw edges with white thread.

Diary of a Chain Stitcher: Tilly and the Buttons Miette Skirt in John Kaldor Crepe

We've had a little bit of a muggy wave of heat passing through London over the last week which has meant I've had a surprise extra bit of wear out of these two garments. I've got a feeling we're saying goodbye to summer for now though so I'm already looking forward to the next and any possible trips to the beach so I can wear the outfit complete!



33 comments:

  1. You, lady, are a sewing genius! These two patterns go together soooo perfectly. Love it!

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    1. What a compliment from a lady who is most certainly a sewing genius herself! Thanks Tilly! Miette is such a versatile pattern to work with, I keep thinking of more fabrics I want to try and make it up in!

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  2. So clever! It totally looks like a dress.

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    1. Thanks Jenny! I was worried about it being too bulky around the middle but the slim fit of Holly makes it perfect for a wrap. I think the busy print helps disguise that join

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  3. It's cute over the playsuit, but I hope you don't desperately have to go to the loo whilst wearing it! I think it will be much more useful as a skirt with other blouses. That fabric is gorgeous though, and your skirt will be a fantastic addition to your wardrobe! Just not over the playsuit. ;-)

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    1. Haha! Excellent concern! I have been getting more wear out of it as a separate skirt but have worn it as a combo and it's no more hassle than wearing a playsuit/jumpsuit on it's own really! I absolutely love this fabric so I'm sure the skirt is going to get worn to death!

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  4. What a fabulous idea! This is a match made in sewing heaven.

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    1. Ah thanks Anto! Making this has really inspired me to think about which other patterns I can pair up!

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  5. So cute! A good excuse to take a tropical holiday, just so you can wear it some more!

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    1. I could SO see you in this Nicole! With a fabulous big hat! I definitely need to find a sunny beach don't I...

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  6. You're far too young to remember Bucks Fizz winning the Eurovision with "Making your mind up" but your little collage of you whisking off the skirt brought it back to me.
    I would add that you look a million times more stylish in your version!!!!! Gorgeous

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    1. Gah! You beat me to it with the Buck's Fizz reference!! Gorgeous, gorgeous combo Fiona, I absolutely love it. x

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    2. You both just had me in stitches reading this! You are absolutely right and I LOVE it! Thanks ladies x

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    1. Thank you! I feel really great in it and I think it's the combination of good fit and good fabric making me feel really comfortable

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  8. This is gorgeous Fiona, and I love the skirt/playsuit combo!

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    1. Thanks :) I've always wanted to make up one of those combo vintage patterns so am super happy to have a more contemporary version now!

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  9. Beautiful! What a way to transition a very summer outfit into something more four season appropriate! Genius!

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    1. Thanks Vicki Kate! I love the playsuit so much I couldn't bear the fact that it might only get worn a couple of times a year so am mega happy with this one!

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  10. Super cute and clever idea. I love those vintage playsuits and this is so similar!

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    1. Your comment has made me so happy as the look of those vintage playsuits (but perhaps a bit more modern) is exactly what I was going for!

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  11. So perfect! I too have always adored those play suits with skirts over them. I already thought the playsuit was awesome but now it's even better!

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    1. Thanks Margo, I didn't think I could like my playsuit anymore either but it turns out I could!

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  12. I LOVE this! Great idea and fabric too!!!

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    1. Thank you Lisa, fabric is courtesy of the lovely Susan and Sewbox and is really wonderful to work with

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  13. I'm love love loving the playsuit!! Awesome!

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    1. This is so you Emmie I could absolutely see you on a tropical beach somewhere with flowers in your hair! In fact I think some of the pics of you looking so glam in Vegas may have subconsciously influenced this pattern combo!

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  14. What a brilliant idea! Those two patterns work perfectly together. I love how you omitted the ties on the Miette Skirt. I made the skirt last week and the only thing that makes it a bit less wearable than other skirts, is the tie in the front (can't wear it with all my pussy bow blouses for example). The fabric is pretty cool, too!

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    1. Yes I'm not a huge fan of the ties around the waist, it's just a personal style thing for me and it does make it more easily wearable without. I was actually inspired to change it to button fastening by Lauren from Lladybird who made a gorgeous red version

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  15. You're a genius!

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    1. O shhh you, the lady who can make anything from something else and dream up creations which I would never have thought of!

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  16. Such a great idea and so cute! Love this on you!!!!!

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    1. Thanks Sonja, I kind of love it on me too! It's such a comfortable combo to wear and all stays sitting in the right place throughout the day which is a big win with any garment I think!

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