I've been wanting to move my blog away from Blogspot for a while but could never be bothered to actually do it. This week was the tipping point though, and I've now fully migrated over to https://patsypoomakes.wordpress.com/ . The blogspot address will remain here but all new posts will only appear at https://patsypoomakes.wordpress.com/ . There are lots of reasons for the move but my biggest one is how hard Blogger has made it for people to subscribe to receive new posts via email. It's such a basic requirement but apparently, they think it's too much to offer. I'm basing this purely on how I myself prefer to consume this stuff. I can't be arsed with feed readers anymore and emails are easy and convenient. When I receive one, if I fancy reading it, I will click through to it and, if not, I'll just delete it. Another reason is the spat between Google (owners of Blogger) and Instagram/Facebook/Meta. I don't even know if this is still the case anymore ...
This pattern has been in my pattern box since it came out. Not only that, I won a kit to make this skirt from Fabricate's Sew Saturday celebrations last year. That was in October! I can't believe how long it's taken me to come round to finally making this. There always seemed to be something getting in the way...
The Ness skirt is another hit from Her Majesty, Queen Tilly. It has a yoke in the back for shaping, jeans style pockets on the back and the front and there's a zip fly closure. The pattern offers 2 options - a mini skirt and a below the knee version, with a centre front split. It's a very jeans-like skirt, actually. It would be a great warm-up for someone who's never made jeans before. You get all the traditional jeans styling, topstitching and heavier fabric without the potential headache that trouser fitting can sometimes cause.
For my version, I chose the mini skirt option. I was a bit worried it might be too short and I considered lengthening the pattern. But, after checking the measurements, I decided to just go with it and it was the right thing to do. I cut the size 3, my usual for Tilly's patterns, and I didn't alter anything. If I was a stickler for things being perfect, I probably should make some kind of adjustment for my bottom for next time. The back hem rides up a little because of my sticky-outy bum. However, I myself can barely notice it and, most importantly, I just cannot be arsed! I love how it fits. There's still room around the waist to fit a big meal if I want to.
You may or may not have noticed that the fabric is black. I'm not a fan of black. I don't wear black and, therefore, I don't buy black. On the other hand, occasionally I miss having a bit of black in my wardrobe to pair with other colours. So having won this kit was actually the kick up the bum I needed to make myself a basic black skirt. I can tell you now that I will wear this LOADS! It basically goes with everything I have and I am 100% completely in love with it.
The fabric is a gorgeous corduroy - and Philippa still has some in stock. It's an 8-wale cord and it was great to sew with. Even though it's quite heavy and thick, it was very well behaved. The only downside (and it isn't really a downside) was how much black fluff it left everywhere. Seriously, my sewing room was covered in it. 😂
I also got the topstitching thread as part of the kit and I chose this dark copper colour, which is gorgeous. I wanted a subtle topstitching effect. Just one line everywhere and I completely omitted it from the waistband. The hem is stitched in regular black thread. The end result is exactly what I was after. Sometimes topstitching can make things look fairly casual and I didn't want that here. I want to be able to dress my Ness up or down.
The whole process of making this skirt was very enjoyable and surprisingly quick. I had to stop before I was done, because of the Rosa Sewalong, which is something I don't often do. Ordinarily, I think I could have made it in just a couple of afternoons.
The zip fly fills me with joy. I nailed it! Thanks in part to Tilly's super helpful video, of course. Zip flies can seem scary but all you need to do is pay attention to the instructions and follow each step. The less you think about what's coming next the better.
One thing I'm a little disappointed about it how the instructions direct you to sew your pocket bags so that the right side of the fabric faces in. Which means you only see your cute fabric if you pull your pocket out... Pretty pointless, I think. Next time, I'll make sure to swap sides so the right side of the pocket bags can cheer me up every time I look at the inside of the skirt.
I'll be back next week with a shirt dress I forgot I'd made 🤦♀️🙊 and I will soon have an epic men's shirt to share as well. Have a great weekend, everyone!