wiksten skirts

I'm really looking forward to trying out the Tova shirt pattern and in the spirit of all things 'Wiksten', here are my two other efforts so far. They are versions of the tulip skirt pattern that was featured in 'Stitch' magazine. (It's a US publication, but I managed to track down a UK stockist.) The pattern is so, so, so easy to understand and at the same time, very professional. The finishing details on this pattern are particularly impressive! I'm not a very good seamstress, but I took it slowly and carefully, followed all the instructions and pressed constantly*.

My first version was in navy blue. I bought some lovely Irish linen, which was insanely difficult to cut accurately, but I managed to get everything to sort of line up. I used some gold thread for the top stitching and faux-tortoisehell buttons with brass edging.

I've just made a second version in tan cord. This time, I changed things up a little. I put in belt loops instead of ties to make the waistband less bulky. Cord is...bulky. I also used shirting for the facing pieces, same reason. Then, at the last minute, I decided to only put in two buttons and then sew the rest of the placket up the middle. Crazy! I think it worked out okay, though.

Soon, I'll have a couple of tops to match...come on, Mr Postman!

* Wendy Mullin's sewing-for-starter's book, 'Sew U', is pretty essential in my view.