Six Skirts for Summer

When Julie at Fabric Mart shared that Fabric Mart would host a skirt challenge month in May I knew I wanted to participate but an honest evaluation of my closet revealed a gaping hole- and it wasn't skirts.  

I have PLENTY of skirts, and most of them handmade!  What I was lacking were suitable tops that looked great with my skirts.    

This is where I turned to the Closet Case Nettie, a full bodysuit.  I blogged mostly about the Nettie pattern on the Fabric Mart blog and promised that I would speak to all the skirts I paired with it on this blog.  So here ya go.

Skirt #1

This skirt was a Christmas present from my Mom some years ago.  It is an awesome wrap skirt that ties at the back, the skirt portion is all one printed piece.  I love this skirt, so comfortable and the design is so fun.  I have tried to find a similar pattern and the closest I have come is in the book Shape Shape 2. Its a pattern for a seamless wrap skirt that has a waistband and ties.  

Its possible to get a similar look from McCall's 7129 but it looks a little more full to my eye than the skirt I am wearing.   

Just a side note, aren't these huge whimsical flowers awesome!  I happened to notice them when I went to sign up for a quilting class and convinced my husband to snap a few pictures with them.  

Skirt #2

I made this skirt a couple of years ago for work purposes.  It is sooo hot here in the summers and I though this rayon challis maxi would be great for summer work days.  Its McCall's 7096 and I just never got around to blogging it.  I remember being so proud of my stripe matching when I made it, especially at the back since I had to piece the fabric together to get enough length.  Those stripes match all the way around!

This skirt is a good pattern, I made it in a gorgeous blue and you can that one here.  The fabric is a rayon challis from Hancock Fabrics, I still miss you Hancocks!  It has a good weight to it, a little more substantial than some rayon challis. 

Skirt #3

I posted this skirt last August and wrote about it here.  It is a really luxurious skirt, charmeuse feels so good and knowing that my Mom and Grandmother both wore this pattern elevates everything about it to me.  I loved the way it paired so perfectly with this bodysuit.  Since charmeuse can show every little lump and bump the bodysuit worked great to smooth things out in the caboose area. Just sayin. 

The pattern is a paneled, gathered wrap skirt.  McCall's 5430 might achieve something similar, plus it has a ruffle option and I am seeing ruffles everywhere these days!   

If you are new to working with charmeuse, I will say it again, get yourself some Sullivans fabric stabilizer and stabilize that shifty fabric.  It can be real pain to sew charmeuse without some form of stabilizer.  

Skirt #4

I made this Hollyburn skirt by Sewaholic about two years ago and rarely wear it. I don't think I was really very happy with the tops I paired it with and the top in the original blog post is long gone, a mishap with a jumping dog and his untrimmed claws.  Now with a great top to pair it with it will see more outings!  Yippee!   

As far as the Hollyburn skirt pattern goes, I remember it being a really enjoyable sew and I don't know why I haven't tried my hand at one of the longer versions, need to do that.  The pockets are great and I love the fullness of the skirt, its just enough not to be too vintage looking.  Not that there's anything wrong with vintage its just not my strong preference.

Skirt #5

I can't recall that I ever blogged this skirt.  It is from the Built By Wendy Sewing book.  I really love that little book, I bought it at the beginning of my sewing journey and its a great little introduction to sewing and making your projects your own.  The denim used here was thrifted and has no stretch.  I drafted the pockets and added the belt loops.  Its a great skirt. It does have the tendency to cling to this bodysuit, not sure why but, meh, it doesn't keep me from wearing them together.  

I love a good A-line skirt pattern and have used this one several times.  I looked over a few sewing pattern company's offerings and I didn't spot a simple A-line off the bat.  I am sure there has to be one out there, but if you like the idea of a denim skirt with similar styling to mine I suggest McCall's 7475.  It has some of the features that I added to mine, pockets, belt loops and a yoke (which I didn't add).  Do note that its a little fuller than mine.    

Skirt # 6

I love so many things about this Simplicity pattern Cynthia Rowley skirt (2215).  It is so sad that its out of print (oop) because it has so many cute features that I haven't seen elsewhere.  The pleats are not uniform, which makes them fun to sew and the side pockets are so well explained and placed.  The invisible zipper is magically incorporated in the side pocket and the included instructions were wonderful.  

I blogged about this skirt along with a lot of other spring separates in this post. As you can see its a pretty full skirt but the style is so fun to wear that I can overlook the excessive fluff. 

I used a cotton eyelet from Fabric Mart and jimmied my own lining out of yellow linen. 

There you have it, six skirts for summer...and the Nettie bodysuit works so well with all of them.  I have to hand it to my husband for taking all these pictures, there were a lot of wardrobe changes but I was so excited to see how well the bodysuit paired with my skirts that I kept saying "just one more, let me see how it looks!"  

I hope you feel inspired to try your hand at either a bodysuit or a summer skirt and make your significant other take lots of pictures of you too! :)

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

Elizabeth