Brook Blossom Skirt
This may be my last catching up post! Although I bet I still have items I haven't photographed or written about. I'll get to those, eventually...
I have posted teaser photos of this skirt on my instagram for a while and finally posted the full "reveal" picture last week. Now, I am finally writing about it! This is the last item in my pattern testing craze I have been on this summer. I swear, there is nothing else I am testing (at the moment of writing this post).
I love half circle skirts! In the past I have made quite a few of them. By Hand London has a neat little app that does all the complicated math for you. I've used it in the past for all kinds of circle skirts and it is wonderful. However, I was attracted to Brook Blossom Skirt because of the yoke. I love the simple half circle shape, but I felt that the addition of the yoke would help the skirt lie flat in the tummy area.
Brook Blossom Skirt comes in 3 views. A full length skirt, a midi skirt and a high-low skirt. I was intrigued by a high-low skirt option, but signed up to test the midi length.
The skirt is really easy to sew. Although for a super novice sewer it may be a nice challenge, as the skirt is attached to the yoke on a curve and the yoke is lined with a self piece. There is also a side zipper insertion. Overall, though, I don't think this is a very complicated item to sew.
The instructions are clear, and they recommend the skirt to hang for 24 hours prior to hemming. I highly recommend it myself!! Because the fabric is cut on all grains, including bias, it tends to stretch out as it hangs. So after the skirt hangs, the hem becomes uneven. It is easy to even out the hem with a tape measure though. Just measure out the length from the waistband down around the skirt and trim off the excess.
My first skirt, in midi length, was made out of polyester suiting. I grabbed so much of this fabric last year in various colors that I am just finishing working through it. It is nice and easy to work with and is very inexpensive. However, because it is polyester, it does get quite warm with wear. So the skirt turned out to be more of a cold weather skirt.
I really liked how the first skirt turned out, and I have always wanted to give a high-low skirt a try. So after finishing my first skirt, I promptly decided to make the high-low view. I personally do not quite like the drastic difference in high and low hem, so I decided to even it out a little bit. I brought the back hem of the skirt up so that it would hit just below my knees in the back.
After trying the skirt on, and before hemming it, I also decided to even out the sides, since the dip from the front to the back was pretty sharp for such a little difference in the length. The skirt looked almost like it had a dip straight down at the sides. I didn't really think long about it, I laid the skirt out on my cutting table and eye balled where I should cut it. I like to live on the edge!
However, I am very happy with how it turned out! The difference in the high and low hem is very gentle and the transition turned out pretty smooth and soft.
In hindsight, I wish I put belt loops on the skirt. I don't know why, but for some reason I just feel like the skirt needs a belt loop... It's not really an issue at all though. I don't really need loops to wear a belt if I wish to do so.
What about you, have you tried circle or half circle skirts?
Love,
Anya