Good morning! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Birthday party season has been in full swing around here, so it’s been party after party these past few weekends, which is always great until the sugar crash hits…still, it’s been festive and summer-like.
This week, I did something a little different. A couple of weeks ago, the very talented Marte contacted me with some questions about a Japanese pattern. Funnily enough, I had just cut out the pattern for the very skirt she was asking about so we decided to do a mini sew-along using the same pattern! So fun! I’ll show you my version first, and then you can take a peek at Marte’s loveliness.
The pattern we both used is from this book. In the book, it looks like the skirt is made out of cotton or linen (or a blend), but I’ve been really trying to sew more with knit jerseys lately. The fact of the matter is that the only handmade clothes K regularly reaches for are the knits. She’ll wear the other stuff when I pull them out for her to wear while she’s still sleepy and incoherent in the morning, but otherwise, it’s all knits, all the time.
The fabric is from here, of course, but I, um, may have bought the last of their stock. Girl Charlee also carries this delightful sparkly dotted jersey, which says white, but my fabric is more cream-colored.
Remember my faux rompers? Well, I wanted to incorporate the same concept here. The thing that makes this skirt extra special is that it has built-in shorts (awesome for handstands, which is all the rage). I knew that K would want this to be a dress and I was right; as soon as she saw the skirt in progress she said, “Oh, I love that dress!”. As a dress, though, the built-in shorts pose a problem. Good thing I had already made a top in the same fabric. The pattern for the top is from this book, and is the same one as I used for the maritime stripey tee – I just replaced the sleeves with bias binding.
We tried to see if one of my belts would work, but nope.
This jersey is absolutely lovely. Great drape, pretty dots, fairly easy to work with. The best part, of course, is that K couldn’t wait for me to finish this outfit. She wore it Friday night to a school performance (she was MC for a puppet show of “The Tortoise and the Hare” and did a fabulous job) and had apparently told everyone at school about the outfit during the day while I was finishing it up. She was so happy and proud to wear what I made. How fluttery and pleased did I feel? Very, very.
As for my sew-along partner, Marte has been blogging for just a few short months, and already she’s the talk of the town, with good reason. Most recently she guest-posted for E & E, one of my regular reads, and I love Marte’s style. She infuses the clothes she makes for her twin daughters with that wonderful Belgian sensibility, and she’s even drafting her own patterns. The woman has serious sewing skills! Check out her blog for more details about the sweet skirt she made, and discover a plethora of amazing creations if you haven’t already!
And did you hear? Shorts on the Line just started and Carla and Rachael have so many great prizes! Check out the fun line-up of guest bloggers listed here and stop on by this Wednesday to see what I made…
Thanks for the nice combination post! I really like your version a lot! M
Love your ensemble, and this was such a nice impromptu sew-along! Thanks Marte!
How funny! I went to bed with that very same book (recent bday gift) last night and was trying to figure out that skirt! This book so makes me wish I could read Japanese, as I’m sure it’s full of great hints and tips. K’s outfit is so lovely, and with it being knit, will be worn often I’m sure. Love the shorts underneath – very important for active 6 yr olds:)
So excited that you did a little sew-along with Marte! I found her blog too recently, and already requested her Stella skirt pattern. Such a generous and talented lady! Hope to see more collaborations with you two:)
It’s a great book, Lucinda! And definitely feel free to ask me any questions – happy to help any time! The thing that makes this skirt construction a little different is that the shorts are sewn in a way where you flip the shorts back inside to encase the raw edges where you sewed the skirt to the shorts – make sense? I’ll have to do a tutorial! My tutorial-to-do queue is piling up…
And yes, Marte is very sweet and there are already plans for future collaboration! 🙂
Love this! Shorts under skirts are now a requirement from my Sweet Pea! She just won’t wear skirts without shorts!
The shorts totally make the skirt, Teresa! She usually likes wearing half-leggings under her skirts, but now that it’s heating up a bit, shorts work brilliantly 🙂
I flipped through the book, looked for the top you made and aha…I found it! I like your version without sleeves, it’s perfect for summer and gold dots knit is darling! it looks so comfy on K.
It’s the most comfortable outfit, Yeka! K adores it to pieces and for a kid who has an entire handmade wardrobe, you’d think she’d get excited like this more often. Sadly, not the case…
Sanae, I Love it! it says femininity and at the same time comfort. Beautiful fabric print to!. The version of Marte is very pretty too, I’m not a fan of green, but the fabric of her shirt caught my eye, beautiful!
Thanks you, Maria! I love Marte’s shirt too – I think the top and skirt go together beautifully!
Love your dot fabric…LOVE. I pinned your supplier for future fabric needs. I just saw the shorts on the line over the weekend…so much to keep up with. I never manage to ‘sew along.’ I more sew on a 6 week delay… Looking forward to seeing your contributions, though!
Hi Monica! It’s true…I’m having trouble keeping up with all the sew-alongs and sewing events going on right now. Seems like summer is a busy time for folks who like to sew 🙂
This outfit is gorgeous! Where do you find these briljant fabrics? And beautiful pics as always…
Thanks An! I get a lot of my fabric from Drygoods when they have their epic sales – this knit (and a few others I got) were 30% off and the owner gave me a little extra fabric across the board so it was a great deal.
This fabric…..looks amazing. I want her outfit.
I know, right? I was going to make myself a drapey top with this fabric but I’m really happy with the way this came out and K’s expression of pure happiness was more than worth it. 🙂
OMG. I have same fabric! What can I make after this beautiful outfit!? And also, I made same skirt using same pattern lately! Oh my, oh my…
How funny! I think I’ve seen this fabric used elsewhere too – Noodlehead, maybe? And this skirt is really great, though as Marte indicated, the sizing does seem to run a little large.
DOH! I’ve actually been eyeing that fabric on the drygoods site for a couple of weeks and never pulled the trigger. Now they are out! This outfit is sooooo fantastic and Yuki is the same about knits – she won’t wear anything else. It’s just so much more practical and comfy and with this great knit and the styles you chose, she can be stylish too! I love it!
I’m pretty sure the Girl Charlee fabric is the same one and to be honest, I think the price point is better, Cherie. Kids love their knits, and sometimes I get a little wistful about all the clothes that languish in her closet unloved. But I’m getting a lot of practice sewing knits/jerseys and I’ve finally conquered my fears!
This is such a lovely outfit. Thank you for mentioning us. 🙂 Love that fabric!