Pattern Testing – The Honeydew Skirt

About a month ago, Mari from Seamster Patterns was looking for beginner sewists in small sizes to test her new skirt pattern.  I immediately offered up Daughters 1 & 2 for the job.  The size Mari needed to be tested was perfect for Daughter No1, so she got the job over the Easter holidays.  We rumaged through the stash and found a piece I’d bought about 3 years or so ago – perfect.

The skirt has an A-Line shape, consisting of a single front panel cut on the fold & 3 panels in the back, fuller and longer than the front.  It also has in-seam pockets.  I love fullness in the back of a skirt, it’s really feminine.  There are a choice of 3 waistbands, and the skirt can be worn on the hip or the natural waist, depending on which waistband you choose.  Daughter No1 likes to wear things low, so she chose option C with the overlapping font waistband.

The pattern was easy to trace out, and the instructions great for a beginner to follow.  I hovered over her shoulder to help out where needed, but Daughter No1 did ok. We made no changes to the patern, apart from the hem.  With this crisp fabric and the width of the hem, it was not going to be a neat finish, so I suggested cutting off all but 1cm and attaching a wide bias binding.  We turned the binding to the inside and I hemmed it with herringbone stitch.  This means that with the slight drop at the back that you get a glimpse now and then of the dark blue bias, which we rather like.

I like the finished skirt, it looks fantastic & I also like seeing her in a slightly longer skirt than she normally wears!  However, she would have prefered it to have been about 15 to 20cm shorter.  Not that she won’t ever wear it like this, it just makes her feel “too mature”.  I think that means – old.  Ha!  She’s in her 20s now, she’d better get used to that feeling!  🙂

She has said it would be perfect for going out with Boyfriend & his family, or for a summer barbeque where most of the attendees would be older than her.  Daughter No2 of course, loves it and would happily have grabbed it for herself – but it doesn’t fit!  Now one thing about fabric choice with this skirt.  You must choose something with stretch.  This stretch cotton was fine, but for Daughter No2 to steal it we’d have had to put a zip in the side seam, it just will not go over her hips.  Another factor to consider is the drape of the fabric.  The cotton we dug out of the stash was rather crisp and didn’t drape as well as it could have in the back.

So would I recommend this pattern?  YES!  It is called the Honeydew Skirt & is available as a PDF in a large scale format so you don’t need to paste together all those pesky A4s, or, if you’re a sucker for punishment, that option is still available.  There is also a paper pattern in the works, see Seamster Pattern‘s website for more details.  Thanks Mari, for letting us test another of your patterns,

I’d like to make this pattern myself, one for Daughter No2 and another for Daughter No1, but shorter, and see if she’s happier with it.  Now, I wonder if I can claim this as an entry for #SewingIndieMonth??

Author: Anne W

I love fabric, and sewing. And I could do nothing else but sew, all day, every day, if I could! View all posts by Anne W