I am much better at this now, but back in the day (a day= a year…ish) I used to buy every gorgeous pattern that crossed the path of my computer screen. I spent very little time thinking about whether or not the pattern would work for me and my body and even my personal style preferences (example: I had sworn up and down for years that I didn’t like the high-low hems of so many of the skirts and dresses that seemed to have suddenly come into fashion, but guess who immediately bought a Cascade skirt pattern by Megan Nielsen when it showed up on her Bloglovin’ feed?), and this led to an abundance of patterns piling up under my cutting table in my craft room. Instead of looking at the stack and feeling inspired, I usually ended up feeling overwhelmed- where does one even start with dozens and dozens of patterns to choose from? I had been successful in my effort to not buy fabric unless I knew exactly what project it was going to be sewn into, and I wanted to include my pattern purchases in this endeavor, too. I don’t want to be a pattern/fabric hoarder because it seems so antithetical to why I sew so much of my clothing in the first place. I want to maintain thoughtfulness about all aspects of my clothing, not only it’s construction, but it’s inception, too.
This all comes into play because Deer and Doe released a pattern for a long maxi-skirt called Fumeterre a while back. Not sure if you have gleaned this from past posts, but I LOVE a good maxi. The pattern was right up my alley, with lovely design features like belt loops, options for a button or fly-front, a partially elasticized waist (holla praise!) and a slim fit in the hips. I was obviously all for buying this pattern because it screamed Jasiiiiiikkkkkaaaaaa but then I remembered that I had bought another printed Deer and Doe pattern many many months before and had yet to make it up. The pattern is for a simple collared blouse designed for stretch knit fabric, and it’s super cute and probably a quick/easy project, too….but still it sat on my shelf collecting dust. I hadn’t bought any fabric for it yet. I didn’t even know what I wanted it to look like when I did decide to make it. Dark grey? Cream colored? Pink? Did I even need this blouse in my wardrobe? I was annoyed with my past self for frivolously spending money on yet another thing without really thinking the purchase through, and also annoyed that now, all these months later, I was hesitating to buy the Fumeterre skirt pattern because of that frivolity.
I pinned the image of the skirt onto my “Patterns to Make” Pinterest board thinking, out of sight, out of mind, but a week later I was still thinking about the skirt, of what I could pair it with in my closet, what color and material I would sew it in, whether I wanted to match the length of the skirt to my high heeled booties or to my clogs.
So you know what I did?
I JUST BOUGHT THE DAMN PATTERN.
There is no moral to this story. Sometimes you commit yourself to a movement or to an ideal or to a new way of living/thinking/breathing and you fall off. Sometimes you forget what you promised yourself, or sometimes you remember precisely what you are “supposed” to be doing and you decide not to do it anyways. And that’s okay. It doesn’t erase all the times you stuck to your guns and accomplished what you meant to do, and it doesn’t mean you can’t re-dedicate yourself to whatever you pledged to do after you fell off the wagon. We are humans, capable of fault, but also capable of forgiving ourselves. As political as my sewing has become over the past couple of years, I don’t want to lose sight of the reason I started sewing in the first place: because it’s fun! It’s a way for me to practice self care! And if buying two stunning yards of fabric every once in a while with no clue when or how it is going to get used makes me feel spontaneous and re-invigorated about my sewing, so be it. If discovering a gorgeous pair of shoes on sale at a store that I have vowed never to shop at again (I’m looking at YOU, Anthropologie) is going to give me that warm, fuzzy feeling of Ultimate! Consumer! Success! just this one time, I’m not gonna beat myself up about it for weeks on end. I want to make enough space within myself that there is plenty of room for my successes and my failures, with much less judgement and much more empathy.
Anyways, I am so glad I bought the pattern for this beautiful skirt because look at how cool it turned out! I chose a medium-weight Italian light yellow linen from Harts Fabric, and although I am sure the bottom of the skirt is going to get pretty grimey sooner or later, I am in love with this color. The fabric ended up being much heavier than I anticipated (it takes a lot of yardage to make this skirt) and is therefore not quite as breezy as I would like, but that’s my only con for the make.
Construction was super easy and straightforward (although it took me a little time to decipher the lines for the different versions- some were for the button fly and some were for the button band and for whatever reason it wasn’t immediately clear to me). My favorite construction detail is the band that gets sewn, turned under and then pressed onto the bottom of the skirt, making hemming the curved edges super easy. One weird thing is that, unless I totally mis-read the instructions, the waistband is inserted backwards from the way I am most familiar. Instead of sewing the outer waistband to the skirt right sides together for a smooth finish on the outside and then slip-stitching or ditch stitching the inner waistband on the inside of the skirt, the instructions suggest doing the opposite. As a result, the inside of the waistband has a smooth seam and the outside has a visible line of stitching connecting the waistband to the top of the skirt. I worried that it would be visible or wonky looking, and I was wrong on both counts. Although I’m not sure if I prefer one method over the other, it’s nice to be introduced to a new way of doing something. The thing I didn’t like about this technique was the fact that the belt loops are sewn down onto the waistband as opposed to being sewn within the seam allowance before the waistband is turned to the outside, so I made sure the loops were securely sewn onto the waistband piece in the previous step, and I stopped and started my stitching of the waistband onto the skirt right before and after my needle got close to the loops.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this skirt, even though my window for wearing it seems to have ended just as quickly as it began (it’s February and it’s been in the high 80’s all week here in LA). And let’s be honest- doesn’t this skirt just scream to be paired up with the Deer & Doe blouse pattern I neglected for so many months? In dark grey? Or cream? Or pink? Maybe this whole pattern hoarding thing was serendipitous.
The skirt is paired in the photos with the super cute Maker Tee by Megan Nielsen, one of my favorite Christmas gifts from last year (thanks, Claire!)
Happy making, y’all, and here is a reminder, for me and for you, to be kind to yourself and your craft!
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