Are you more of a prints or solids kinda person? Do you like your fabrics to be one colour or do you think the whole point of sewing your own clothes is to use the brightest, boldest print you can find?
I've definitely become more of a solids gal in recent years, not counting stripes of course, which for me is a neutral, hehe. It's been a long time since I've bought a fabric with a designer print on it, but I just couldn't stop thinking about this Rifle Paper Co design for Cotton + Steel, the Juliet print.
I decided to make a Ness skirt so went with canvas which has enough structure to hold the shape of the skirt. You may have already seen a peek of it on our Insta gallery or in my Nora cardigan hack post, but I thought it warranted a closer look as we keep getting questions about it.
Ness is one of our more involved patterns. It has denim-inspired details, such as a zip fly, built-in pockets, curved V-shape back yoke and belt loops, so it's not the quickest of makes but is super satisfying to construct. I purposely decided not to pattern match the seams in order to highlight the style lines, and accentuated them even more with a pale pink topstitch thread.
I made the mini version, which I think looks lovely with tights. Weirdly, the skirt ended up about two sizes too big on the waist. Our patterns are the size they say they are but, with a fluctuating mum tum, I must have measured myself after a particularly large lunch. I measured myself again before making the plait detail version and it turned out perfectly. No matter - I wear this one cinched with a belt and quite like the idea that if - when - I put on weight, I'll have something pretty that still fits! :)
*****
Photos by Jane LookerWith thanks to Dress Like a Mum for painting the wall!
Ness skirt sewing pattern - Tilly and the Buttons
Rifle Paper Co fabric for Cotton + Steel - bought from Cloth + Candy
