Well it's nearly autumn...

I made a thing - well a skirt to be precise. This linen fabric I got from a Fabric-a-Brac last year. I actually think it's fabric from a friend who was de-stashing at Fabric-a-Brac!

The colour isn't quite as bright as in these photos. I think it must be a combination of the bright sunny day we at when the photos were taken and the green bushes in the background.

The pattern is a RTW knock-off. I bought this grey wool skirt from Marks & Spencer in the UK probably about six years ago. It's always been a favourite skirt to wear and I thought this linen would be the perfect fabric to copy it.

I used the basque from an old Prima pattern and shortened it by a couple of inches. Then pleated the skirt pieces onto the basque. Yes I did everything the cack-handed way, so I attached the skirt to the basque before measuring the tucks at the bottom! I know it would have been easier to do the tucks first, but I didn't know how long I wanted the skirt to be and it seemed easier in my mind to do it this way around.

The hem was stitched on the machine as it actually has a long hem which extends up to the bottom tuck. I used a lapped zip for the side seam.

And... er that's about it! It takes a lot of patience and trial and error to work out those pleats around the top of the skirt.

The details...

Fabric:  An orange linen from Fabric-a-Brac, October 2014

Notions:  Thread and zip

Pattern:  The basque for the skirt is from a very old Prima pattern and the overall skirt design is a RTW knock-off, it's basically self-drafted from the RTW skirt.

First worn:  To afternoon tea with some of the local sewing bloggers at Sandra's house, where these photos were taken.

Worn with:  A Colette Sorbetto, made in 2011, blogged here.

Verdict:  Well I'm happy with it. The basque may be a wee bit big, as it doesn't sit on my waist, but I'm love this skirt. It's easy to wear and actually goes with quite a lot of things in my wardrobe. The only thing I wish I had done was to line it, since it's difficult to wear with a slip as sits on my hips. I might still add some lining and attach it to the bottom of the basque.

And this is the kind of photo that happens when a friend is taking your photos and you move while they're taking them! :-)