Today I am featuring another wonderful guest blogger, Janet ( @sew_sister on Instagram) who is a very talented sewist with a great sense of style. She shares her review, alterations and tips for making the Coquelicot skirt. Read more about it below!
@sew_sister makes the Coquelicot Skirt :
Today I am sharing a garment I haven’t made before, the Coquelicot skirt. I definitely wanted a drapey skirt so I selected a tencel linen blend from Winnipeg Sews, in Canada.
The fabric colour name is auburn. It truly is that yummy dusky orange/red. The fabric has a relaxed and slightly rustic vibe due to the colour, a slight sheen and a lovely drape. Hopefully I will be able to wear this skirt year round due to the fabric choice.
If you ever want to dip your toe into historical fashion this would be a fun pattern. I was attracted to the adjustable waist feature, which to me is a great sustainability choice. I chose to sew VIEW A.
Also, the skirt has pockets. And who doesn’t love pockets?
The instructions are terrific. I did do a few things differently, I cut out the pocket slit out of the paper pattern, and marked it with chalk on the fabric. Sewing on the bias strip on the first one ended up a bit crumpled at the bottom of the curve, so for the next one, I pressed the bias into a curve before sewing it to the pocket opening and the results were better.
I enjoyed all aspects of the construction. I let the skirt hang for over 48 hours and did have to trim a little. I suspect it was due to my cutting out rather than the fabric stretching but I am not sure. I haven’t sewn a skirt on the bias before and hadn’t used the bias hem finish on such a large hem. There are a few creases that happened on the underside of the hem but I am okay with that, especially because I found that part to be more challenging.
I made a size 20 and was going to taper to an 18 at the hip, but chose not to due to the pockets and to maintain the shape of the skirt. I adjusted the pattern by lengthening the skirt by 3 inches. I also chose the longer ties.
I highly recommend this skirt pattern. I love that the style is influenced by the 1940’s and 1950’s with 18th century pockets. By lengthening it into a midi it feels very 1970's! It’s timeless!
Happy Sewing!
~Janet
@sew_sister