So, we have entered Busy Times. It's usually Busy Times at this time of year anyway - it's my birthday this week, and and once we get through the various things we have planned we start doing things for Patrick's birthday - but now I'm currently on two evening classes per week plus my singing lessons, we've booked a couple of city breaks, and also a bunch of one-off events happened to get scheduled between now and the end of March. And I really need to find time to sew because it turns out you can't safely do improv classes in skirts, which I hadn't anticipated so all the things I made this winter were absolutely not geared to my current needs.
Case in point:
This is the Deer&Doe Circee, maxi skirt version. My original intention was to make the dress version as well before posting about it, but I ran into a slight mishap where I cut out my trial version and then promptly lost half the pieces. I don't seem to be able to get that fabric again, either. I will still have a go at it at some point, but it's going to take me a bit longer. In the meantime: extremely dramatic maxi skirt.
I've had this fabric for a while (you may remember it) and could never work out what to do with it. It's a super-large border print, each panel is two feet long, and there's barely a sliver of a gap between each one. I really didn't want to chop up the print too much, and my original thought was a wrap dress where the bodice is made of the plain black section and the skirt has the border print. In retrospect I'm glad I didn't - I would only have had enough fabric to make a knee-length dress and the print is so large-scale that I would have had to cut it down to get a length I was happy to wear. A maxi length wrap skirt with no back seam is the perfect thing.
Construction was very simple and I didn't run into anything awkward or confusing. The skirt is designed to close with two visible buttons at the waistband, but I switched them out for press studs because I am weird and dislike buttons on my clothing. Immediately after making this version Patrick gave me a proper hardware press for Christmas, which I'm delighted with and I hope this is the last thing I ever make with sew-on press studs. It does mean I'll have to fit things properly before I sew down any waistbands, but I haaaaate hand-sewing fastenings onto my projects and I think slightly less convenient fitting is a very small price to pay to dispense with that for good.
It also has enormous slash pockets, which is much appreciated.
I am pretty pleased with this and would make it again. What I will say is that I used a very stiff fabric here that isn't super inclined to blow about in the wind, so I can't say for certain what level of wardrobe malfunction might result from, say, a more lightweight viscose. Chances are I will give it a try at some point, and when I do I'll report back. This version is obviously not for everyday wear and I'd quite like one that's a little more versatile, but this was absolutely the correct thing to do with this fabric. I'm delighted it's finally in my wardrobe and I will more than likely be wearing it for my birthday dinner on Friday.
I have two more winter projects photographed to post about, both of which use patterns I've already tried. I've made but not yet photographed the Murder Dress - I wanted to do a proper photoshoot for it, but there's a decent chance that I will just never get around to that, so I'm going to try to at least take placeholder photos sometime soon. I don't know how much I have to say about any of them, but they will be posted over the course of the next few weeks, by which time I will hopefully have got my head around my spring plan. Too many ideas, not enough time!
Deer&Doe Circee (review of skirt only)
Fabric: Heavyweight satin viscose from Walthamstow
Cost: £30
Pattern details: Wrap skirt in two lengths with large slash pockets and button closure at waistband (also a wrap dress with dramatic split sleeves)
Size: 44
Alterations: Buttons swapped out for press studs, two inches of length added to hem
Would make again/would recommend: Yes/Yes
