Not the city (unfortunately) but the Amy Butler skirt pattern. Back in October, I attended an “A-line skirt workshop” at the Make Lounge in Islington and this is the result (excuse the not-brushed-my-hair-or-put-any-makeup-on picture).
I love this skirt. It has somehow ended up being a little big, despite fitting perfectly when I tried it on at the workshop. It’s still perfectly wearable though so I haven’t bothered trying to take it in at all.
The fabric is a red gabardine from John Lewis and is slightly heavier than the cotton that is suggested for the pattern but is the perfect weight for a winter skirt. The lining is a not terribly interesting grey/lilac polyester which I mainly picked to be a nice contrast.
I really enjoyed the workshop. The pattern is well-written and easy to follow anyway but, since this was my first time trying to make anything from a pattern, it was great to have someone there to guide me. I learned how to adjust the pattern to fit my measurements and a neat way of shortening a skirt pattern (particularly one that claims it only makes one length). As always with the Make Lounge, the evenings themselves were good fun, a couple of glasses of wine and some good company can make sewing a surprisingly social activity.
There is a guilty secret attached to this skirt though:
It’s not actually finished! There is just a very little hand-sewing left to do to attach the lining to the zip and to add a hook and eye at the top of the zip. Unfortunately, neither of these things are visible when the skirt is worn so I’ve been wearing it lots anyway and have very little motivation to do the finishing. Maybe now that I’ve admitted my laziness to the internet, I’ll finally get around to finishing it properly.