A good pattern goes a long way: The Bibi Skirt
Nothing forces you to purge your closet like weight gain. As the weather warmed up this year, I found myself unable to fit more than half of the clothes in my closet. Apparently, I have gained about 15 pounds since last summer. Most of my work wardrobe consists of woven pieces that are fitted, which left me very little wiggle room for weight gain, unless I wanted my clothes to fit extremely tight. This left me in quite a conundrum. Why is that? Because this year's goal is to buy less ready to wear and sew more practical pieces. However, I really needed to make new clothes and I didn't have time to spend three or four days on one project. So I ended up sewing a lot of bibi skirt's.
When Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons begin sharing photos of projects in her newest book release "Stretch," I immediately logged into my Amazon account and pre-ordered my copy. This book contains six patterns for six different knit garments. So far I have made 3 out of 6. I am not a beginner but if you are new to sewing with knits, I would highly recommend this book. She covers all the basics, such as tools and materials, that you will use when sewing with the knits. The patterns are great too because she gives instructions on how to add variations to each pattern to make it unique. That is exactly what I did with the Bibi Skirt pattern. The first two times I made it with contrast center panels. The third time I made it with a contrast center panel and front split. And my most recent make with the pattern is a pinafore. But let's discuss the actual pattern.
The instructions for this pattern are well-written and the illustrations are good as well. This pattern is great for newbie because it doesn't have darts. If you need to take the skirt in a bit or make it more fitted in certain areas you just take in the seams of the appropriate panel. The first time I made this I traced a size 6, but it was too large, and I had to take it in quite a bit. So I retraced the size 4, which fits perfectly. The skirt design allows you to be extremely creative and rid yourself of some of those leftover fabric pieces in your stash. The front split add-on was a nice variation but it is a bit revealing when sitting down. The first time I wore it, I had to place my jacket on my lap, because I wore it to a professional event. I must admit, my least favorite make with this pattern was the pinafore. I just did not care for the style with this skirt. For most of my projects, I use scuba or double knit. However for the pinafore, I used ponte knit from mood fabrics.
All in all, if you are looking for really simple but classy knit patterns this book is for you. Depending on the fabric you use, this skirt can be worn to work or for a casual day out. Plus, If you are new to sewing with knits, this book provides you with a lot of guidance. I can't wait to share of all my other makes using the patterns from this book. Until then happy sewing.
