Skirts of the Most Versatile Colors

Me Made May. It’s a thing in the online sewing community, begun 10 years ago by Zoe of “So Zo, What Do You Know”. The idea of this thing/challenge/event is to wear something you made yourself every day of May. Or, if you don’t have enough me-made items to do that, just to make more of an effort to actually wear the clothes you have made yourself more often, bring them into consistent wardrobe rotation if they aren’t already.

I didn’t officially participate in Me Made May this year, as I already wear me-made clothes pretty much every day, thus, pledging to do something I already do felt like cheating. However, all throughout the month of May, I was very aware of the Me Made May spirit on social media, and this made me a bit more mindful of the me-made outfits I was wearing. Rather than just reaching for my current favorite me-mades every morning, I made an effort to wear some of my older makes, things which have gotten pushed to the back of my closet over time as newer makes have been shoved in the front.

In doing so, I re-discovered things I made and loved last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. Things I still like that fit me well. Things I really should wear more often. Things like these two skirts I made at the end of last summer, wore for several months, then put away for the winter and forgot to pull out again once the weather warmed up. Me Made May reminded me to pull them out and wear them again.

At the end of last summer, The Eli Monster put out a call for pattern testers for a collection of four new ladies skirt patterns. I was on a bit of a skirt wearing kick at the time, plus I’m always happy to test new patterns for this particular designer if I can (The Eli Monster was one of the first PDF pattern companies I tested for, so I have a soft spot for them.), so I signed up to test two of the skirts - a basic A-line skirt with a crown-shaped front waistband, and a long, full, gored maxi skirt.

From my stash I picked a thick-ish, silky, slightly slubby, maroon mystery fabric for the A-line skirt.

I have no idea where this fabric came from, but I had less than two yards of - which was just right for this skirt. I’d had this fabric for years, and was thrilled to discover a pattern that was perfect for it!

I made whichever size corresponded with my measurements and the finished skirt fit perfectly! No need for alterations of any sort required for me to get the right fit through the waist and hips.

There’s only one thing I would change about this skirt personally - I’d make it a bit longer to fit my preferences. Anything more than an inch above my knee almost feels too short to me. I like my skirts to be long enough I can do anything and everything in them without fear of flashing someone.

At the current length, this skirt is perfect for church or dressier occasions, but I wouldn’t wear it for day to day activities such as chasing kids. My fabric choice lends a dressy feel to this skirt, so I suppose that’s not really a bad thing.

The one thing I did change/add to this skirt was pockets - I just cannot wear clothes that don’t have pockets! Thus, each side seam features a concealed pocket, anchored at the waistband for support.

Shorter than my normal length and all, this skirt does make a fantastic wardrobe addition. My closet was missing a maroon skirt, and it can go with a wide variety of my tops, such as the Brijee Patterns Brooks Blouse, shown in these pictures, my beloved Outer Banks Boatnecks, or even a tank top for a more casual look. I’ve worn this skirt with all of the above!

The second skirt I made during this pattern test turned out to be equally versatile in color  - with the added benefit of being long enough to be worn for most every day activities!

The fabric for this long, full, skirt also come from my stash. My first thought when I saw the line drawings of this maxi skirt was “Dang, that’s gonna take a lot of fabric!” Thus, I began searching my stash for a long length of fabric suitable for a skirt. I unearthed a long piece of navy blue polyester crepe. I’m not sure how much of this fabric there was, but it was a lot. And I did not use near all of it for this skirt.

Upon receiving the pattern to test, I discovered that this skirt was actually quite economical when it came to fabric usage - as long as your fabric doesn’t have a one way pattern, you can nest the skirt gores together easily. Thus, I used considerably less fabric for this skirt than I was expecting to.

Named the Artiste skirt, this is a fairly basic 7 gored skirt, smooth at the waistline and full at the hem. Wonderfully flow-y and fun to wear. A skirt I’ve gotten several random compliments on.

Due to the length and fullness, this skirt has been worn quite a bit more than the maroon skirt. I feel elegant every time I wear it, even if I’m only wearing if for every day life and nothing special.

Like the A-line pattern, this skirt fit me perfectly with no adjustments needed. The size chart really is spot on! The only thing I changed was to again add side seam pockets. Like I said before, pockets are a necessity.

Navy is just as versatile a color in my wardrobe as maroon is, and it seems this skirt can be worn with over half the tops I own. For pictures I paired it with the knit Brooks Blouse I made last summer - this is one of my favorite shirts to wear with skirts due to the waist darts.

When I originally made this blouse, I felt the neckline was too high, so I cut it down a bit, and now I wear it all the time!

Me Made May has been over now for a few weeks, but I’m still wearing my me-made outfits nearly everyday. I’m thankful for the reminder the month brought to wear some of “forgotten” pieces in my closet. Now that I’ve rediscovered these skirts from last year, I can guarantee I’ll be wearing them all summer long!

*I received both skirt patterns for free in exchange for testing, but all thoughts and opinions shared here are my own. I was not required to write this blog post.