Guys. I should’ve known this day would come eventually, but somehow I never thought it would. I’ve sewn something for my sister that I really, really don’t want to send to her!
OK, I want to send it to her. But is it wrong that a part of me really wants to keep this for myself? My sister has lost her baby weight really fast so we can wear the same size! It’s meant to be! Alright, alright, I’ll just have to make another for myself.
This is Megan Nielsen‘s Kelly skirt pattern, and I love love LOVE it! I’ve always loved pleated skirts, but sometimes they can be a bit too “Catholic schoolgirl”, if ya know what I mean. This pleated skirt is super cute, but definitely not Lolita-esque. I’ve loved this pattern ever since I first spotted it, but hadn’t pulled the trigger and purchased it in my attempts to defeat the BUYITNOWNOWNOWNOWNOW thing I’ve had going on the last few years. Luckily, my sister picked it out when we started planning her new wardrobe, so I had an excuse to order it (from Sweet Little Chickadee, my favorite indie pattern supplier)!
I used this organic twill from Mood Fabrics that I bought a year and a half ago or so, intending to make pants, but I am too scared haven’t gotten around to that yet. It’s the perfect weight– not to heavy or thick, but with plenty of body to hold the pleats. It’s halfway between navy and gray, so I think she’ll be able to pair it with many different tops.
This pattern comes together really quickly! I was momentarily stumped by how to get the pleats to lie flat on top of the pockets, but I found Roobeedoo’s post and realized my mistake. I just assumed that I needed to baste the tops of the pockets to the skirt front, but if you do that before making your pleats, they won’t sit right. Once I unpicked that, it was smooth sailing!
The only thing I’m not super excited about is my buttonholes. I think I might need to pick up a buttonhole cutter as cutting them open with embroidery scissors seems to leave messy buttonholes. They look pretty unprofessional if you look up close. I guess I could douse them in Fray Check, but that stuff smells kinda gross. Luckily I doubt that many people will be looking at the buttonholes up close, so I guess it’s alright.
Lest you think I’m a slacker, I’ve also made her a Renfrew top in her favorite color. In all my iterations of this pattern, this is my first time making one with short sleeves! I made her a size 4 and shortened the bodice by 1/2″ (she’s petite), and I’m told it fits her perfectly! Now that I know for sure that it fits, I need to set aside a day and cut out a half-dozen versions of this top and put them together assembly-line style. You can’t have too many tees!
So… what do you think? Should I send this to my definitely-deserving sis, or should I move, change my phone number, and keep the thing, living as a fugitive for the rest of my days, clutching the tattered remnants of this skirt until I die alone in a border town?