I finally made something for me. I have had this fabric for almost a year, having swooned over it at a local fabric shop. The yellow and pale blue paisley is from Heather Bailey's Pop Garden collection. I don't recall who made the red paisley. The green at top is from Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane collection. I got that recently from Rosebudquilter, on Etsy.
The pattern is the Belle Skirt Pattern by Favorite Things and I am sorry to say that I do not like this pattern much. Having just completed an apron from an Amy Butler pattern, this pattern does not compare well. The directions are sorely lacking. They are so simple as to almost be difficult! If it were not for the fact that there are some similarities between the apron and the skirt, I would have been frustrated.
The instructions for the waist, for example, just said to attach it to the skirt! Being as the waist section is double sided, I ended up sewing the inside first and then folding it over, ironing it nicely, and sewing it on the outside. Then, the direction said to just insert the elastic. Well, the waist section is roughly 6 inches. A 3/8 inch piece of elastic would have been swimming in there! So, I sewed a casing to keep the elastic in place. (see close up of waist.) The other thing I did is to make pleats at front and back instead of gathers. I felt they would look nicer because they would lay flat.
The other thing I don't like about this pattern is that the skirt is in four pieces, so there is a seam down the front. I do like the skirt enough to make it again, but I will cut it in two large pieces, each on the fold, to avoid the line down the middle.
This is not a pattern for a total beginner. It would be confusing to you to not have precise directions. Here is a good review of the pattern and modifications one can make.
Casing for the elastic. Nicey Jane fabric by Heather Bailey.
Pleats instead of gathers. Pop Garden fabric by Heather Bailey.
