Completed My Charlotte Skirt

I'm planning on putting together a capsule wardrobe with classic garments that can be mixed and matched to create several different outfits.
If you've read my previous post on replacing my favourite skirt, you'll know that I've been planning on sewing the Charlotte skirt from By Hand London.

Well this past week I am pleased to say I have completed it.

I was planning on sewing the version with the ruffles along the bottom, however, I realised that now I have been blessed with having a child in my life, I will be running around after him and thought it would be more practical for me to go for the plain version.

After measuring, tracing and cutting out the pattern, I started by making a muslin from 1M of cotton fabric (BOMULL) which I purchased from Ikea which was only £2 Per Metre.

I am so glad I did, I haven't sewn for a long time, and this is the first pattern I have ever used and I managed to balls up my muslin when taking it in to be more fitted. So, I didn't waste my £11 Per Metre Fabric I had purchased for the final skirt.





I have also never put in a zipper in my short time of sewing, as you may of guessed, YES, I'm a beginner.
On a trip to John Lewis my mother bought me the Janome zipper foot as a gift to help me along, it's a must and worth every penny. I completed the zip very quickly and was overly impressed, it allows you to get very close to the zip and gives a more professional finish.

 

Here's my little Beauty in action.
I also Unpicked the zip from the muslin to use on my skirt so I didn't waste money. It was well worth practising and I feel so much more confident about inserting the zipper now, although I must say it's not just down to my zipper foot, but the FANTASTIC TUTORIAL on how to insert an invisible zipper from By Hand London.

With my muslin in the past, and my mistakes rectified, I couldn't wait to get started on my final skirt. I used a black cotton canvas from John Lewis to make it, for my first go at sewing a pattern, I'm very pleased with the result, I took 7 inches from the length and added a 4 inch split at the back of the skirt:

 

Please accept my apology for the lack of quality of the photos, I initially had the pics taken outside, but it started raining during posing time (typical British weather for you). 

 

           

 

 

So what do you think? Have you made the Charlotte skirt? I will definitely be making this again, it gets a big thumbs up from me. Hmmm, what to sew next....

 

 

 Please note: All items were purchased by myself to create my new skirt. :)