Rosy’s Madeline Skirt!
I almost can’t cope with how cute this fabric is! Look at the teeny little hearts! They are in my favourite shade of red and contrast so beautifully with the chambray blue! Plus it has the cutest selvedge that says “You’re a sweetheart!” I mean, honestly.. what is not to love?!?
I’ve been wanting to make the Madeleine skirt by Victory Patterns for years, but somehow never got around to it! When I saw this gorgeous cotton fabric on the FF website, I knew I needed to make something that would really show off the cute hearts and I think the Madeleine skirt does just that!
This pattern is a really straight forward and satisfying sew. The most fun part is top stitching the AMAZING pockets! I’ve had a few people mention that the top stitching looks too difficult to get accurate and that’s put them off making the skirt. So, I thought I’d explain how I did it, to show it’s actually not as tricky as it might seem. The paper pattern piece for the pocket, shows where the top stitching should go. So I pierced my paper pattern with about 4 pin pricks along the curved top stitching line and used a heat erasable pen to mark dots through the pin prick holes onto the fabric. Then I used a french curve ruler to join up those dots. After that, all I needed to do was simply stitch straight over that line using a slow speed. For the second row of stitches, I just lined up the edge of the presser foot with the first line of top stitching and followed it all the way around; Again, maintaining a slow speed. Then, the final step is to iron over my stitches, so that the pen lines disappear! I think my finished lines of stitching look more than passable, even if I do say so myself! Oh, and dont forget that this method can be used whenever you want to do top stitching! Whether that’s for jeans pockets or a cute collar detail!
I’ve washed the chambray and found that I had virtually no shrinkage on a 30⁰ wash and the colours did not run! Yay!
I especially love how this skirt will work for different seasons. It’s cool and comfy for hot summer days but will be equally great with a pretty cardigan or a roll neck sweater, some red tights and a pair of Doc Martin boots in the cooler months! I love it when garments can be worn for multiple seasons!
That’s it from me today! I hope I’ve inspired you to have a go at some top stitching! If you post your efforts on Instagram, please tag me @rosysewsmodernvintage and @felicityfabrics so we can see your wonderful work!
