This is my first time sewing up Sewaholic’s Hollyburn Skirt & I’m in love.
Oh, how I love this skirt!
Top: Violet blouse, previously blogged here
Shoes: Me Too (Nordstroms)
Bracelet: FitBit
Hair: Oh so freshly dyed pink. Don’t worry – It’ll fade after the first wash, cause even this is too pink for me.
I raved about this skirt pattern to Ms. Tasia herself when it was released, but sadly I hadn’t actually made it until now. I wish it didn’t take me so long, as I could have had this beauty in my wardrobe for over a year now. Never fear, I’ll make up for lost time. heh
I found this linen/rayon blend fabric at my local Vogue Fabrics late last summer. I only bought enough for the hollyburn skirt, but how I wish I had more. It’s wonderful fabric; it’s drapey, lovely and perfect for spring/summer weather.
Complete Aside:
I generally purchase fabric for a specific project so I don’t overbuy. I had always figured, it would be silly to make multiple garments in the same fabric like a skirt + dress or a dress + top. But with this, I’m wishing I had more for a second (& third) garment…. what are your thoughts on this??
Back to Hollyburn…
Pattern adjustments – none! That is if you don’t count my hem shortening, since I’m such a shortie.
I whipped this skirt up in short order and didn’t do anything fancy with the construction. I inserted a center seam lapped zipper – since I love them so.
I serged the inside edges, and hand stitched down the inner waistband & hem like I always do. And these tab fronts allowed me to use 2 stray vintage buttons I had in my stash. What else would I do with just two buttons??
I could have upgraded the construction by stabilizing my zip with organza, I could have added a lining, and I could have made the waistband fit a tiny bit smoother by separating the 1 piece waistband into a 3 piece waistband. But…. I didn’t. I wanted to finish this puppy up so I could wear it asap.
I did sew it up remarkably fast… but then I didn’t get it hemmed in time before the chilly fall weather – yes of 2014. I didn’t get the hem finished in time to wear it at all last year – so why bother hemming it?
Just a few weeks ago, I picked this skirt up again to finish the hem since I HAD to wear it. It’s lame that I didn’t get to wear it last year when I made it – but it was my own fault anyways, ya know?! heh
But here we are, with a finished Hollyburn – on the blog. And I’m now happily wearing my pretty blue skirt. This skirt has made me realize that I have a big gap in my wardrobe of royal blues and greens for the summer. I have winter greens & blues but no summer green & blues. My color preference is always very seasonal, I’ve come to find. But this year, I’m all about the blues (you’ll see what I mean in the next few posts).
So… yay for Hollyburn. I’m a bit late to the game but at least I showed up, yea? At least now I know why everyone loves this pattern so much & makes multiples of it.
Cheers & happy sewing.
In: Sewing
Lovely skirt! My grandma and great-aunt are seamstresses extraordinaires and the rule of thumb they use for fabric buying is 4 yards. Always just 4 yards if you are not sure how much to buy. It is enough for a skirt and a blouse, a dress with a full skirt, or many other combinations. Of course this doesn’t work on a limited budget, but I can’t tell you how many times I was happy I bought 4 yards of something lovely.
Four yards is an excellent amount – I should have bought that much of this floral when I found it. I generally know to buy 2.5 for a full skirt or a sleek dress – I can get away with a lot less yardage because I’m so short though. Definitely 4 yards for full skirted dress though.
Your fabric choice is perfect, I see what you mean about needing more blues and greens in your summer wardrobe! I’ve been wanting to jump on the Hollyburn bandwagon forever – I love every version I see – however, I still need to buy the pattern ;) But seriously, I can’t believe that you can have an almost finished garment stay a wip for so long! It would drive me crazy, and I wouldn’t be able to move onto any other new projects.
Well the wip was very well hidden in my downstairs closet – out of sight out of mind ya know.
Yes with the blues! Every spring I find myself using hot pink fabrics – not even sure why as teal & royal blue are my favorite colors.
If you make the hollyburn, make sure the fabric you use has some drape. I made a stiff wool version and it’s very *blegh* looking on me.
I’ll be even later to the party! Your skirt is gorgeous and it is great to hear from you!
Thanks Vicki Kate, I’ve been busy sewing – just not so busy taking photos of my makes. I’ll get them all eventually. Congrats on your new baby J. :D
Gorgeous skirt! Totally making me wonder why I haven’t bought that pattern yet! :-)
You already know, I LOVE this skirt. The fabric is really wonderful! I personally do not mind making more than one garment from the same fabric. I think it’s fun, like making a designer collection, or something. :-D
I like the earlier comment of buying 4 yards of fabric. Usually my go to when I’m just buying fabric in the I’ve-spotted-the-most-perfect-print-and-I’ve-just-GOT-to-have-it way is 3 meters, but I’ve found that can be a little bit tight for *any* dress pattern in my collection, so I’ll happily up grade to 3.7 meters instead!
Mind you, I once bought ten meters of cream jacquard that I still haven’t figured out what I’m going use it for. :P It was $1.00 a meter though, so really… How could I resist?!
But your fabric is super pretty, and I think your skirt turned out marvelously. :) ?
xox,
bonita of Lavender & Twill
i love this skirt. The fabric is marvellous.
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