A Blue Floral Hollyburn

This is my first time sewing up Sewaholic’s Hollyburn Skirt & I’m in love.

Floral Hollyburn

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

Floral Hollyburn

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.

Floral Hollyburn

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.

Floral Hollyburn Zipper

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??

Floral Hollyburn Detail

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

Floral Hollyburn

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).

Floral Hollyburn

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

Blogger for 6 years and counting, I am a passionate creator who loves to tinker.

Comments (11)

  1. paisleyapron June 18, 2015 — 1:05 PM

    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.

    1. Liz June 18, 2015 — 3:37 PM

      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.

  2. 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.

    1. Liz June 18, 2015 — 3:35 PM

      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.

  3. I’ll be even later to the party! Your skirt is gorgeous and it is great to hear from you!

    1. Liz June 18, 2015 — 3:33 PM

      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

  4. ooobop June 19, 2015 — 7:40 AM

    Gorgeous skirt! Totally making me wonder why I haven’t bought that pattern yet! :-)

  5. 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

  6. bonita June 22, 2015 — 4:40 AM

    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

  7. Sandra June 22, 2015 — 5:45 AM

    i love this skirt. The fabric is marvellous.

  8. […] back once again, this time with my first iteration of the McCalls 6713 dress.  Like I said in my earlier post, I’m all about the blues this […]

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