Patch pocket skirt.

My sister has been asking me to make her a skirt for ages; she even went so far as to send me an email entitled 'Pleeeaase' and attached was a link with a quick tutorial for one. So with that link and some basic alterations in mind, I set to work, and was done in a day. This is what I came up with! Along with a little info on how I went about it...

This is my first lined skirt, as well as my first attempt at patch pockets. Not bad, if I do say so myself! And I do love the fabric... Anyway.

So, I started with two rectangles of fabric - the patterned and the lining - long enough to allow for the hem and the bit for the elastic to go through, I wasn't so fussed about the width as the elastic would see to that.

I folded the top of the patterned fabric down twice, making sure to leave enough room for the elastic to pass through, and sort of stuck the lining fabric underneath the fold, and then stitched along. You can kind of see it in this photo -

Now, I was kind of making this up as I went along, so it was at this point I thread the elastic through, just to see how it looked, and to decide where the pockets should go, as my sister decided she wanted some! The pockets are just two rough semi circles pleated in the middle and sewn, at the top, to a strip of the lining fabric.

I sewed the pockets on, then folded the skirt right sides together and stitched only the elastic, as I wanted to finish off the lining as best as I could. Then I sewed up the lining and the outer skirt separately. However, I didn't like just having the top of the seam on show (raw edges, no thank you) so I covered it up like so -

By simply hand stitching a little piece of the lining fabric over the top.

I sewed the hem by machine -

And got my sister to try it on. It didn't quite look the right shape, it was too poofy at the front. Easily fixed by pulling gently on the fabric at the waistband at the front until it was pulled straight, and then add a row or two of stitches either side. You can more or less see what I mean in this photo -

And that's basically it! Obviously the end result would differ should I make another one with a heavier fabric, or thinner elastic, all that jazz. But I shall get experimenting, and shall have a go at making one for myself! I really should get to make more everyday clothes, because as much as a medieval dress may come in handy, ahem, it's not incredibly practical. I mean, have you seen those sleeves? But yes, summer 2013 wardrobe, here I come!

"To Joan, from Marie. Oct 27th 1915"

I found this pretty little edition of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, from 1914 I think, in a charity shop a few weeks back and have only now remembered I took a few photos, so I thought you might like to see.

I certainly have a thing for old books, especially the classics that are still published today, as fascinating as out of print books may be. I mean, it just shows that a good story really can withstand time.

So, I spotted this one thanks to it's gorgeous spine, picked it from the shelf, opened it up, and look -

A personal message reading "To Joan, from Marie. Oct 27th 1915"

Safe to say, I needed no further encouragement to make a purchase.

It was when I was having a quick look through later that day that I discovered the back pages to be a 'List of the series' including prices! Yeah, I'm a bit of a sucker for that too.

I have bought so many books lately, but haven't been reading much due to a sudden increase in my musical soundtracks library, ahem, so my 'to read' list is more of a who's who of literature at present, which is something I intend to take care of!