Sew Over It Ava Skirt Pattern and Fabric Review with The Fabric Guys
THE PATTERN
I have wanted to make a Sew Over It Ava Skirt for ages and when I saw this super pretty needlecord on the Fabric Guys website I knew it would be perfect for this pattern. I have a similar ready to wear skirt in corduroy and it’s just perfect for the autumn and winter months.
I chose to make the mini version of this skirt without the pockets. Leaving out pockets was not a decision I took lightly because we all love a pocket don’t we but I didn’t want the inseam pockets to interfere with the silhouette of the skirt in this fabric.
I made a size 10 based on the waist measurements for this pattern and although I ordered a metre and a half of the fabric I could have easily got it out of a metre so it’s a great stash buster and really great value for money if you want to splash out and use a lovely, more expensive fabric.
THE FABRIC
This fabric has such a beautiful pretty print and I really love how it’s a little bit different to the other needlecords out there. I washed and pressed the fabric before cutting and it pressed beautifully without shrinking too much.
I cut my pattern pieces using my cutting board and rotary cutter. There are only three pattern pieces without the pockets so it was really quick to cut out. I marked my notches with a snip and my darts with my tracing wheel and dressmakers carbon paper. Because the fabric is white on the reverse this showed up really well and I was able to clearly see where to sew my line of stitching.
I overlocked all of my seams and used an 8” regular zipper for the closure at the back. I found this fabric really lovely to work with, very stable and no slipping around at the tricky zip insertion. There is also a little tab at the end of the waistband which hides your hook and eye which I think is a lovely finish. The picture below shows how the lap is shown before the waistband is finished.
Putting in the zip…
I really, really love this pattern and fabric combination. Corduroy and needlecord are really in this season and I love how warm the fabric is because of it’s brushed texture. I really think a cord mini skirt, tights and a big jumper is going to be one of my favourite outfits this winter.
Something to note when sewing with and wearing needlecord though is that it really sticks to your tights, I did consider lining the skirt but then I decided that I would just wear an underslip with it and that stops the sticking perfectly but you might want to consider lining If you were going to make something similar.
Thank you so much Fabric Guys for gifting me this fabric, I highly recommend it and I’m sure I’ll be coming back for the wine colourway soon as I was really torn as to which colour scheme to choose.
Until next time, thank you for reading!
Sally
@secret_life_of_a_seamstress
