When I was with Hélène in Montréal she very kindly gave me some gorgeous khaki ponte leftover from a StyleArc Taylor skirt she had made. I decided that it would honour the gift by making an identical skirt.
I had seen a few of these skirts around the interwebs and loved the striped ones but always thought that I would struggle to find tops to go with stripes, so this colour was perfect. I also noted that the skirt has negative ease and is designed to hit the leg at mid calf.
I thought I had better make a practice one before I cut into that special fabric so had a good fossick in the stash and found this leftover yellow stretch cotton from Knitwit. I knew that the length would not suit me at all and shortened the skirt, although the lack of lengthen and shorten lines told me that this was a slightly unconventional thing to do.
Having put the skirt together, I needed to unpick the whole thing and take it in about 8cms all round, and it still doesn’t have negative ease. [Just a note: the skirt was made the day after we returned from our holiday and the photo taken the same day – I am looking tired because I really was!!]
I attempted to grade the pattern down in size, but finished up just pinching in the back seam and the two side darts. I really liked it being less fitted and enjoyed the new length, but decided to add a couple of centimetres back into the length for the ponte version.
I was summonsed for jury duty so decided to wear my new skirt. This photo was taken rather early in the morning and I clearly hadn’t brushed my hair!
It goes so well with my Liberty of London knit top and vintage belt with elephant buckle to match the top.
I’ve also managed to wear it with my Cuba Libre shirt, which I knotted at the front
and my Lisbon cardi hack. Shortening the skirt also had the effect of lifting the split to mid thigh, which had concerned me slightly, but because the skirt isn’t overly tight, it’s not too revealing.
This has to be one of the most versatile skirts in my wardrobe and it has the added bonus of reminding me of such a happy time with Hélène.
It is a very flattering skirt. I like both versions.
thank you so much. It’s a really useful skirt.
You have changed my whole opinion on this pattern Sue simply because you have made it in a plain fabric. It looks lovely on you and I particularly like the Helene version. That colour is so versatile. I call that colour Donkey and so many other colours go with it, as you have discovered. I have a lot of Donkey in my wardrobe!!
I have to say that I hadn’t been very interested in the skirt until I tried to twin with Hélène. I like it better without the negative ease as I’m not as self-conscious. The colour is so useful that I’ve decided I need more, and Donkey is a really good description!
It’s a very stylish skirt- and the khaki is a versatile colour too. I also love the combination of the yellow skirt and floral jacket.
It’s lovely with the Liberty top. Very useful skirt
So useful Norma!
Love the style of skirt – perfect for work!! The lemon looks so fresh – love it!
It looks beautiful. The asymmetrical detail in this skirt makes it vey interesting. The combo with awesome Liberty fabric and vintage belt with elephant buckle looks wonderful. A great versatile skirt.
It is a terrific skirt, Sonja, but I think it’s better on me without the negative ease.
Love this sort of skirt. Interesting and chic. You wear it well!
Thank you. This skirt is so much more interesting than a regular fitted knit skirt. I do like the fact that I couldn’t achieve negative ease – I feel more comfortable than I would with a really tight skirt.
This length looks gorgeous on you. The slit is just perfect with your slim legs and it looks a tad sexier than a regular tubular knit skirt. Excellent styling too, with different options. All in all, a total success! Having worn mine quite a lot, I love that this ponte has a good recovery, don’t you think? Now I’m planning a striped iteration for our hot summer. Hope your jury duty is not too demanding. Good luck!
I love this skirt and the ponte is beautiful. Jury duty turned into a non-event which was great!
What a lovely pattern! And the fabric is perfect for it! The color looks great with those tops 🙂
Isn’t the colour lovely? I can’t believe how many things it goes with.
That first photo with the shades of grey and the elephant belt … looks like something that strolled off the fashion runway! Nicely done! It great when you can find such a wardrobe staple!
Aw, thanks Linda. I love this top!
Very nice – I like both skirts but I’m particularly taken with your elephant belt!
It wouldn’t have occurred to me to look twice at that pattern, but it looks great on you!
I didn’t like it either because of the negative ease. Making it a bit bigger makes it look a lot better in my opinion.