Kennis from Itch-to-Stitch has just released “Danube” which is a classic five-pocket jean-style skirt. I was a tester for this skirt and it’s always such a pleasure to test Kennis’ designs as they are almost perfect with enough small issues to make the testers feel like they are earning their keep!

The first skirt I made was from the denim scraps left over from my loose covers and I’m pleased that I didn’t even have to finagle the pattern pieces to fit the fabric.

The pattern is for non-stretch bottom weight fabric and has a slim fit, zipped fly at the front, regular jeans style topstitching, back yokes for shape,  front and back pockets and optional belt loops. The front pockets are big enough to get my hands in up to my wrists, which is lovely, although difficult with a wide belt.

I’m wearing it here with my new Atelier Scammit Stockholm blouse, and added a sneaky shrug (tutorial for making here) from the same linen knit.

The skirt also has side slits which makes it really easy to walk in. The shoes I’m wearing with this version are from the 1970s and are still in perfect condition as I find it hard to find things to team with them.

I made this denim skirt a little large and a little long, so when Version 2 was released with a few tweaks I took the opportunity to make it again but this time going down a size and reducing the length by 2cms.

This green fabric came from an op-shop in Hobart, and it’s vintage cotton corduroy. I thought I’d have masses, but when fabric is only 90cms wide it doesn’t go as far as you might think.

I did minimal topstitching on this skirt as I’m not a fan of lots of topstitching on corduroy and I left off the belt loops to reduce bulk. The hem and side slits are hand stitched, as is the waistband.

I teamed the corduroy skirt with my Itch-to-Stitch Lisbon cardigan and also the elephant Liberty knit top. I have also worn it with my Itch-to-Stitch Hvar jacket, which goes really well.

I decided to bring the denim skirt to Tasmania with me. I do get tired of wearing trousers all the time when travelling. Although it’s pretty chilly in Tasmania at this time of the year, the day was sunny, but windy and I thought it was perfect to wear as we ran round doing administrative stuff, as well as shopping and hanging out in coffee shops.

These photographs were taken in my late Mother-in-Law’s garden, which seems to be lovely at any time of the year, but how gorgeous is the colour of the Japanese Maple?

I’m wearing the skirt with many layers, including a silk under tee, my Itch-to-Stitch Hepturn Turtleneck, a machine knitted jumper I made for Mark and subsequently stole, and my Outlander möebius hooded shrug, and one advantage of having a skirt that’s a tad big is that all these layers can be tucked in to the waistband.

Whilst mooching round Hobart we went past a shoe shop with a big sale (fatal!) and I found these rather fetching brogues, which I felt matched the skirt really well, although not the belt, but ho hum!

A quick run down on making this pattern. First of all, all Itch-to-Stitch patterns are layered which means that you only need to print the size or sizes you need. This saves both ink and head scratching, and is one of the reasons I love the patterns. The sizes run from 00 to 20 (64.5cm to 103cm waist), so fairly comprehensive. The skirt itself was pretty simple to construct. There is an extra step in the fly which I’ve never done before and which makes it sit nice and flat; don’t let the zipped fly put you off, Kennis walks you through it and it is really easy to do. Corners at the side slits are mitred and the instructions for this are really clear. The back pockets give lots of opportunities for decoration and I did decorate my denim skirt pockets but subsequently unpicked them as I just wasn’t a fan. However, many of the other testers did fabulous topstitching on their pockets, so check them out here.

As with all Itch-to-Stitch patterns, there is a 20% discount if you buy it on release. Here is the link to buy this fabulous skirt pattern, and as usual, you get extra discount if you buy more than one pattern.