Lindy from Stokx Patterns sent me the Stokx Play Pants pattern as part of my Designin’ December prize. My first attempt was made from stretchy fabric, and they are too big, in spite of being size 0, so I decided to try again with non-stretch fabric and the result is perfect!

I used some lightweight wool that I’ve had for a long time, and made them exactly the same way as the other pair, except I added the stitched crease on each leg in an attempt to reduce the size a bit. It’s supposed to be 2mm wide, but mine seems wider than that, even though the ruler tells me it’s accurate. It annoys me a bit and I might surreptitiously stitch it down. The resulting fit, though, is perfect.

Here they are. I’m standing in the rain and completely forgot to take photos of the back view, sorry! Wearing them here with my Fibremood Harper which is made from French terry and feels very sweatshirt like. It needs to be said that Archie really liked this outfit and there was a hand gesture that inferred that it wasn’t my usual style!

I then wanted to make the Flirt skirt. This is a really interesting pattern; it only has one pattern piece which is cut out six or more times, depending on how full you want the skirt. The fabric is not folded and the pieces are not cut out in pairs, so slightly tedious, but I got over that quickly. I used a piece of navy wool crepe that came from my sister’s destash.

It’s a simple pattern to put together and has a built in facing on the waist. An invisible zip finishes the skirt, and this can be placed at the back or the side – because all the pattern pieces are the same, this decision can be made when you put the skirt on. I finished my facing with some yellow cotton bias binding that I made years ago. z

I wore it with my Fibremood Alice, with the buttons at the back. The buttons came from Janey of Jaw ceramics and they are gorgeous.

The hem is bound with bias binding made from the same fabric.

I feel that the skirt is a little long and I’ll be adjusting the way I do the hem for the next skirt. Having said that, I really, really, like this skirt. It is flirty! Because of the way the seams are cut, it has a swish factor that I love.

I tried it with my Seamwork Astoria and put a belt round it. I’m not sure I love the belt and probably won’t be doing that again!

I retrofitted a back pocket. I simply found a scrap of the fabric, the shape of which I liked, hemmed it and stitched it on.

To be honest, it looks better in real life and I’ve now removed all the stray threads left from my unpicking.

I did add a label, of course, which I put on the waistband, so it won’t be seen much. This is the correct colour, it is such a deep navy I keep thinking it’s black!

I wore the skirt today, with a very old Marks and Spencers raincoat, which I pretty much completely remade as the fit was off. I also replaced the polyester lining with silk, so it’s nice to wear now. The scarf was given to me by Tom and Bridgette a few years back.

I already have more play pants and another flirt skirt planned. The fabric is prepped, and all I need is a few hours. Both will be winter appropriate versions.