As part of my Summer 2018 Capsule plans, I wanted a maxi-length skirt to wear with camis, tank tops, and t-shirts. I had a maxi skirt years ago that I wore all the time during the hot, dry summers in Montana. It was linen, and I remember being so surprised at how much cooler it was to wear that floor-length skirt than it was to wear a pair of shorts. It was then that it also dawned on me how people in desert lands could stay cool with layers of fabric draped about them. Linen is amazing, isn’t it?

Fabric

I once again chose to use the Viscose & Linen Slub (aka Telio Bizet Slub) that I also used for my Willamette Shirt. I purchased this from Blackbird Fabrics, but I have since found this fabric on  Fabric.com where it is called “Telio Bizet Slub”. I used the navy color.

Pattern

I used the Zinnia Skirt by Colette, mostly because I was doing a little sew-along with a friend who wanted a basic pdf skirt pattern, and this seemed like a very simple make. We decided to lengthen the pattern into a maxi-length, so I slashed the pattern at the lengthen/shorten line, and cut it so it was 43″ long. I’m 5’4″, and I wound up cutting off about two or three inches in the end before hemming. I used almost all of 2.5 meters of 56″ wide fabric.

I was able to put the skirt together quite easily, but unfortunately, I did find the instructions a bit confusing for my friend, who has little sewing experience. This was a bummer, since I wanted to do this with her to help her gain more confidence. We did a mash-up of a couple of the views, so that certainly didn’t help with the ease of reading the pattern. We did a gathered waistband, inseam pockets, and a zipper. I chose to do an exposed metal zipper. She has yet to finish her version, but I’m hoping I can continue to help her. Unfortunately, I probably won’t be suggesting Colette patterns for beginners ever again.

Overall, I am very happy with how this skirt turned out (despite the angry look on my face in the pic below). This fabric…I could live in it. Supremely soft and breathable. Secret Pajama Fabric. I have already purchased more for about three different projects. It doesn’t come in many colors, but what I have done on one piece of yardage in the “Natural” colorway is dye it using Fiber Reactive dyes from Dharma Trading Company. You can get just about color imaginable, and the fabric takes color very well. I’m sure you’ll be seeing what this dyed fabric becomes very soon!