I finished the Crescent skirt I was making in cherry print fabric. Guess what? I don’t like it! I love the pattern and I like the fabric but somehow I don’t like them together. Weird, eh? I’ve put the skirt aside for a while.

I enjoyed making the pattern though, so I decided to try it again using different fabric and putting everything I learned from the cherry skirt into practice. I made view C again, with the same alterations (2” added to the length and ¼” taken off the side seams on the waistband). This time I used a soft denim with a nice drape (£4.99 a metre from Fabricland). I bought 3 metres and, because it’s a generous 56″ wide, I have plenty left over. Sadly, it’s not enough for another Crescent skirt, but I might be able to squeeze a Ginger skirt out of it.

This time I serged the seams which gave a neat finish on the pocket bags and the side seams. I would do the back seams differently next time, though. I serged them for a 3/8” seam before inserting an invisible zip, following the instructions from Colette. However, the 3/8” seam made it fiddly to sew up the back seam by the end of the zip. Next time, I think I will use my overlocker without the blade to finish but not cut the seams to keep them at 5/8”.

One of the things I didn’t like about the cherry skirt was the way I secured the facing. I tried top stitching and stitching in the ditch (as recommended by Tasia) but they both came out wonky, so I slip stitched the facing to the skirt. I must have pulled my slip stitching too tight as there was some puckering around the stitches on the right side of the fabric. I gave stitching in the ditch another try on the denim skirt and this time it went much better. Apart from a couple of minor wobbles, the stitching isn’t visible at all! This is what worked for me: I tacked the facing into place before stitching; I used an even feed (walking) foot; I stitched slowly and I pulled the seam open as I sewed by placing my hands either side of the foot, gently stretching the fabric outwards. Yay, another skill learned!

I wanted to do something more decorative with the hem – normally I do a double fold hem – so after consulting my sewing books, I chose a bias bound hem and slip stitched the finished hem to the skirt. This method was recommended for heavy fabric and fabric that frays easily, so I thought it would be ideal for denim. It’s the first time I’ve hand sewn a hem and I’m pleased with the way it turned out.

If I made another Crescent skirt (and I will) I’d make a couple of minor changes next time. I’d change the way I finished the back seams, as I said above, and I would finish the lower edge of the facing differently. This time I serged this edge, but next time I would turn it under 1/8” and stitch for no reason other than it looks nicer.

Can you tell how pleased I am with this skirt? I think it’s the best thing I’ve made so far. It’s finished neatly inside and out. It fits and it’s comfortable. I can see me wearing this to death. In fact, I’m tempted to go back to Fabricland to see if they have any more of the fabric left for a second version…

PS not every top I own is stripy, although to be fair, a lot of them are.

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