Maxi Ilsley Skirt

One last garment made and photographed in Vietnam: a maxi Marrila Walker Ilsley Skirt. The Ilsley skirt is a free pattern (woo hoo!) which, because of the elastic easy fit style, is very easy to modify into a number of different looks. My first version mostly followed the instructions and the pattern apart from changing the elastic casing method and style. This time round I made quite a few super simple modifications.



 

I wanted a maxi version which was very easily achieved. I just measured my desired length against my legs from where I wanted the skirt to sit at my hips; cut the pattern in three (although two would be fine) and inserted the additional inches between the top and bottom of the skirt pieces. 

Given the fabric was a drapey viscose (bought from Darn Cheap Fabrics) I wanted a bit more gathering in the skirt to "go with the flow". So I added 2" at the centre front and centre back fold. I'm not a huge fan of pockets on very drapey garments so I placed the pocket pattern piece under the front skirt pieces when cutting out the fabric to effectively remove the pocket.

I also made a few adjustment to the waistband. I still don't have any 5cm elastic on hand and I wanted this skirt to sit on my hip wear a wide waistband would be unflattering. Changes: I took about an inch of the waistband width when cutting out the fabric and sewed two button holes at the centre front to be used for the drawstring. After attaching the waistband I inserted a 3/4" piece of elastic, squished it right down toward the skirt and sewed a line of stitching right above it. This made the elastic channel the perfect width and created a nice gathered top to the skirt, kind of paperbag-esque. It's hard to describe, but it's a feature I've seen on lots of floaty maxi's in summer/surf clothing stores.

I made this skirt in a bit of a rush and the quality of the seaming at the curved hems is pretty average. None the less, I love the way it turned out and it was perfect for Vietnam. Light and cool and conservative enough for any temples we decided to fit into our day. Having a few maxi items in the luggage also helped when my white skin was struggling with the sun.

Here's a "how you doing" photo outtake. Sadly, my posts will consist of winter wear from here on out. I'm well and truly back to the reality of post-holiday life.