Pleated Skirt – Simplicity 8609

Before I start, allow me to officially declare my love and obsession for the 50s and 70s fashion 😍 There are so many 70s styles that I have adored since I started sewing, such as flared jeans, bell sleeves, halter tops etc but never knew they were from that era until I looked them up lately. I also had no idea this pleated skirt style is from the 50s until my boyfriend’s mom pointed that out to me! She also said this skirt is by far her ‘most favourite’ piece I have made and I can totally see why.

This is my first ever me-made skirt and I honestly think it is the most beautiful skirt I have ever had in my wardrobe. Let’s get real though, the fabric is the star of the show… I could have literally self drafted a skirt out of a square shape and inserted elastic on the top and it would still look beautiful with this fabric (let me know in the comments if you want to challenge me on this, I still have some fabric leftovers😉)… So I think the pleats and the waistband (AND pockets) are just cherry on the top for this lovely print design.

Fabric and Pattern:

The fabric is a designer 100% cotton shirting that I got last year from Blackbird fabrics. If you have been following me for long, you know that the majority of the fabrics I sew with are either gifted to me from Minerva in exchange for a blog post or purchased from the thrift store. Where I find a fabric does not matter to me as long as I can connect to it on an emotional and spiritual level (y’all know what I am talking about). This one was certainly outside my planned budget but was so worth the million dollar I paid for! The quality of the fabric is just superb and the prints are so vivid and vibrant (I have not added any saturation effect on these photos). The reason it took me so long to make something out of this beauty was the pressure for making the right pattern choice and the timing – I knew it was only fitting to make a Spring outfit with this fabric.

One thing I have learned along the way with sewing with super duper busy vibrant prints is that you may find it easier and more practical to create a separate piece with them (e.g., skirt, shorts, blouse etc) rather than making a full outfit (dress, jumper, etc). I personally found this fabric overwhelming (in a good way) when I looked into making it into a dress. I felt like I would find it overpowering as a whole, but this way, I can choose a solid colour top (black, white, any colour really!) and let the skirt steal the hearts (speaking of that, I got a compliment from EVERY person walking by on the street during this photoshoot). At the end of the day, it is totally a personal choice and you can’t really go wrong.

The Simplicity 8609 pattern was the first simplicity pattern I have tried and it was so lovely to work with. I have been doing some complicated projects lately (the white satin blouse was a lot of work), so this skirt pattern felt like a breeze of fresh spring air to me. It is a very quick, easy project and the instructions were actually super detailed, which caught me by surprise. I am used to minimal instructions on McCalls and especially Burda patterns, so that alone has made me look into more Simplicity patterns in future.

Conclusion:

I think everyone needs a bright colourful skirt like this in their wardrobe that screams SPRING from a mile afar. You can keep the length midi or shorten to a mini skirt for a more casual look. Either way, the beauty of this style is that you can dress it up with heels or casually wear your converse when going for evening walks (And isn’t that all we do nowadays?)

Hope you enjoyed this vivid make as much as I did. Just looking at all those colours makes me so happy!😍

Until next me-made darlings,

Much love xo

Ava