The Women's Kairuku Skirt!
Lydia says she named the skirt after The Kairuku, which is an extinct breed of giant penguin, whos fossilized bones were found in the South Island of New Zealand in 1977.
I was asked to do a quick sew for this skirt, and boy do I love it!
let me tell you it certainty is a quick sew!
This skirt provides three different options (more if you count the colour blocked top); a plain skirt, paneled skirt and a rouched panel front.
First I whipped up this plain skirt with a thick-ish blue knit. I don't know the full composition as I bought this as a "tester" fabric- but I'm seriously impressed with this skirt that I am totally wearing this "tester"!
Once I knew the size I chose was a good fit, and length, I wanted to try out the paneled option. I found this faux leather look fabric at spotlight and thought I'd take a chance with it to try a black on black panel. I love this one! I added 1.5 inches so i could make it a bit more formal... I'm really please with how this one turned out!
because the fabric doesn't have any stretch I sized up the panel piece but kept the sides my size. The side panels are a lush ponte fabric.
I think it worked really well!
And lastly I wanted to try the rouched front panel. This skirt has a plain back and is actually up-cycled from a pair of navy ponte pants.
To be honest the rouching was a little bit fiddly, and made the total sewing time a lot longer - especially when you have children who are needing you in between each step! In this instance I used a very drapey double brushed poly.
I actually cut out a "lining" piece to help me with the rouching.... I'll insert some photos below.
First I did a loose straight stitch, then used the bobbin thread to gather the fabric. I gathered until it was the same length as my "lining piece".
then I folded the gathered piece in half to find the center point and matched that to the center of the lining and pin, pin, pinned! (and seriously I hate pins but this helped so much!)
Then I stitched the gathered front to the lining piece and treated it as one piece while completing the rest of the skirt.
I love the end result!!!
Because I up-cycled from the pants I ended up needing to add an extra seam in the back as I cut the back panels out of the pant leg.
Now, don't forget, if you're interested in the pattern buy it here! and make sure to join the facebook page and use the code CUTEKAIRUKU to get a 20% discount! *Code valid until 15th June 2020
I'm already planning more so stay tuned for a pocket hack!!!
*Some links in my blog posts are affiliate links which means I make a small commission if you purchase through these links. There is no additional cost to you.
You may remember my previous post about the Soho pattern by Halla. It's such a lovely shape I knew it would make the perfect jumper!!!
I've been hoarding these pretty scraps for a long time and wanted to put them to good use; thus the scrappy soho was born!
Be warned this is a bit of a labour of love and much more time consuming than the basic soho pattern.
I'm sure this will work for any top pattern- I really like the look of a raglan sleeve with this scrappy style; so just choose what ever top you like the look and fit of.
First you want to trace the front pattern piece onto some scrap paper (or what ever you use to trace patterns) and cut so you have a full front piece.
Then play around with the scraps to get them into an arrangement you like; I was sure to give a lot of overlap so I knew I could cut out shapes with a decent seam allowance. *Unfortunately I didn't photograph this part.
Then you want to draw out your design for the scraps. Be sure to keep in mind the order you can sew scraps. For me, I didn't want to be sewing a big point into the middle of another piece so opted to sew one straight line onto another and made sure to cut the pieces like this.
In order to save time I just cut out theses shapes and added seam allowance directly onto each fabric scrap. If you want you can trace each shape onto paper and add seam allowance to create a template.
Then you want to cut the shapes out! I draw directly onto fabric using a wash away pen. - I cant wait to put it all together!!!
Now it's time for sewing. I created sections and labeled them (1a, 1b, 1c; 2a, 2b etc.) so I'd remember what order to sew. I also used this photo if I forgot what piece goes where and what was an outside edge or hem piece (as they don't have seam allowances and I didn't want to sew the wrong sides together).
Once the front piece is done I double check it fits the pattern piece and trim away any excess. I didn't want the raw seams rubbing or showing so decided to cut a piece of thin pink cotton which I used like a lining. I just laid the scrappy front on top of the pink lining front and treated them as one piece when sewing the rest of the pattern as per instructions.
Then I sewed on the sleeves and back as per the pattern instructions.
I actually was going to try the open cowl neck but after putting the top together I realized a cowl would be too much and would detract from the awesome scrappy front. I decided to go with the crew neck instead.
But I seriously cant wait to sew up a Soho Cowl neck or hoody!!!
yes! it even has a pocket!!! :)
To make this I cut two of this shape piece (scrap piece). I laid the two scrap pieces on top of each other, so the piece I wanted on show was on the top. I then cut the corner off the top piece to expose the solid pink piece behind. this solid pink will become the pocket inner. I then cut a strip of fabric 2" wide and folded in half. I sewed this with raw edges to the raw edge of the pocket opening to create a band. I folded the seam back into the pocket and top stitched. I then laid the outer pocket (stripe) on top of the pocket back (pink) and treated them as one piece when sewing.
If I was to do this again I would probably make two openings for the pocket.
Overall, I'm very happy with the end result and love that I've made something pretty and reduced fabric waste!
What do you think?
If you make your own scrappy project I'd love to see! Tag me on instagram or facebook (@TinyKnightNZ) or drop a link to your blog below!
This is actually one of the first clothing patterns I sewed when I first got into sewing, almost two years ago!
This pattern says its for knit fabric, however I've used cotton woven fabric for almost all the ones I've made.
As you can see above there are two leg length options. The pattern is designed for pockets on the front panel and elastic; but I'll show you below how it looks without either!
The Brindille & Twig Website is pretty easy to navigate and has a rewards system where you earn points with each purchase which ultimately gives you a discount.
If you haven't shopped with Brindille and Twig before please click my referral link here or throughout this post for 15% off your first purchase. (This will also give me 20 rewards points for referring a friend)
Now for the best part.... Photo Spam!!!!
Here's one of the few pairs I've made using knit fabric and in the longer leg length.
This Navy one is made with light weigh gauze fabric from Spotlight. For this romper I omitted the pockets by cutting two lining pieces (one from lining and one from front fabric- which in this case were the same fabric)Yes, the emojii's are a bit weird but allow me to cover Tiny Knight's face for use on social media.
This spotty romper better shows the lining vs main fabric options and highlights the difference between with pockets and without.
This one features pockets, as you can see the usual front piece is a top and bottom piece to allow the cut out pocket shape.
This one below omits the pocket by cutting two lining pieces.
This is actually a high quality cotton pillow case I up-cycled. I wish I could find a similar fabric as I love the asymmetrical spots
This Pooh Fabric is also from a pillow case.
These super cute Dumbo and Christmas tartan rompers (respectively) are made from Quilting Cotton from Spotlight.
Here's my favorite Christmas one using a thicker cotton which I found at an op-shop-I think it was actually a table cloth or large cloth napkin.
This bird print one is actually made using upholstery cotton which resulted in a more structured design. I also left the elastic out the bottom hem to give it more of a dungaree feel.
And finally, here is a bit of a more interesting hack. instead of shorts/pants I turned this one into a dress for my niece. it was actually REALLY easy to do this (easier than the original pattern). To do this I simply drew a straight line across from the side to the fold line instead of cutting up the curve for the crotch.
I also made up a bit of a hack to create an enclosed inner seam ... essentially you sew the inner leg seam right sides together and then pull it right side out through the top bib. Then fold the top of the bib hem down to top-stitch.
This hacking then got me thinking and able to create a fully reversible romper. Here it is without leg elastic, but that would be just as easy to add by stitching it into place before pulling everything right side out through the bib piece.
I hope you enjoyed seeing all the photos of my sews using the Spring Romper!
