I’ll admit, I was a bit stumped when I received my June Bee Box from Vinegar and Honey. I love stripes, but I don’t love sewing them (I’m a perfectionist, and all that matching drives me batty sometimes!). That, combined with the fact that its been in the triple digits here, had me scratching my head at the lovely striped liverpool in my “box”.
If you’re unfamiliar with liverpool, its a heavier textured knit, almost like a double knit in weight, with a crepe/sponge like texture. It has a decent drape, but doesn’t cling or wrinkle easily. Its a great fabric, and I’ve used it before for my Midway Bomber Jackets (see the SewAlong Round up HERE) but I wasn’t about to make a jacket in this heat!
Fortunately, I was delivered from my conundrum by Jessica Hooley, of the DIBY Club, who invited me to test her second pattern, the Duchess skirt (I made/hacked her first pattern, the Babe Hoodie, so I knew this one was going to be good)!
The Duchess is a gorgeous hi-low skirt with two length options, and two options for the front rise- conservative or flashy! I chose the conservative, calf length skirt (which ended up longer on me since I’m short!) and I LOVE it!
Seriously, I wasn’t quite expecting to love it as much as I do, but the way the stripes wrap around the skirt is quite flattering, and the higher front provides enough airflow to make it perfect for summer!
The wide waistband is one of my favorite parts- it feels like it “holds me in” in just the right way!
It would also look rockin’ with some boots in the wintertime, and while that seems SO far away right now, I love it when a pattern will work for a variety of seasons. This skirt can also be made up in a woven fabric- which I plan to do soon! The pattern only has two pieces, which makes it a super fast sew- hemming is the most time consuming part.
In fact, I loved it so much that I cut and sewed another right away. This is as close to instant gratification as it gets folks- 20 minutes from cut to finish! I’ll share my other versions when the pattern is ready to release- Follow me on Instagram, Facebook or sign up for blog updates via email and I’ll make sure to keep you posted!