The Seamwork Everly skirt

This is part two of the outfit I put together back in April, the Evely skirt by Seamwork. I had been eyeballing this skirt already for quite some time, because I thought it looked really cute. It’s simple and flattering but the two layers give a bit of interest and also the potential for nice variations. This one is just simple black, but can you imagine a lace top layer for a festive look? Or a sheer organza top layer with embroidery? Or maybe an eyelet top layer over a simple plain underlayer? I see plenty of possibilities here!

But not for me, not this time. My wardrobe is lacking skirts, and especially a few basics. And since my goal for this year and especially this outfit was to provide myself with two basic pieces, I decided to make it in black. It goes with pretty much anything, always looks neat and for me it’s a very comfortable color to wear (considering I was a gothic girl for most of my high school and university years). For this skirt I picked a soft and drapey 80/20 linen viscose mix from Budgetstoffen, one of my go to online fabric stores here in the Netherlands. I have made pieces from this fabric before and I love it so much. It is easy to work with, it has a beautiful drape and because of the viscose doesn’t wrinkle as badly as 100% linen. I want to make everything from this fabric… so as long as they sell it I will probably put a few meters in my shopping cart with every order I place.

As for the pattern, it is very simple. Only four pieces (two for the front and two for the back) and a piece of bias tape, so cutting and sewing was a very fast process. As always with Seamwork patterns, the instructions are excellent and well illustrated, the sizing is pretty accurate and the fabric requirements and notions list is also very clear.

The sewing process itself went fine for me, up until the zipper insertion. The zipper is inserted with both layers taken together (of course), and after that the side seams of the top and bottom skirts are sewn individually. It shouldn’t be that hard, but for me it was a bit finicky. Maybe the fabric slipped around slightly, maybe the invisible zipper still was a bit too stiff for the fabric, but as you can see in the picture below, there is a little bit of dragging at the size seam with zipper. I basted the zipper in, worked very slowly, used an invisible zipper foot but this happened anyway.

It is not super noticable when worn, but as a perfectionist, it bothers me slightly… just because I know it is there. Still, it didn’t bother me enough to tear it apart and start over, I dislike inserting zippers and decided I will just wear it as it is and try again with the next version if I make one.

And I have worn it a lot already! With the Aster blouse, but also with a nice black lace shirt when I went to the museum, with a simple cardigan… It’s exactly the versatile piece I was looking for. Maybe not because of the shape or design, but just because it’s a simple and nice black skirt. For me, that is a mission accomplished!