I’ve been on a bit of a skirt sewing binge lately, and this is one of the latest. I’ve noticed that this winter I seem to be gravitating more towards skirts and fleece lined tights to keep myself warm and my wardrobe was in need of a couple more winter-ish skirts (I’ve been wearing my wool check skirt to death).

This skirt was made based on this pinterest pin which I have had pinned for a while. It started off as long as the inspiration skirt, but I soon realised that I’m much shorter than I think and it needed a good 6 inches taken off the length because it was overwhelming me. Not to worry! I must thank hubby for kneeling on the floor and pinning the hem for me, such a help!

I didn’t use a pattern for this as such. The skirt is a 3/4 circle attached to a contoured waistband. I used the waistband pieces from the Grainline Maritime shorts for shaping and made the waistband a bit wider. The belt is a long straight strip with channels stitched along its length, just like a karate belt, hence the name of this blog post. I made the belt just long enough that it can be tied in a bow, or simply knotted so I have a couple of options. To keep this a quick make, the hem is overlocked and then machine stitched. I didn’t fancy hemming all that skirt my hand!

I have had the fabric hanging around in my stash for a few years. I’m not really sure what it is, I picked it up at an op shop. It reminds me of fabric that a grandpa’s slacks would be made out of…haha! If you look up close it’s made from green, navy blue and tan threads which I find interesting and the end result is a nice teal shade. It did make choosing a thread colour tricky. I ended up using a navy blue I already had and it matches pretty well. I had 2.8m of the fabric which was 1.4m wide. It was just enough to make the skirt and belt, though if I knew I’d be taking so much off the length I probably would have had a bit left over to add pockets.

I really need to get back into blogging again! I’ve been so slack with it this year. I counted the other day and I have about 20 makes that I could post, just need to take some photos! I should set up a day with a photographer or something. Maybe next week, or when the weather warms up 😉