I picked a really bold fabric for my wearable muslin of the Estuary Skirt from Meg of Sew Liberated. The fabric was out of my comfort zone and beyond my color palette but it was so beautiful that I went for it.

There is a time and place for experimentation, but I went too far. Not that it isn’t a gorgeous skirt: It is.

I gave it to my 11 year old daughter, who is close enough to me in size that it fits her perfectly. It’s a straight size six.

I made the top several buttons functional to act as a fly and to reduce the stress on the waistband, and then just sewed the remaining buttons down on top of both plackets to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions. I used my sewing machine’s buttonhole foot and rainbow thread for the working buttonholes. I was planning to make the whole button placket non-functioning and changed my mind when I realized how much the waistband would have to stretch to go over my hips, and I knew it would last longer if I made functioning buttons.

As suggested in the directions for making a skirt with a faux placket, I hadn’t interfaced the plackets. I hope this doesn’t affect the longevity of the skirt. There might be some mending down the road.

I finished the inside seams with snug hug seam binding. I made the skirt with both patch pockets and in-seam pockets, which my daughter noticed immediately with delight. I hand finished the hem. Otherwise, I followed the instructions. Stitching in the ditch for the waistband always gives me trouble and I had some issues getting the fabric to gather over the back elastic evenly when I was sewing the seam through the middle of the elastic.

The fabric has both graded color and a gingham pattern with spaces between sections of vertical lines. I did my best to pattern match the skirt pieces. I cut the placket, waistband, and pockets on the bias to create some visual interest (as if the skirt needed any more of that). This method also prevented me having to pattern match the entire skirt, which I don’t even think was possible with this fabric.I don’t know if I’ll make another Estuary. I don’t actually need any skirts. I liked the pattern, and when I met Meg last summer at a slow sewing retreat and got to see her red raw silk Estuary in person, I definitely wanted to make one for myself. 

I might come back to it. I’m glad I finally made one, though. It’s a really nice skirt and it suits my daughter just fine.

This isn’t the first time I’ve made this young lady a skirt. Here’s the traditional African print skirt I drafted for her.