The drought continues, and its friend Terrible Heat Wave has come to hang out as well. We’ve been hovering around 85F / 30C lately, and I can’t deny that it has me daydreaming of autumn already. Fortunately, the weather cooled down a bit and we actually had cloud cover for an entire day today, so I was able to head outside and get some photos of a recent FO.

In the midst of a bunch of deadline knitting work, I’ve also been craving a simple sewing project – something to restore some of my confidence after the last few sewing experiences I’ve had. At this stage, I think I’m coming to terms with the fact that while I like my sewn FOs, generally, I don’t necessarily enjoy the process of sewing a garment. What this means right now is that keeping it as simple as possible is the best way for me to go.

SO. What’s one of the simplest sewing projects there is? A gathered skirt. Done right, it can involve very little cutting out of pieces, you only have a few seams to deal with, and the end result can be super flattering. I happen to love high waisted skirts, which is part of why I’ve been focusing on cropped sweaters lately. While I really like the Chardon skirt (blogged here) I finished a few months ago, I wanted something even simpler to sew. I also wanted something a little longer (thinking ahead to autumn). Starting with the super basic gathered skirt, I opted to add a few details I felt comfortable executing, like pockets at the side seams and a hidden side zip (I don’t love the look of an elastic waistband). A few hours later (four or five, probably), and I had a new skirt! (I realize it’s a little wrinkled in these photos, but it’s been folded, not hanging, as I’ve started pre-packing my clothes for Norway.)

The plaid suiting really called out to me when I went to find fabric for this project. I love the neutral tones with that turquoise highlight running throughout. I’ve been gravitating toward plaids, lately. I think it’s a big combination of many things: my growing love for Rowan and in particular this book from Marie Wallin, watching a lot of Outlander a few months ago, and Kate’s recent post about Scottesque (and the midi kilt she paired with Buchanan). Between the neutral plaid and the gathered skirt, this thing almost counts as Outlander cosplay, hilariously. The theme song popped in my head when I tried it on to see where I wanted to hem it.

I used three rectangles (front, back, and waistband) and traced the pocket pieces from the pattern for the Chardon skirt, and that was it. Simple and satisfying. I didn’t trim away any of the skirt fabric, which is why the gathering is so dramatic (no Outlander pun intended). I’m very pleased with how the pockets turned out and I think I actually did a pretty decent job of horizontally matching the plaid at the side seams.

I still need to find closure for the waistband to sit above the zipper – perhaps a heavy duty hook and eye? But that can wait for now. I’ve paired it with my Chuck in these photos, and I think it’s a really lovely combo. I’m looking forward to pairing it with some of my blues as well to pick up on that blue in the plaid. I’ve logged the skirt on Kollabora and you can check out that page here.