Axel Skirt – Sew My Style December 2018

An awesome year of Sew My Style comes to an end today, can you believe it? I had such a great time as a leader for the project this year, and I truly enjoyed sewing up a few things out of my normal wheelhouse. Despite being pregnant for the majority of the year, I was able to sew up every month’s challenge, except for November (though I look forward to trying my hand at lingerie in the future, it was not the ideal plan for me 2 weeks postpartum!), and I’ve posted about all of those except October’s Klum House bag… I had a blog post all written up and ready to go, but never got photos since I went into labor a few days early! I still plan to post it eventually!

Anyways… I’ve been looking forward to the December pattern since we announced the schedule a year ago! The Axel skirt by Megan Nielsen has so many views to choose between, but version three was always my top pick! I came across this beautiful fabric from Style Maker Fabrics back in August, and scooped it up right away for this project.

Though I haven’t made many garments out of scuba, I find that I always love working with it. Despite being incredibly easy to work with, I feel like scuba always results in a really nice looking finished garment, thanks to the way the almost spongy texture absorbs the stitches.  Not to mention that it is super comfortable to wear, and pretty forgiving in the looks department – which is important for me and my 2 months postpartum belly!

I was so pleased with how quickly this skirt sewed up! My time in my sewing room is so limited these days, it can feel like I hardly have any time to run in, finish a seam, and run right back out! I brought this fabric downstairs and cut it out on the kitchen island one afternoon – there are three pattern pieces, which translates out to five pieces of fabric once cut. I was then able to sew up the skirt (partially on the serger, partially on my sewing machine) over the course of one naptime! I went up to the sewing room with the intention of cleaning up just a bit, and ended up tidying up and coming back downstairs with a finished skirt! The most tedious bit was making sure my twin needle seams matched up well where the V shaped slit meets in the front! As usual with knit fabrics, I used heat n’ bond on my hems – this helps keep them from getting wavy, but also to help emphasize the ⅝” mark at which to fold and hem.

I really like this skirt, and I think I may even make another in a bright floral scuba from my stash come springtime. I wore this one for Christmas Eve, and felt pretty and dressed up without being uncomfortable. I love the way the colors in this marbley fabric work with rich colors like navy and crimson for winter, but I think I’ll easily be able to take it into spring and summer with some bright colored tops. I’m also looking forward to trying out a more casual look with a sweater and some Ked’s soon. It’s a versatile design that I hope translates really well across my wardrobe.

Skirt: handmade by me
Pattern: Megan Nielsen – Axel Skirt (Version 3)
Fabric: Style Maker Fabrics – Agate Print Scuba Natural
Key Ingredients: Heat & Bond Soft Stretch (Lite)  

Though the pattern used in this post was generously provided to me as a SewMyStyle project leader, all opinions expressed are my own, as always! Thank you all for following along with me with the Sew My Style group this year! Though I won’t be taking on a leader role with the project in 2019, I’m so excited to see where it goes – there are some great changes in store, and I’m looking forward to participating! See you in January for some workout wear!

.- XX Elizabeth