A Hepburn Skirt and bold colour choices
A little while ago, I noticed that I often go very safe in terms of fabric choices. For some reason I never go with the bold prints and colours (with the exception of bright red, I guess) and usually grab all the plain colours, especially navy blue. Since the Hepburn Skirt is perfect for colour-blocking, I decided to go with bolder colours, the ones that I didn’t have in my wardrobe yet but could see myself wearing. Well, here you can see the result!
I made the knee-length variation of the Hepburn Skirt and chose to use a different for the front and back side panels. 
I used bright pink and royal blue cotton drill fabric which I got for £3.50/m on Goldhawk Road. Quite a bargain, considering that I needed less than a metre for the size 10 version of the skirt. I cut out two complete skirts in both colours and just swapped the side panel pieces. I haven’t finished the second skirt, pink with blue side panels, but for that one I will go with the thigh high length.
I paired the skirt with my sleeveless Lottie Blouse, a perfect combination for work. I still have to figure out which tops go together with these bright colours and for the time being black and white seems to be the best option.
Both variations of the skirt have a vent in the back which makes walking much more comfortable. The pattern includes instructions on two different techniques to sew a vent. Of course you can also skip the vent and wiggle around Marilyn-style.
The skirt comes together quite quickly, it took just a few hours. I always hand-stitch waistband, vent and hem which took longer than sewing the skirt. Inserting the invisible zipper is probably the most complicated part of sewing the skirt. I think a beginner could totally tackle this pattern.
I recommend using medium to heavy-weight fabric. The cotton drill was perfect for the skirt. They had loads of different colours on Goldhawk Road. I probably will pay them a visit again some time soon to pick up more.
I finished all seams with my new overlocker – such a bliss! I actually now enjoy overlocking more than sewing. Is this normal?
(The seams acutally do not pucker at all, I have no idea why they look so awful in the picture above!)
At the moment I am also working on the fitted Hepburn dress variation which combines both skirt and dress patterns. I will make a knee-length version in a plain colour and at least one mini dress that is colour-blocked. I already picked up all the fabrics a couple of weeks ago and can’t wait to finish the dresses as soon as possible. The dress itself comes with many different variations, but (as you can see in the figure below) when combining both patterns the possibilities are endless.
Both patterns are available on the audrey & me patterns page now. If you’d like to get both patterns, you can get them in a bundle at a reduced price (yay!).
Happy sewing!
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Here a few close-ups of the neckline as it’s quite hard to see in the pictures due to the busy print:
The fabric was quite a bargain – I got it for £4/m at A1 Fabrics (if I remember correctly). It’s a peachskin polyester and the quality was surprsingly good. It’s quite heavy but drapes very well and is super soft and cool to the touch. The white parts of the fabric are not see-through at all and therefore, I could use the same fabric for lining the bodice. Soft inside out!
I’m a bit disappointed that the summer seems to be over so suddenly. Luckily, the Hepburn neckline works really well with a cardigan, so I will be able to wear the dress at work in the next couple of months.
I used navy blue Lycra jersey fabric (which almost looks a bit like lightweight bathing suit fabric) and used the wrong side, so that the slightly shiny side is on the inside. This way around it almost has a cooling effect and is super comfy to wear in this hot weather we have at the moment. 
I love the result and was almost a bit sad that it wasn’t for me. Luckily, I have loads of the fabric left and am already dreaming about making a navy cowl neck dress.
You will surely recognise this little red number: It’s another Lottie Blouse and actually the first one of the three I made recently. I won’t say more about the pattern, as I already wrote about it 
I’m a big fan of this version which is definitely my favourite of the ones I made. The fabric is amazing and perfect for the hot summer weather which we have in London at the moment. I’m not quite sure what it is though. I suspect it’s a rayon. I bought it for £2/m at my local fabric shop. It’s a super teeny shop in my neighbourhood and probably the most messy shop I’ve ever seen. I only ever go there for buying buttons or trim as the selection of fabrics they have isn’t very great. However, last time I went I saw this fabric, which is super soft and drapes nicely. For the price it was quite a steal, so I bought 1.5m of it.
The fabric is very delicate and after wearing this blouse super often lately, there’s already a tiny hole in the fabric near the hem in the front. It might be from pinning too much. Meeh.
