This month our Simple Sew bloggers are showcasing very fancy frocks to inspire you for the upcoming Dressmaker’s Ball

For this month’s project, I made the deceptively simple Sophia skirt – my outfit of choice for the party season. I knew straight away that I wanted to make it in one of the gorgeous jewel-toned silk dupions from Doughtys… but which colour?! I finally settled on sapphire blue and I’m so happy with my choice.

I decided to eliminate the centre back seam to avoid puckering, which would be quite noticeable in shiny fabric. To do this, I cut the back piece on the fold (omitting the seam allowance) and moved the zip to the side seam, inserting it as instructed for the centre back seam. I also left out the pockets, which made this a quick project.

I made the skirt in the standard length and was surprised how long it was when compared to the illustration on the pattern envelope.

I fully lined the skirt with matching satin for an extra bit of luxury; made in exactly the same way as the outer fabric, but 1” shorter. I also hemmed the skirt by hand with a tiny whip stitch because I wanted my hem to be invisible. I really enjoy hand-sewing hems, but a machined hem would have been fine too.

This is a very princess-y skirt, with the structured silk dupion and ankle-skimming length, but I think in a wool crepe or scuba, it would be a great daytime or office skirt.

See you next time!

– Faye