The Wardrobe Architect's Sophia Skirt

Sewing the Sophia Skirt pattern for the first time, Simple Sew Blogger, Jenny, of The Wardrobe Architect was pleasantly surprised. Making this summery, floral midi, she already planning to make more!

The Sophia Skirt has been around for a few years and I can’t believe I have only just got round to making it. It’s a really simple skirt with a slightly A-line shape and pleats at the waist front and back. It’s a great pattern for beginners as there are only three pattern pieces, front and back skirt, waistband and pockets.

The Fabric

I chose this beautiful linen viscose fabric from Minerva – Lady McElroy Floral Linen Viscose Fabric Multicoloured – which is ideal for this pattern. The fabric is 60% viscose, 40% linen. It has some body and drape and presses really well to hold the pleats. This is a lovely quality fabric, smooth and soft and the print is vibrant with so many colours in it. It’s a non-directional print, so it means the pattern pieces can be cut upside down to tesselate them better and save fabric.

Changes to the pattern

I cut about 6 inches off the length of the pattern (I’m 5’8″) as it’s quite a long midi length as it comes – so this is something to bear in mind.

I made a couple of small changes to the pattern. The first being that I sewed the pleats down for a couple of inches, I find that they look a bit neater when I do this and it’s easier when it comes to ironing the skirt in the future, as the pleats stay where they are supposed to.

The other change I made was to cut the back skirt on the fold (like the front) and move the invisible zip to the side seam. This is because zips often stick out a bit above my bum and can distort the shape of the skirt.

End result

Even with these changes it was a really quick make. Fitting is easy as you just use your waist measurement.

I’m loving my new skirt. I need to make a couple of plain tops to go with it now, I only have one white T-shirt and it’s looking a bit worse for wear. I’ve photographed it with a black top here, which isn’t ideal, but there are so many colours in the fabric that white, navy, pale blue, and coral would all work really well in a complimentary top.

There will definitely be more of these in my wardrobe soon, it’s a great, simple pattern with a lot of possibilities for adding some variations.

Jenny’s Sophia skirt is a summer hit! If you’re inspired to find more Minerva linen blend fabrics that have a good drape to make the Sophia skirt flow, see our fabric picks below. Take a peek at the back of the pattern envelope (also below) to find out fabric requirements and size measurements.