The lovely Rae from Made by Rae asked me to whip up a Cleo to celebrate its launch as a paper pattern. And whip I did - it took me a grand total of 2 hours! Cleo is a simple gathered skirt with an elasticated waist and cutout style pockets. A very gratifying sew for after work, I did it in two stints - cutting and sewing. With no zips or any fiddly bits, Cleo really is great for a beginner (or those of us that sometimes fancy a quick and gratifying sew!). You gather the front section first, then sew on the waistband and use the elastic to gather the back skirt (I'm a woman that hates to gather, so this is a real plus for me!).
I made the skirt from a lightweight cotton that I bought in a French market a couple of years ago. It reminds me of the Truffula trees from the Lorax which makes me happy, especially when worn with my
Just Trade Cloud necklace and brolly earrings!
I clearly tempted fate with my Jewelry, as my faithful long suffering photographer and I got quite wet whilst taking these photos! Oh, the Great British Summer!
I finished the insides with french seams and the hem with yellow bias tape - but I machined it! Not like me at all as I LOVE a hand stitched hem. I was clearly in speed sew mode!
She is super comfy to wear and those pockets and very handy indeed. I think next time I'd make them a little deeper as my phone tends to peep out the top slightly.
Wishing you all a sewing filled week and if you'd like to get your crafty mitts on Cleo you can head over and download the
PDF here.
Lots of love,
Vic xx
I'll leave you with some words of encouragement from the wise orange man himself:
