Pattern Testing: The Sew DIY Nita Wrap Skirt

Sunday, March 06, 2016

I was absolutely thrilled to be selected by Beth to test the latest Sew DIY Pattern - the very chic Nita Wrap Skirt. It's just my kind of skirt, with three different lengths (hello midi and maxi!) and the option of three different waistband closures, so I jumped at the opportunity. Here's the finished product:
The Nita Wrap Skirt - with a flash of my underskirt!
And an up-close look at View B
I knew exactly the fabric for the such a special project. I've had this Minerva polka dot crepe for a while now - I bought 4 metres for a project that never saw the light of day - and I was so excited to finally use (some of) it. It's medium weight, with a lovely drape and it's very easy to work with. As you can probably see from my pictures, I made no attempt at pattern matching - I'm just going with the excuse that I was concentrating on the sew! - but I quite like the random placement of the polka dots.
Left: all sizes, Right: selected layers
Now onto the pattern...The PDF is a layered pattern which scores extra points from me! It allows you to view and print only the sizes you want - pretty handy when a pattern can be made up in a range of sizes (the Nita Skirt sizing ranges from 00-22). I've only come across this once before on a Named pattern, but I think it's definitely the way forward for print at home patterns!

Three lengths and three closures
Out of the three views, I chose to make View B, which was both my favourite length, and had the D ring fastening, which I love - I had loads of D rings left over from my Retro Rucksack and my various adventures with leather anyway.

Choosing my hardware
After much debate, I decided not to line my skirt (although the pattern does provide instructions for how to) and in this case, it was the right decision, as my the fabric hangs nicely as a single layer. As I skipped the lining stage, I took some extra care with the side seams by doing a turned under seam finish, which worked out quite nicely.

Turned under seam finish
I can't fault the pattern - Beth's instructions and illustrations made the Nita a breeze to make up. The whole construction took just an afternoon, and that's including hand finishing the waistband (you can do it by machine if you want!), some extra careful seam finishing and correcting a couple of my own silly mistakes - I let my iron overheat and accidentally melted a hole on the inside (luckily) of my waistband, so a bit of patching was required.

Patching the bit I managed to melt - luckily it's on the inside of the waistband
I cut a straight size 10 and the fit is spot on. The design is fitted on the waist and skims the curve of the hips and bum - I think it would be flattering on all body types. The wrap front provides plenty of modesty-preserving coverage, but the *slight* flash of leg you get with movement is a cool little quirk.
A bit of movement to prove that wrap provides enough coverage!
This was my first time pattern testing and I absolutely loved it - both the making part and going through the fine detail of the pattern and instructions, so big thanks to Beth for letting me try it out. Thanks also go to my number one sewing pal Erin for taking loads of pictures of me wearing my finished Nita:
Front view, worn with one of my Rise Turtlenecks


Back view!
Closer view of the side and that D ring fastening
Overall, the Nita Wrap Skirt is smart, cool and entirely wearable, day or night - and my wardrobe will soon be filling up with many of them. And as it turns out, the wrap style skirt is very on trend right now! Here's some inspiration for my next version - chic, sharp fabrics all the way!

Wrap skirts by Joseph, Whistles x2, Finery and Cos
I couldn't recommend the pattern more! Get your copy here and if you're in need of inspiration, check out the Nita Wrap Skirt tester round up - I'm up there in some great company :)

Which version of the Nita would you make?


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Shauni S

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4 comments

  1. Lynne7 March 2016 at 17:23

    Your skirt is lovely, and isn't it great to have so many options with one pattern. I absolutely LOVE the fabric, and have just looked on the Minerva Crafts website, but they don't seem to have it any more. Sob! I may have to do some googling...

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    1. Shauni S7 March 2016 at 17:38

      Thank you Lynne! It's such a fab pattern, would definitely recommend - think it would really suit you too! The fabric was SO nice to work with! I checked Minerva and they're out of stock of it in black, but seem to have it in turquoise and red - https://www.minervacrafts.com/shop/fabric/dress-fabrics/ph-5216-m-medium-spot-print-soft-dress-fabric?colour=Red%2B%2526%2BWhite

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  2. JB_Kiwi8 March 2016 at 07:41

    I love it! And it looks just as great in person as it does in the lovely pictures! (and brilliant seam finishing by the way!) x

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    Replies
    1. Shauni S8 March 2016 at 13:13

      Thanks Jess! The seam finish was a new one for me. I wore my pleather version last night - will have to blog that one when I get chance :) x

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