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Butterick Linen Skirt with Sunny Day Linen Fabric

Butterick Linen Skirt with Sunny Day Linen Fabric

The parcel arrived at my door with a quick knock from the delivery driver, and I practically ran to collect it. I could not have been more stoked to open the package and see de Linum’s Sunny Day 100% Linen folded up oh so softly, nestled neatly in my parcel. Arriving all the way in Ottawa, Canada, Sunny Day was a dose of vitamin D in a package, especially when looking out my sewing room window to see my backyard covered in a few inches of powdery snow!

Yellow Golden Linen fabric from de Linum

Sunny Day is a golden yellow linen with soft cream and sage berry blossoms delicately printed all over it. Romantic but still earthy, I was delighted to find an un-fussy floral print like this. Another de Linum option for a cheerful, boho and not prissy floral print is the Summer Floral Garden linen, which I was quite tempted by. The fabric is, as always, floppy but with a beautiful weight - you just know the linen will wash, wear and soften beautifully as it ages. Sunny Day is listed at 140GSM - a light to mid-weight fabric and a generous 149cm in width. The pattern suggestions for Sunny Day were the Anthea Blouse by Anna Allen Clothing (those sleeves and this linen - of COURSE), the Millicent Wrap Dress by Style Arc and the strappy Hazel Sundress by Rosery Apparel. Linen is the answer for all of the dreamiest patterns.

making a  linen skirt with Yellow Golden Linen fabric and sewing pattern

I was tossing up between sewing a voluminous blouse like the Anthea or the Aims blouse by Seamwork or an all-seasons skirt like the Estuary Skirt by Sew Liberated. I finally decided to use a vintage skirt pattern; Butterick’s 3162 is described as a slightly flared skirt, 5 inches below mid-knee, with a front button closure, straight waistband and slant front pockets. I loved the vintage look of the skirt but wanted something a little more versatile to wear during December in Canada, so I decided right away that I could lengthen the skirt to an ankle-grazing length, adding side slits, envisioning wearing this romantic floral skirt with boots and woolly socks and a cropped sweater, and in the spring and summer with tank tops and sandals. 

making a  linen skirt with Yellow Golden Linen fabric and sewing pattern

I daydreamed of outfits and sketched out the lengthened skirt while pre washing and tumble drying the linen (de Linum suggests that fabric may shrink around 5% so I wanted to get that out of the way first, in case the garment ever ended up in the dryer during its life cycle).

making a  linen skirt with Yellow Golden Linen fabric and sewing pattern

My measurements put me in the Butterick 16, which was the only size not included in the pattern bracket I had bought. Comparing the largest size of the skirt that was available in my size packet, I measured my waist and hips and added the required cm to the pattern pieces as best I could. The shapes were quite simple, so I just eyeballed my grading. I also added 20 cm of length to the skirt to achieve a longer length. I made sure to leave myself an extra inch or two as a safety measure, but not so much that I’d have to have a deeper hem than I wanted.

making a  linen skirt with Yellow Golden Linen fabric and sewing pattern

As with all Big 4 patterns, some of the instructions were not super clear, but I muddled my way through and did things my own way where I felt the instructions did not make sense. I considered adding a length of elastic to the back half of the waistband however, I was concerned that it would pull the button closure apart or create gaping. Surprisingly, the straight waistband worked out fine, and while it is not super fitted, I do not think it will stretch out too badly with wear. 

After a few days of relaxed sewing over Christmas, I had created pockets, interfaced and attached my waistband, hand-basted my centre front button placket, added buttonholes, and hand stitch buttons and hemmed the skirt. I used 5 cute mushroom-shaped wooden buttons that I’d recently acquired from Etsy but wonder if a darker wood might add a little something more to the skirt - the jury is still out on whether or not I will swap them.

making a  linen skirt with Yellow Golden Linen fabric and sewing pattern

Overall, Sunny Day was a delightful fabric to sew with - smooth and cool, drapey without being heavy, and ever so slightly sheer in direct sunlight. I can’t wait to wear this skirt in the warm weather with bare legs underneath!

 

30 Dec 2023 Brittany Kingham

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