Full circle skirt with a twist

And the twist is: it isn't a full circle skirt, it's a Meringue from the Colette Sewing Handbook. But it is a full circle, because the first thing I made this year was for a http://www.sewweekly.com/ challenge. And it was a skirt. So I start and end my year with a skirt.

This skirt is my end of year celebration piece for sewweekly. OK, so it was going to be my "free for all" piece for last week's challenge. I didn't finish it. (Special note for my sweet friend Judy I am trying to do a one hip thrust out look especially for you. See, I look arthritic not alluring!)

This is what happens when we try to take photos, by the way - a pitch invasion:

The skirt took ages to make. Ages. And ages. In theory it should have taken one evening or so but I seem to have a special skill in making stuff take a long time. I did do some extras:

The rouleau pocket was completed a couple of weeks ago and was inspired by this tutorial on the Colette Patterns website.

Then I was persuaded by the ever optimistic Kate (my weekly sewing teacher at the Design Studio) that I should do something called "bagging it out" to the skirt. This makes the inside look lovely and was a great suggestion if I hadn't manage to make a right hash of it and have to unpick it before getting it right the second time. Still, here's the inside of my skirt:

I also fitted my first ever invisible zip (ironically my first ever zip went into that first skirt) which was a revelation.

I topstitched the scalloped edgeand there it was: my back to the beginning skirt. I had such fun this year. Hope you did too xxx

Rouleau Pocket: done

I am making a Meringue skirt from the pattern in the Colette Sewing Handbook. This is a very easy pattern and would have been super speedy had I not decided to make a Rouleau Pocket following this tutorial on the Colette website. Basically, first make bias binding. Then sew it into shape. Then put up with alot of daft comments from the others at your sewing class about your change falling out of your pocket.

I am pleased with it though, this is it attached to the skirt front:

I will sew up the skirt next week at class, I am a bit distracted this week and have lots to do.... but I have a feeling the pocket will have taken longer than the skirt to make....