A few months back my girls at By Hand London sent me the Charlotte Skirt along with the Elisalex dress (which I made here). It's been a bit of a saga to document this project due to multiple camera and hard drive snafus but last weekend I finally managed to get some shots of my new favourite separate. Which I realise now are slightly out of focus. Again. Forgive me.
The Charlotte is a classic pencil skirt with the option to make a peplum or ruffle variation. In desperate need of professional skirts to wear to meetings, I pulled out a black & white herringbone wool check left over from this project and decided it would make a great choice for the peplum version. I was keen on merging the classic, slightly masculine fabric with the hyper feminine shape of the peplum.
The pattern itself was incredibly easy to follow. I lined it with a navy bemberg, and spent considerable time matching the print. Because the skirt didn't need to be eased at the hem, I just machine-stitched it rather than hand sewing and it came together really quickly. So much do I love this pattern that it is the one I am going to use when I start doing the beginners sewing workshops my friends have been clamouring for. The BHL packaging is so gorgeous that it's really a beautiful object and keepsake and I think is the sort of thing that a new sewist would be thrilled to own.
I've also recently finished a sleeveless version of the new By Hand blazer as well! I'm going to snap it this weekend. It's another great wardrobe basic - those girls don't mess around.
Finally, the Bombshell Pattern will be available this weekend! I promise!
