I almost fell off the not-buying-clothing wagon — I purchased fabric and notions in a kit, which one cuts out and sews at home. Does this count? Nearly, but not quite, I reckon. Anyway, said kit came from Clothkits. I remember the original Clothkits very clearly from when I was a kid. Ma made a lot of our clothes back then, and while I’m pretty sure that none of them were ‘actual’ clothkits, there were certainly a lot of their catalogues hanging around being oohed and aahed over. (You can get a flavour of the full-on 70s feel of their garments here .)
Anyway my clothkit skirt arrived this morning. Wot a treat. I was in near raptures when I opened the package. Its just so bloody tasty. I had to make it up right away. The pieces are printed directly onto the fabric:
and it comes with zip, thread, instructions and a Liberty print lining:
The instructions were very clear and straightforward. In just a few hours, I had a skirt. This skirt made me seriously happy making it (so satisfying). And yet I am (if possible) even happier wearing it. It is a very jolly skirt. Just check out the lining and facing:
how jolly are those buggies on the lining?
Anyway, we just went out for a pint (to what, to my mind, is the best pub in Edinburgh — and also, happily, my local) and I got Mr B to take some pics. Here is the skirt from the front:
And the side:
and the whole shebang:
How nice to have lovely, long, light, Scottish evenings again.
So I heartily recommend the big-birdie. The pattern covers a good range of (5) sizes, and is a good fit; the fabric amounts were generous, and the instructions completely failsafe (I inserted zip, and attached facings and lining without breaking into a sweat or (what’s more usual) making some sort of bobbly, wobbly, rumply mess). But it’s the quality of the fabric and design that really swings it for me — a super matt baby-cord cotton exterior, a very appealing print by the wonderful Jane Foster, and a tana lawn lining. And everything made and printed in the UK.
Thanks for sharing!!! ;)
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hi… did you know that posts off of your blog are being copied and posted word for word, picture for picture, one someone else’s blog?
They are copying posts off of my sewing blog, too, so I started checking all the other posts on their blog, and they’ve plagiarized every single post on their blog, by stealing posts and pictures off of other people’s blogs!
Here is the link to the post on their blog, that they are claiming they wrote, but it is this exact same post here that you wrote! They even stole all of your pictures!
http://www.scumbagclothing.com/dressmaking/birdie/
I don’t know how to stop them. I’ve been trying to find a way to notify their blog host, but so far have not had any luck. If you know of a way to stop them from stealing the posts off of our blogs, please let me know, cause I don’t like them claiming that they wrote the articles I wrote. They are even displaying my drawings on their blog and claiming they drew them!
Sorry for the rant, but I thought you’d want to know that they’ve been stealing your posts too, and passing hem off as theirs. :(
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wow i absolutely love the idea of printing a pattern onto fabric….. so clever
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Oooo, lovely skirt! I was thinking about getting that kit the other day (so that I can learn how skirts should be put together rather than the random ways I resort to) but worried it would be too pencil-like for me. Yours looks more A-line than I thought so maybe I will go ahead and treat myself :)
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It comes in red and black… oh my
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Another Clothkits kid here. I still have an original kit for a blouse around here somewhere. I’m off to ogle the new site now.
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That’s a fabulous skirt, but what I’m sold on is the shoes! Great ensemble.
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The Observer carried an article about the Clothkits revival yesterday:
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/fashion/story/0,,2282139,00.html
Bet their website saw some traffic! Lovely to see the Starbank pub. We spent four years living in Trinity and Leith while our children were tiny – two of them were born there – and while it wasn’t the place for us long term I have some happy pram pushing memories.
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Ooh! It looks so much more summery in white! But there was no way I was going to make myself a white skirt (dog, cat, children, pens, mud, food etc!)Great shoes too!
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I was a Clothkits kid too! Appears I still am. I love the other skirt on their website too, and am now wondering how I can fit them into next month’s budget….
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What a beautiful skirt. I am loving the clothkits idea… what a great introduction to sewing and pattern-cutting!
Really gorgeous.
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Pretty hot birdie there Wazz!
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Clothkits!! Wow. I was a Clothkits kid as well. I had a sweet little jacket with lots of little pockets all over it, and tiny stuffed animals that lived in the pockets. It was adorable. The skirt looks really lovely – I’m sorely tempted!
I love your shoes too. Where are they from?
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I’ve been thinking of buying one of their kits, good to know that they come highly recommended :) I love your photos too.
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Holy cow, I LOVE that! The bird is so amazingly adorable. What a great skirt. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Can’t remember how I found your blog, but this is probably my first time commenting – fab, fab skirt. I’m hoping to learn to sew this summer and I think the red and black version might be just what I need…
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totally fab skirt!!! i am so jealous that i cannot get cloth kits over here.
teri
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It looks lovely – I have also just bought the skirt but in the red and black colourway (i didn’t trust myself with a white skirt!) and I love it. It was to help me conquer my fear of cutting fabric. I was also a clothkits child (I think it goes with eating cranks food….) and I’m very excited that they are available again! I had a cloth kitty doll which I’m trying to find at my mum’s house. Lara xx P.S Glad you got package safely!
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Fab skirt! I have been eyeing it up on the Clothkits website for a while- you might have just tipped me over the edge…
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AAarrgghhh, I want to be you!!! Or at least I want a skirt like that (can be obtained, possibly, if I too stretch my not-buying policy)and I want a local pub (don’t exist in Sweden) looking like that. Thank God the evenings are long and light here, too. I had never heard of Cloth Kit before, what a brilliant concept.
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Lovely. Sounds like my kind of kit for a sewing novice.
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How cute! It sounds like just the kind of thing a new sewer like me needs!
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Love the skirt! It’s so cool to see it as fabric, and then all finished.
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Great skirt! And it just goes perfectly with that gorgeous necklace!!
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