I’ve made the Oliver + S sailboat skirt for Clare twice before, but wanted to give it one last go before she was too large for the pattern size range (it only goes up to size 8).  I had some lovely soft denim in stash, so after consultation with Clare a denim sailboat skirt was born.

This is a sweet, simple design. It is described as a sailor-style A-line button-front skirt  that includes back elastic and a small centre back pleat.  In my opinion it’s not all that A-line.  I made a straight size 8 for Clare (who is now 11 years old and somewhere around 134 cm tall).

The centre back pleat is easy to construct and is reinforced with stitching along the top and interfacing on the inside where the corners of the pleat meet. The back of the skirt has a folded down casing containing fairly wide elastic. This makes it comfortable and assists with fit.

The front folds down so that Clare can get into and out of it, and closes with snaps. The pattern is designed with buttons and button holes, but Clare prefers snaps and thanks to Karen and her fancy snap press I was able to accommodate her request. Clare chose bright pink.

It looks a little like there are pockets at the front there, but believe me, there aren’t any. Just the way to get the skirt on and off! It does allow for some top-stitching and I like the angles around the opening.

I’ve been sewing more for Clare than for Stella lately, which makes sense considering that Clare’s clothes all get passed down to Stella anyway. Yet for some reason I feel guilty that Stella doesn’t get more made for her! Time to get over that, methinks.