I’ve just finished my second Fumeterre skirt from Deer & Doe. I love this pattern, it’s straight forward to make, hangs beautifully and is comfortable to wear…what more could a girl want!

#ddfumeterre

I made this pattern first last month in a yet to be identified, drapy fabric in a lovely teal colour. Having made a cardigan in teal I decided what I actually needed was a navy blue Fumeterre. In my stash I found a length of navy blue which feels like a linen mix, perfect for a fumeterre!

I decided to stitch the view with a button closure again but this time I added the pockets. They’re cut on a slant which I think gives a nice detail. They are very  easy to add as they fit over the side front piece.

Flat-felled seams & bias binding on hem

I flat-felled all the seams this time, well it’s what I would call a cheats flat-fell as I stitched to seam as usual, overlocked it just skimming the edge, pressed it over and top-stitched the seam flat. It looks really neat without the bulk of a turned under flat-felled seam. I thought it was good practice too for when I finally get round to sewing a pair  of Ginger Jeans!

The main thing I stitch differently to the instructions is the waistband. The instructions say to stitch the wrong side first and then press over the outside before edge-stitching. I prefer to stitch the outside first, press it to the inside, hand-stitch the seam on the inside and then edge-stitch from the front. I  find it gives a neater finish.

Fumeterre by Doe & Deer

I haven’t quite worked out how much I need to cut off the length before I’ve made the skirt up. It is designed for a pretty tall person, even bearing in mind it’s a maxi pattern. The finished length is about 105cm so I probably cut over 6″ off the hem. I like the way the hem is stitched with a facing, it makes such a neat finish for curved hems and the edge-stitching keeps the hem neat. I found some navy bias binding to finish the upper edge of the facing.

I’ve got an automatic buttonhole on my machine so the twelve buttonholes were pretty quick to do, but there’s always one that messes up!! All there was left to do was hand-stitching the buttons on and it was finished.

I wore it to WI last night with my teal cardigan and I think it looks great! Next thing to sew is something from my buys in Dewsbury with the Yorkshire Spoolettes!

#ddfumeterre