Steve Alan knock off

One of the last sewing projects I finished before we left India was a skirt. I wanted to make a cute, high-waisted skirt, and Steven Alan's ikat Ella Skirt proved to be good inspiration. I used my usual pattern drafting sources, and came up with a very basic pattern - waist band for the back and front, plus a couple of carefully measured rectangles for the skirt body.

The pockets turned out to be the most challenging part! I didn't know how to make kangaroo pockets, so I had to wing it three times with an old curtain before I was satisfied.

The fabric is a 100-percent hand loom cotton ikat, similar in colour as the Ella Skirt.

I painstakingly finished the raw edges with bias tape that I made, and hand hemmed the fully lined skirt. It took a while to finish but it made for a very neatly finished skirt.

I finally got to wear it a weekend ago, when the sun was shining, and all of Paris came out to enjoy the fine weather. I like the gathers between the pockets, the pockets work, and it is very comfortable to wear. All in all, a success!