Street Fair Skirt - Three Ways

The Street Fair Skirt pattern is from marie-madeline studio and it is a very versatile and practical pattern! I received the pattern quite a few years ago as a gift and finally made it (three times!) this summer. It is an A-line shape with a yoke and invisible zipper. It can be made in two different lengths with optional pockets, optional piping trim and an optional bottom band.

My first skirt was made from this amazing orange/turquoise floral rayon challis from Joann Fabrics. The fabric was on sale and I knew it would make the perfect summer skirt - it has all my favorite colors after all. This skirt was made using the simplest options. I didn't add any of the optional features and just made a plain skirt. I thought that would be best for the busy print. 

The pattern directions were very straight forward. However, I did run in to trouble when I was attaching the yoke to the skirt. The rayon was somewhat stretchy and I ironed my pieces after cutting them out. The yoke ended up being too short for the skirt because the skirt pieces stretched a little. It was only short by two inches, but that was still too short. 

Rayon challis is a very soft fabric and it has an amazing drape! I decided to take out the yoke piece and run a gathering stitch along the skirt pieces. Then I gathered the skirt until the yoke fit. From there everything was smooth sailing and you can hardly tell the gathering stitches are there. 

My second Street Fair Skirt was made out of some lovely brown linen with cotton pockets. This was my first time sewing with linen and I'm hooked! It is so nice to wear too.  

Although I tried hard to not stretch the pattern pieces the second time around, the yoke still ended up being shorter than the skirt! I tried the gathering stitch again, however it didn't work so well with linen. It was very obvious that the gathering stitches were there and right at the waist where I don't want attention drawn to! So I ripped it out and debated what to do about my project.

My aunt saved my project and helped me fix it by using a technique she learned from a Craftsy class. She calls it "staystitching plus". It is basically a way to ease the fabric and you do it by putting your finger behind the presser foot while sewing. You have to go really slow and it works! We measured first to see how much we had to ease the skirt piece - about two inches on both ends. After the easing, I was able to sew the skirt to the yoke and it was a perfect fit! I just pressed it really well when I finished. Sewing is such a learning process!

Aren't these pockets awesome? The fabric was handmade by a lady in Africa! I was given this fabric by a sewing friend whose son gave her this fabric after a trip to Africa. The pieces she gave me were in wide strips, but they were the perfect size for these pockets! I think it gives an interesting pop to an otherwise plain skirt. And pockets always make a skirt better!

Finally, I made my third Street Fair Skirt from a different rayon challis. It is just like the orange/turquoise skirt, but a different color. I love the bright, bold colors in this one. As the saying goes, the third time's the charm. The yoke wasn't too short and everything worked out perfectly! I didn't have to rip out any seams for this skirt and I love the final result!

I have been wearing these skirts weekly since I made them. I think they will transition well in to fall with leggings too. 

The Street Fair Skirt will definitely be a pattern I make again and again. 

 ~Elizabeth