I've been so enamored with my Maya tops, when Marilla Walker offered up her Ilsley Skirt pattern, I pounced on it. Such a cute basic skirt, plus, it's free!
I love the curved hem (not dissimilar from the lovely curved hem of the Maya top), thick and comfortable waistband and angled pockets. Lots of options for using cool fabrics, trying out pattern hacks, etc. Check out Marilla's Ilsley Pinterest board. I was also inspired by this J.Crew skirt that is very similar.
I was worried the pattern might be too straight for my hips and that the largest size, 8 , wouldn't fit, so I cut both the back and the front 1/2 inch away from the fold. I also lengthened it by 1.5 inches. I'm pretty sure in the end I shouldn't have made either of these changes, as it's now a tad bit large and long. Next time I'll cut a straight size 8. Other than that, I found the Ilsley pattern to be well drafted: all the pieces go together perfectly.
I added a drawstring in addition to the elastic waistband by sewing a buttonhole about an inch from either side of the center front and then stringing the drawstring through on top of the elastic. To limit bulk in the hip area, I also made one-layer pockets by serging the rounded edge of the pocket facings and then top-stitching them directly to the skirt front.
This is some more Indonesian batik from my stash. I thought Ilsley's simple lines would work well with the busy diagonal print. I did fairly well with pattern matching on the side seams. Less so for the pockets and waistband, but it's cool. Even though it's a print, I think because it's black and white, it could go with many different colors. Maybe green or pink on top would look nice. Mustard? Lots of options.
Have you made Ilsley yet?
Have you made Ilsley yet?
