February has flown by so fast, but I'm so happy I finished my project for the #BHMPatternDesigners challenge hosted by Nateida of Sew Natural Dane!
This challenge is a joy, and feels especially important these days: the goal is to celebrate and support Black sewing pattern designers (as well as Black-owned fabric companies and knitting designer) by making their patterns (Nateida has a list of designers on her website) and sharing them!
I've participated in past years and made some fun projects.
For my #BHMPatternDesigners25 project, I opted to make one of the four beautiful skirt patterns just released by Montoya Mayo.
She designed a series of simple but gorgeous skirt sewing patterns in different styles, all with flat front/elastic back waistbands, which is my favorite combo. Chic and comfy.
I opted for the Ejiro Skirt, which is a half circle skirt with a sleek flat front waistband, an elastic back waist, and in-seam pockets anchored into the waistband.
All of the Montoya Mayo skirt patterns have a wide size range, going up to a 61 inch waist and 73 inch hip, which is fabulous!
The sizes are described as 0-24, but it's not equivalent to ready-to-wear numerical sizes. I cut a size 12 based on my waist measurement, which worked out great.
The Ejiro pattern comes with an 18-inch long skirt, but gives instructions on lengthening to your desired length. I added 7 additional inches to the pattern to get this length.
For fabric, I used a very pretty wax print fabric that Tim brought me back from a work trip to Tanzania a couple years back (get yourself a partner who supports your sewing, friends!).
I don't think it's 100% cotton- it has some drape and doesn't wrinkle- but it's not pure poly, either, per a burn test and the fact that it pressed well. Maybe it has some rayon/viscose content?
In any case, it was nice to work with and feels good to wear, and it was the perfect pairing with the Ejiro skirt pattern!
