In this guest blog post, Angela Best has made the Christie Circle Skirt from Sewing With African Wax Print Fabric by Adaku Parker. Angela won her copy of this book in a competition! This beautiful Peacock fabric has been in her stash for about 2 years and is a relatively simple make. Once she was happy with the size of the waistband, the rest of the project was a breeze. Angela styles this skirt with either a denim jacket or a red cardigan and with heels or pumps! Want to read on, get a cup of your favourite drink and enjoy!
Music. Food. Smell. Colours. These are all things that everyone is affected by. Conjuring up forgotten memories, or giving a sense of comfort etc. But when it comes to colour, the affect that it has when presented in particular ways - well for me anyway - is happiness! I have always loved bold bright and vibrant colour and pattern, and so when I started sewing my passion for fabric as much as the sewing aspect grew.
There’s nothing more I’m sure most ‘sewists’ enjoy, than going into a fabric shop and taking in all the multitude of fabric colours and patterns, and running your hands over them. And nothing is more of a feast for the eyes than when you see Dovetailed London's beautiful African Wax Fabrics. The vibrancy and joy that they emanate is amazing.
However, we all have those one or two fabrics that we love so much, we end up fearing cutting into them. This is exactly what I did, when I purchased my first piece of African Wax Fabric. I felt it was so beautiful, that I just didn’t want to end up wasting it, if it didn’t work out. So, I had a little push, when Adaku asked if I would like to take part in the catwalk at the Stitch Festival in London, making up one of her patterns and in her fabric.
I was incredibly lucky to have won in an IG competition, and got sent Adaku’s book, Sewing with African Wax Print Fabric. The font cover shows Adaku in the Christie Circle skirt in a fabulous, blue, orange and yellow design. This was what I wanted to make with the fabric I had lovingly stored (!) for about 2 years!
I checked online on how to correctly take the labels off without leaving residue, and was actually very easy. Using some paper towel and lots of heat from your iron, they peal off very easily.
Now, as the Christie skirt is a circle skirt, the only toile I felt I needed to make was the waistband. I traced this off using the size chart which can be found on the Dovetailed website and then checked this against my body. Very stupidly to begin with I was confused, as in my error, I had traced the wrong size! Good job I did a toile! Once I had the correct size it fitted perfectly. I traced the remainder of the pattern, in a size 14 (my waist measurement is 31”) and the shorter length, and ironed my fabric ready to cut it out.
Now the deliberation started on what was the right way up on the fabric. Some people see this pattern as sea shells, some see it as petals of flowers. I am really unsure, but ended up going with what I felt looked right when I held the fabric like a skirt around me.
I followed the instructions in the book with absolute ease. The instructions were clear and concise with easy to see illustrations. The skirt was very quick, and incredibly easy to make, given that the most part is straight lines, and the fabric is so great to handle. In fact the part that took the longest was deciding on the direction of the fabric!!
I now feel like the proud owner of this beautiful bold skirt, which I should be able to wear with white, navy, red, or turquoise. I can’t wait to make the most of wearing it through the summer, and also to see how the fabric changes the more it is worn and washed. The great thing about AWF is its structure, which is why this fabric is so perfect for the garment.
Thank you Adaku for giving me that push to make up this fabric, for myself and others to enjoy.
Want to make your own? Shop the pattern here.
Love the fabric? Shop the fabric here.
Want to buy ready-made in a selection of Dovetailed fabrics? Shop ready made here.
Want to make your own with a little help? Shop workshops here.