Hello from the Californian desert! I’m on holiday with the family and visiting my father-in-law, who lives out in snake and scorpion territory. Very exciting! It was hard to get great light for these pics with all the holiday goings-on, but I managed to snap a few. And I’ve got to tell you it is so nice when you make something that you really like and know you are going to wear non-stop. I can usually find something to like in most of my makes, even if it’s just the learning process for some of them, but there’s nothing like using a pattern and thinking – aha! – that is my perfect t-shirt/skirt/shorts/crotchless bodysuit/whatever.

This is almost the perfect pattern and comes at a very good time, since the Sewcialists are still running the November TNT pattern month. I think I may have found a TNT! Yeehoo! Simplicity 1072 is a knit-based set of garments comprising a pencil skirt, raglan sweater with a flattering contrast cut-out and a pair of casual trousers. I was initially attracted by the shape of the sweater, and the sequins (ooooh, sparklyyyy). It reminded me of the Grainline Linden (spoiler: it is really, really similar to the Linden), but with the interesting front detail. The skirt looked solid, but I didn’t think about it too hard and figured I’d run one up to match if I had time.

I guess you can see where this is going: I LOVE the skirt. It can be made in under an hour (the jumper maybe double that – it’s a fast pattern), is very simple, but it is definitely the best knit skirt pattern I have yet come across. I admit I haven’t tried too many, but this has the perfect drafting and proportions for my taste. It’s simple, yes, but since when is simplicity a bad thing? Not in this case. Simplicity (1074) is a good thing. A very good thing.

The reason I like it is because it’s a flattering, slightly wiggle skirt-ish pencil shape, but it doesn’t cling to all your lumps and bumps in a distressing bag-of-potatoes way. I purposely chose to make this in a French terry, albeit a fairly thin one, to lessen the cling factor further, and it worked rather well.

The instructions are simple, and I used a serger throughout. There were a couple of nice little touches. One was to use fusible tape to hold down the seam allowance in the channel where you thread the elastic. I liked that, because the elastic can get all caught up in there. The waistband is finished with a little handstitching. I can be lazy about that, but I did it this time and of course it only took a minute and looked a lot nicer. I only used a 3/4″ hem because I wanted to retain that pencil skirt length. I’m around 5’6″ for reference.

The sweater, meanwhile, is a raglan top, so similar to the Linden, but my main comment is that is runs rather large. I used my “normal” size 20 in Big 4 pattern and I ended up taking 1/2″ out of each seam along the sleeves and armpit area. So I guess that’s two inches in total? I could definitely have taken more since, as you can see, it’s still a very slouchy sweater, but that’s what I wanted in this case. I would definitely go down a few sizes for a more fitted look.

The neckline is much more open on me than it is on the pattern packet model. I noticed this on versions sewn by other sewists too. I like a wide neckline personally, but if you don’t, it’s worth checking. The neckline binding fit beautifully and I topstitched it down, but it definitely isn’t my finest work. I’m not sure why, but it was pretty wavy on this occasion. No big deal, but I guess I need more practice. One big plus for this sweater is, naturally, the inverse diamond shape on the front. It’s results in a flattering silhouette and also only needs a very small piece of fabric, so it’s great for using those last awkward pieces of fabric that you love, but don’t know what to do with.

Both these garments came together quickly and without any problems. Everything fit together well. It’s funny, because this was a kind of a “throwaway” pattern that I tacked onto my #makenine plans as a basic, since I knew I needed some sort of rudimentary skirt combo – and it’s turned out to be one of my favourite makes so far this year. Typical, huh? I am most definitely going to whip up a few more skirts. I can see how the pattern would be easily adapted to make a slightly looser or shorter/longer skirt too. I like the sweater shape as well, and would make it again after working on the size a little. Perhaps I’ll compare the Linden to it and go from there, since I feel the sizing on the Linden is superior.

I haven’t thought about making the casual trousers so far, but given how these turned out, maybe I’ll keep them in mind for a future make? A recommended pattern and a nice surprise! 🙂