Panel Skirt and Boxy Top

They say Wisconsin is beautiful in autumn, full of wonderful foliage changing all sorts of colours. While I anxiously await this fall technicolour display, another autumn display — one I actually have control over — is my fall wardrobe! To start it off, I’ve just completed this technicolour (okay, tri-colour) vegan suede panel skirt with matching boxy top.

I made this ensemble using elements of the Anna Dress pattern from By Hand London. Because I had sewn the Anna Dress in the maxi version just a few weeks ago, I felt comfortable with the pattern and went straight to the modifications. For the skirt, I added a belt and chopped some length off the seven panels to make it fall above the knee. For the boxy top, I lengthened slightly, evened out the hemline, and removed the pleats at the front but kept the darts at the back to allow for a tighter fit in that area. These modifications allowed me to do without the back zipper, but I added a little opening at the top to be able to comfortably pass my head through.

I also added an embroidery stitch to the top that used contrasting thread. The idea was to visually connect the top to the skirt using a stitch that started at the neckline and ran down the front of the top at the same angle as the skirt’s panel seams. I think it worked well and really pulls the ensemble together!

The material I used was three different shades of Soho Faux Suede. It’s smooth, velvety and pretty easy to work with, though I found the darkest shade to hold a little better than the lighter ones.

Here are some pictures:

Thanks for looking!

Emmanuelle

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PS: Garçon kept coming over while I was taking some pictures of this outfit, he was visibly annoyed with the whole situation so this is how we ended the photo session: