A Coordinating Outfit – Meringue & Plantain

Hmm, I’m not sure about Meringue and Plantain together in the context of food, but in this case, it works!

I’ll fill you in – this week I sewed a two-piece outfit consisting of a skirt (named Meringue) and a top (named Plantain).

The inspiration for this achievement was from this week’s challenge at The Monthly Stitch. They are challenging us sewists to make 2 separate garments that can be worn together. Oh, and they have to be made using Indie patterns.

Right now, trousers – and certainly jeans – are a no-go for me. I’m very fussy on fit so I just can’t be bothered to try at the moment! I didn’t even consider making leggings; just straightaway knew I’d make a skirt.

The Skirt

I recently bought Colette’s sewing book, and I chose to make the Meringue skirt after seeing a nice one on another blog – I can’t remember who’s it was so please shout if it was yours!

Long story short, I LOVE the skirt. I can’t even express how much so.

I bought the fabric – a medium-weight cotton, almost denim-like – in a bricks-and-mortar store, which is fairly unusual for me. I get really overwhelmed by the choice when fabric shopping, but managed to get some nice pieces on that visit. And I can see how beneficial it is to shop in a proper shop as opposed to online because you can feel the fabric. I love this fabric. It is quite simply perfect for this skirt in terms of weight, handling, and design. Even if I do say so myself.

I am sooo happy with the fit. The pattern’s sizing was bang on. My waist is 27″, hip 37″ so I cut a straight 4 and it fits perfectly.

I’m proud of the zip!

Talking of neat – I love the scallops. How pretty are they?!

This skirt pattern gets a big thumbs up from me for many reasons, but the main one is the fact that it doesn’t need hemming. The scallops are finished with a facing, which is catchstitched in place. This gives such a neat finish.

Similarly, there is no waistband; just a facing. This is the only issue I have with the skirt – even with understitching, the facing tends to roll to the outside. So I will catchstitch it down like the hem facing, which should help.

The Top

I originally designed a different top to go with the skirt, however once it was made up it didn’t match as well as it did in my mind. I will share it with you soon, though!

So I had to think fast and make something with some fabric I have in my stash. So I made up the Deer & Doe Plantain Top with some black jersey. I had less than a metre of it but I managed to cut short sleeves.

This was my first time making this top – and it won’t be the last. It was so straightforward, and I’m really happy with the fit.

If I’m honest, it is a bit baggy to be worn tucked into the skirt, but it’s not too baggy to be worn outside a skirt/trousers etc!

And the length is perfect for me – I am used to lengthening tops now but this is nice and long; just how I like it.

The only change I made to the pattern was that I added a strip of lace down the back. This is not purely aesthetic; I didn’t have enough fabric to cut the back piece on the fold so cut two pieces and sewed them up the middle with a tiny seam allowance. My knit-eating sewing machine didn’t enjoy that at all and made quite a pig’s ear out of it. So the lace covers up the seam and you’d never know!! Plus it looks pretty and ties in with the blue of the skirt – result!

Now let’s take bets on if all my makes for Indie Pattern Month will be blue and white?!

Beth x

P.S. Thank you to all that voted for my stripy dress in the final of the dresses challenge – I’m gutted that I didn’t win but the competition was tough!