Another Skort With Minerva Fabric

Indeed I made another skort with Minerva fabric that was gifted to me by them. I’m a Minerva brand ambassador, so when I saw this fabric, I knew I wanted it, and I knew what I would make with it. So here are the details about this project.

The Pattern

Sadly, this pattern is OOP (out-of-print) and may be hard to find. I really hope Simplicity brings it back, because it’s so easy and quick to make. And there isn’t another new pattern that’s similar to this at all. Skorts have been in the stores for the past couple of summers, so they have regained popularity. In any case, this is the pattern I used, but with alterations.

Previously, I had given the skirt an A-line look. I’ve also added about 3 inches to the length of the skirt portion as well as adding inseam pockets. Much to my surprise, the shorts fit perfectly, so there was no need to change anything with those.

The Fabric

The name of this fabric is called “Minerva Exclusive Beauty Box Glossy Activewear Lycra Stretch Knit Fabric”.

This is a stretchy knit athletic wear fabric. It wicks away moisture so it’s great for things like leotards, leggings and all kinds of sportswear. According to the Minerva website, this can also be used for swimwear.

The only “issue” with the fabric for me was making sure to cut out the skort with all the pattern pieces facing the same direction. So, that was really no issue at all, just something to be aware of.

My Skort

this is so comfortable and easy to wear. I like these skorts because they are a great thing to put on when you want to look to put together, but you want to be really comfortable. The wide waistband on the pattern also adds to the comfort of the garment.

For the construction of this garment, I used my serger for almost everything but the hem. Using the 4-thread overlock ensures that the seams will stretch when you want them to, but not pop. That would be a disaster! Otherwise, this is a quick and easy project to make. Although this pattern isn’t available, here is a free pattern from Mood Fabrics that is very similar and seems easy to make.

So tell me, would you make and wear a skort? I hope you do because it’s such a fun thing to have in your wardrobe.

I Used Two Patterns To Make One Dress

For my latest Minerva project, I used two patterns to make one dress. I took the dress portion from one and added the sleeves from the other.

Pattern envelopes — Vogue 8847 & Butterick 6446

The Fabric

For this project, I was gifted this very nice, lightweight fabric. It’s called John Kaldor soft crepe and it’s 100% polyester. The fabric has a gorgeous drape and is very soft like the name says.

This fabric washes and dries really well. I love the vibrant print of it as well. It’s perfect for summer!

The Patterns

I’ve had both of these patterns since around 2012 and 2015. I l For this particular look, I wanted a bell-shaped, flowy sleeve. As the heat and humidity rises when we get into summer, there was no way I was going to make a long-sleeve dress.

The Dress

The Very Easy Vogue pattern is quite easy and quick to sew. While it wasn’t really necessary, I did pay attention to the direction of the fabric when I laid out the pattern. It’s a very loose fitting dress with gathers in the back and front yokes. There are no buttons or zippers, so you can simply pull it over your head.

The dress has inseam pockets too!

woman wearing yellow floral dress with her hands in pockets

Because the dress is very loose, the belt really helps to cinch in the waist. By the way, there were no issues with adding sleeves in from a different patten. The sleeves from the Butterick pattern fit perfectly into the Vogue dress.

Conclusion

While I am a little bit concerned about how comfortable the dress will be when the weather gets hot, I think it will be fine to wear. I am always cold in the summer when I’m indoors and the air conditioning is blasting!

I am so glad I used two patterns to make one dress. The end result is just what I had in mind.

If you’d like te see the video of this project, you can view that here.

Latest Minerva Project – Sewing Faux Leather

My latest Minerva project – sewing faux leather was challenging but fun to work on. There’s a lot to keep in mind when using this fabric, so that’s some of what I want to touch on in this post. I was gifted the Minerva faux leather as a Minerva brand ambassador.

Here is the post I wrote for the Minerva website.

*This post does contain affiliate links.

The Fabric

The name of this fabric is Minerva Core Range Soft Supple Stretch Faux Leather. You can check it out here. It really is soft and supple and there is enough stretch to make your garments very comfortable.

Minerva faux leather in Cornflower blue

This is a fabric I didn’t prewash like I do for every other one. Shrinkage of faux leather shouldn’t be an issue. Machine washing in cold water, then hanging to dry should work well to care for the garment.

The Pattern

BurdaStyle magazine 03/2019 #107

Above is a picture of the pattern I used for the jacket. It’s a biker jacket from 2019. I find that BurdaStyle magazine patterns are trendy but often timeless. That’s a good thing, because it can be quite an undertaking to trace the patterns from the pattern sheets in order to sew them up! This faux leather jacket is actually the second time I’ve used this pattern. Here is the post I wrote back in 2019.

Sewing Faux Leather

For the actual construction of the garment, I used a #12 jersey needle. Although some say to use a jean needle, I felt that this would be too large a hole in the fabric. The jersey needle worked out great! Sewing this is not like going through denim. The stitch length I used most often is 3.0, then topstitching was done at 3.5-4.0 stitch length.

I used a 1/2″ seam allowance which gave me more room and was what I needed (even though I allowed for 5/8″ seam allowance in my pattern). I added a FBA (full bust adjustment) in the muslin I had made for the previous jacket. I’m glad I saved that, which made making this latest Minerva project sewing faux leather much easier.

Clips are great for holding the fabric pieces together. Not putting too many pin holes in the garment is important.

I made the lining from two remnant pieces I had on hand. Having something fun inside a coat or jacket can really brighten your day.

Overall

Sewing faux leather is easy. You just have to keep a few things in mind. The only downside is that you won’t get a nice, crisp pressed garment. But you certainly get get an awesome garment!