More Tweed Please!

Simplicity "Threads" 2758, view E

I had a little bit of wool/acrylic tweed in my stash.  It was a birds eye tweed that I bought on sale last year at John Lewis (dept store in UK).  I wasn't sure what to do with it, and then decided I would try to make myself a skirt.  My daughters are always thrilled when I wear a skirt.  It turned out fine.  I thought an A-line skirt would be really great on me, but I feel a little meh about it.  I think I made it with too much ease and therefore it doesn't sit on my actual waist which in this case just means that my waist looks thicker and lower.

Side view, you can see that it has slid down a bit.

It's not the end of the world though.  It is certainly very comfortable and very warm!  Two characteristics that mean it will get wear from me even if it is not the most flattering option.  

There was no lining in the pattern, how annoying.  Anyway, I added my own.  It went OK.  I had wanted to leave the lining hanging free, but I couldn't figure out how to finish the side seams if I did.  I don't have a serger and a french seam finish would have made the side zipper a problem.  So, in the end, I pressed the lining seams open and caught the lining hem in the skirt hem.  Hopefully this doesn't cause trouble when I wash it.

Lining hem caught and sewn inside skirt hem.

The pattern required a LOT of hand stitching for "view e."  I don't mind hand stitching, it is a good excuse to sit in front of the TV and watch something silly.  I toyed with the idea of using a strongly contrasting thread for the top stitching, maybe bright pink, but chickened  out and went with a coordinating brown.  I was afraid a "colour" would limit what I could wear the skirt with.  If I had it to do over, I would be bolder.

But the biggest thing to mention in this post is how nice tweed is!  Wow!  What a joy to sew with.  I want more of this stuff, and for once I am living in the right place- hurray!  It handles so easily and looks so lux.  When you iron it, it smells like a field of sheep in the rain...not an off-putting sensation, if you like to ramble.  In fact, I think I am falling in love with wool altogether.  It irons so well and behaves as nicely in the sewing machine as quilting cotton.  


There are definitely bargain tweeds to be found on Goldhawk Road.  They run at about £12/metre.  For a step up, I found Linton Tweeds selling directly on the internet.  They have a lot of tweeds in the £18 to £22 a metre range.  Linton supplied the tweeds to Miss Coco herself back in the day.  So I certainly have them on my radar now.


Is anyone else in love with tweed?  Am I hopeless?