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Minerva Mosaic Skirt

I couldn’t wait any longer to show you this amazing and eyeboggling skirt!

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Minerva Crafts and The Sewing Directory have been teaming up for the Minerva Blogger Challenge. Sewing Directory post various Minerva products on their site and bloggers are invited to email and say what they’d make from it.

I entered to make something from their new range of premium cotton prints!

I originally chose the safety pin fabric but it was too popular and sold out. So my back up was this lovely colourful Mosaic print.

mosaic

My plan was to make a dress and I decided the weight and drape of the fabric would work well with the Belladone dress. There isn’t really a predominant colour so I went with purple for my contrast binding and topstitching.

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Now a lesson learnt is that you can’t sew bias binding around a neckline, then unpick it all and expect to redo it like nothing happened. I totally stretched out my neckline!! Beyond saving as well. I was so sad and didn’t have any spare fabric to work with. I mean look at this gorgeous binding that has gone to waste. The topstitching on my first go was appalling though (think “drunk monkey”).

Determined to not waste this lovely fabric, I decided to follow up on my plan to try a belladone skirt.

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It’s super easy to do, you just make a waistband facing and use a shorter zip. I had a perfect size purple invisible zip in my stash too!

Ok so a bit more about why this fabric deserves the name “premium”.

  1. The fabric didn’t bleed at all. Not remotely! Surprising given the vivid and various colours in use.
  2. The weight and drape is what you expect from the high quality cotton you see in shops like Backstitch, Frumble and Fabric Rehab but without the same price tag.
  3. Minimal creasing. I love wearing cotton but I hate looking like a crumpled mess by the end of the day. Even though it would be hard to tell in this print, I wore this skirt all day at work. That’s a lot of sitting on trains and at desks and in meetings but the skirt barely creased.

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Now I just need to wait for that safety pin fabric to come back in stock so I can buy myself some. Yippeee.

Thanks Minerva!

(35) Comments

  1. I love this fabric. I think this Belladona Skirt is a great save!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you! Phew so relieved I didn’t waste this fabric!

  2. whatkatiedoes says:

    Nice save! I never thought of making the Belladone as a skirt but it works perfectly.

    1. almondrock says:

      Thanks! It’s quite a satisfying little make

  3. I am nearly finished a Belladone dress, and spookily enough, I was thinking about what a Belladone skirt would look like! Your’s is fab, and, oh boy, do I love that fabric! What a shame about the neckline, because the bodice looked great. I still have the neckline and hem to do on mine, so I’ll be taking your advice on working on the neckline.

    1. almondrock says:

      I was being naughty and didn’t stay stitch. Learn from my mistakes! Sure yours will be lush

  4. How cute! I’m sorry that the dress didn’t work out, but the skirt is adorable and a great save!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you m’dear. At least I have one belladone dress that was a success and now I have a cute little skirt too!

  5. So glad you got to save it because this fabric is so cool. It looks great!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thanks! I’m super relieved over here

  6. Aw sorry that the Belladone bodice didn’t work out but the skirt is great! I love the purple binding with this fabulous stained glass looking fabric.

    1. almondrock says:

      I thought you might be a fan 😉 thank you

  7. That fabric is gorgeous. Great save- the skirt is super cute, and I love the purple binding so much!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you! I love purple so it was a great excuse to play with purple binding!

  8. Brilliant save Amy! The skirt version looks bella (see what I did..? sorry, rubbish pun)

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you! You’re such a funny one. Heehee.

  9. Aw, what a shame about the bodice – the purple bias binding looked great. But the skirt has turned out beautifully – well saved! I love that fabric as well 🙂

    1. almondrock says:

      Used up all my stock of purple binding too! But I’m happy with the results, thank you.

  10. looks great Amy, the fabric is so much fun!

    1. almondrock says:

      Eye boggling but I love it heehee

  11. Gorgeous! And super save too!

    1. almondrock says:

      Super Amy has a nice ring to it! Heehee just kidding. Thanks m’dear

  12. nice work. what a good save! must check out that fabric!

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you. Good old Minerva supplying juicy fabrics to the masses!

  13. Shame about the bodice. But what a great skirt.

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you! It all turned out happily in the end 🙂

  14. That is some seriously cool fabric!! Love the teeny tiny coloured shapes and the purple binding is perfect for it. Totally bummer about the belladon bodice… I would recommend staystitching the neckline in future – it’s saved me from losing a few bodices in the past when unpicking is required! Regardless – it’s a gorgeous skirt 🙂

    1. almondrock says:

      Yeah I’ve totally been slacking on my stay stitching lately. What a naughty sewist I am. I’m usually just too eager to crack on! Heehee

  15. Drunk monkey…hehehe! This is lovely and such a great save! I would have got depressed and binned the whole thing, but you’ve proven that a bit of lateral thinking and strong will can go a long way ;o)

    1. almondrock says:

      Thank you! Oh my, yes I guess I am rather strong willed. Hear me rooooar! 😉

  16. this is really lovely. You look v cute 🙂

    1. almondrock says:

      From a cutie like you that’s appreciated! 😉

  17. Excellent save, my dear. I love that you can’t be defeated by a stretched out neckline! This genuinely does look fab as a skirt as well, I think it allows the cute slash pockets to take centre stage!

    1. almondrock says:

      Well thank you very much! I don’t like to get beaten really, I’m too competitive with myself heehee

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