Sew My Style: Axel skirt

Axel skirt (pattern by Megan Nielsen), made by Small Bobbins

I said it from the beginning, “I’ll skip December.” A whole year ago, I was telling myself, nope. No thank you, I’ll pass. And yet, here I am, finishing the December project for Sew My Style way ahead of schedule.

I mean, the Axel Skirt is a perfectly fine-looking pattern. I generally love Megan Nielsen’s designs, but my first impression was, “A knit pencil skirt? Meh.” Also, I have in the past year made several pencil skirts (in addition to trying to wear a few RTW ones that I already owned) only to rediscover every single time that they are 100% incompatible with bike riding (which is a near daily activity for me in Belgium!). In trying to plan my makes more thoughtfully, one of my top criteria for “Should I make this?” is whether it works for my lifestyle. So, no more pencil skirts, I told myself.

But, come on. I do love the community aspect of Sew My Style, and wanted to be included! So I took a second look at the Axel and rediscovered Version 1, which is not a pencil skirt, and has a unique, handkerchief-style hem. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it though, did I love it or hate it?

I waffled about it in my Instagram stories. I polled the community and got an exact split between “heck yes!” and “no way!”. I searched the pattern hashtag and Pinterest, and could hardly find many people who had made this version.

So, I said, “F**k it” and bought the pattern anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Axel skirt (pattern by Megan Nielsen), made by Small Bobbins

I had this navy stretch cotton in my stash for a while. It’s heavy and structured, but I wanted something suitable for winter and that would show off the silhouette. I was a bit worried that it wasn’t stretchy enough, but the skirt turned out perfectly snug around the waist and hips. This is a piece of fabric that I bought in Antwerp during the designer sample sales earlier this year, this one specifically came from Christian Wijnants. Not having to buy new fabric was definitely a factor in encouraging me to buy the pattern.

Axel skirt (pattern by Megan Nielsen), made by Small Bobbins

This version is only two pattern pieces: a waistband (one piece) and a skirt panel (cut four times). Actual construction is just seaming the panels together, hemming, and attaching the waistband. The most difficult part was that I didn’t label my pieces during construction and had to figure out which seams were the sides and which were the center front/back. I did make one change, to make the waistband more narrow. I put on the original and it made the skirt much longer than I had wanted. Plus, it just felt like a lot of waistband. Luckily, I had only basted it on, so I could easily remove it and halve it. I sewed up the Medium size and it fits me perfectly (knits are forgiving for fitting).

Axel skirt (pattern by Megan Nielsen), made by Small Bobbins

I’m super pleased with how it came out! Obviously, I can’t wear it outdoors yet (at least not without thermal tights) for the next few months, but I’m happy to add a skirt to my wardrobe, happy that it’s a neutral color with an interesting design twist, happy that I could wear it while riding my bike, etc etc etc. If I were to make another one in this version, I’d shorten it slightly (I’m not really a midi-length gal).

Axel skirt (pattern by Megan Nielsen), made by Small Bobbins

I wore it with another new garment, a Helmi blouse from Named Clothing that’s something of a test version, plus my Noelle bralette underneath the sheer top. I’m quite happy with this me-made outfit I’ve put together!

Axel skirt (pattern by Megan Nielsen), made by Small Bobbins

What do you think, will you participate in this month’s Sew My Style? And if not, what are you working on this month?