Deer&Doe: the Goji skirt

The new Deer&Doe collection is finally out! This time it contains three new spring-summer patterns: a blouse (Hoya), a trench coat (Luzerne), and a skirt/shorts (Goji), which is the one I’m presenting today 🙂

I always have a hard time waiting for the release of a new collection: not only I can’t talk about the upcoming patterns (and, as all my friends know, I really can’t keep a secret…) but I also avoid wearing my test versions in public or posting pictures on social media where I’m wearing them, so I don’t spoil the surprise. The problem is that once the patterns are finalized, I want to wear them everyday!

Goji is the pefect example. It’s a good thing it’s been so cold lately, otherwise I would have worn it all the time! I mentioned it already in January: these past months I abandoned my fit and flare dresses a bit and started wearing looser outfits instead. I think working from home has played a big part in this… Since I spend most of my days sitting down at the computer and I don’t interact with many people, it’s hard to resist staying in my pajamas! This is where Goji comes to the rescue: with its high waist, it brings me back to the retro silhouette I like, but without being too tight or painful around the stomach and ribs after a few hours sitting down.

The waistband has three channels, with an elastic, a drawstring, and another elastic, so it can be adjusted during the day.

I also stole the shorts I wore during the photoshoot (hehehe) and they’ve become my favorite garment to wear when I work from home. I was pretty surprised that high-waisted shorts would be so comfortable, but with the elastic waistband and the slightly lower crotch point, they’re really wonderful to wear.

Anyway back to this skirt, I made it from a midweight cotton-rayon blend with a nice drape that I got from Toto tissus, and the drape works really well with the gathers. I lengthened it by around 2 inches. The original length from the pattern is shorter, but I always lengthen my skirts since I’m a little tall and I like the just-above-the-knee length on me. That said I think in a less drapey fabric the base length of the skirt would be prettier.

What else…? It has nice patch pockets, it’s a quick sew… It’s actually a beginner pattern, and I think it is very accessible for a first garment sewing project. The only thing to be careful with is the final measurements chart: for someone with a hips measurement in a higher size than their waist measurement, like me, it’s important to check that the finished waist measurement of the garment is large enough to pull the shorts/skirt past the hips. Here for instance I sized up of half a size at the waist instead of tracing my usual 36 1/2 and I wouldn’t be able to pull it up otherwise.

Now I just need to make another shorts version! I have this fabric in my stash that comes from Tahiti: it’s red with big white flowers, and Eléonore gave it to me years ago in a fabric swap. I think it’ll be perfect to make the shorts with the paperbag waist. I’m not as confident when it comes to being able to wear those in Boston in the summer (the weather is sliiightly colder than what I was used to in North Carolina) but we’ll see 😉

Goji Skirt
Goji – Deer&Doe
Size 38 – 40 1/2
Cotton-rayon blend from Toto tissus