Ness Skirt - Pattern Review - Tilly & The Buttons

The Ness Skirt is a pattern by independent pattern designer, Tilly Walnes from Tilly & The Buttons.  Its pattern number 1023 and is a classic design, fly front skirt.  It features a shaped waistband and a curved back yoke.  There’s a mini version or a below the knee option which has a centre front split.  It has lots of nice details like mock felled seams, belt loops and two types of pockets.  I have the paper pattern and you can still buy that here for example.  But on several other websites including Tilly’s own, it is PDF only now.  Intended fabrics for this skirt are medium to heavyweight wovens like denim, corduroy, jacquard or drill and the pattern comes in sizes 1 to 8.

My Versions

I’ve made two versions of the Ness skirt now; my first one was made using a jacquard type black fabric with zero stretch.  I’ve had it in my fabric collection for years, having bought it at the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate from Stitch Fabrics by M Rosenberg and Son.  The second one was in a forest green needlecord which had a small amount of stretch and this was from Fine Fabrics of Harrogate.

I used size three as the basis for my skirt as that’s where my measurements sit best (waist 28” and hip 36”).  I shortened the mini version of the pattern by a couple of inches and also pinched out some excess at the hip area as I was putting it together.  That was to be expected as the size three is a 37” hip so was always going to be slightly big for me in that area.  I included the back pockets but I didn’t make the belt loops on either of my versions, just out of personal preference as I didn’t think I would use them.

Fit and Sizing

As mentioned above, the size three was big for me in the hip area.  Some of that is attributable to the fact that I fall between a size two and three at that point in the pattern but I would also say generally that I’ve found Tilly’s patterns to include quite a bit of ease at the hip / thigh area.  In this case if you compare the finished garment measurements to the body measurements you’ll see there is two inches of ease drafted in which is not excessive and obviously required to some extent so you can move and sit down.  But this combined with my measurements meant that I did remove some width to make the skirt fit in the way that I like. 

I also found that there is a curve on the back skirt pattern pieces at the centre back which for me, was unnecessary and gave the back skirt a baggy / saggy look particularly on my needlecord version. If you look closely at the two pictures on the back of the pattern instruction booklet, you can just about see what I mean on the modelled versions.  It may be that you are ok with that but I ended up unpicking my centre back seam below the yoke and re-sewing this to remove some of the curvature.

One other point I would highlight is that Tilly’s more recent patterns have an extended size range up to size 15 but the Ness pattern goes up to size 8 only.

Instructions and drafting

I found the instructions on the whole very good and what I’ve come to expect from Tilly.  Clear explanations, useful photographs to accompany them and additional guidance available on the website.  However, there was a yellow slip enclosed with my pattern which highlighted an error in the order of sentences on the pages including the zip insertion.  I found the easiest way to get around that was to stop following the instruction booklet immediately before you start working on the zip and instead follow the fly zip tutorial which you can find here. Then once the zip is in, go back to the instruction booklet at the step where you are attaching the front to the back skirt at the side seams.  Perhaps later versions of the pattern were printed out correctly but unfortunately I had one which was not but managed to work around it.

Construction and sewing

Construction wise, the Ness skirt is relatively straight forward to sew.  I would say there are two tricky parts to look out for.  Number 1 is the back yoke.  The instructions say to sew it in two parts, one side to the centre and then the other side, notching in the middle to help the back skirt open out.  I didn’t find that method the best and ended up sewing the full yoke seam in one go instead and that gave me a better alignment with the centre back seam of the yoke and the skirt.  Number two is the zip but if you use their video tutorial as above, follow it step by step, you should be ok.

Tilly rates this pattern as ‘confident beginner’.  I would say that it would help if you have a few other patterns under your belt before you sew this one. 

Finished garment

I’m happy with my two Ness skirts and have worn both of them at least twice already.  I like the classic fly front zip style and feel like it’s a skirt that will never really go out of fashion.  Although if I’m completely honest, I do feel like I would like to re-make a version, using my own skirt sloper (skirt pattern drafted exactly to my own measurements) and altering it to include the design elements of the Ness – i.e. the back yoke, in seam pockets, etc.  Even though I made the fit adjustments around the hip, I do feel, on wearing the skirts, that the fit could be better.  But that said I will still wear them and I’m pleased I tried the pattern.

In summary, I would recommend this skirt of you’re looking to expand your skirt sewing experience.  It offers a lot of good sewing techniques to try and is generally a great style skirt to have in your pattern collection.

Let me know in the comments if you have sewn Ness and if you have any other skirt patterns that you would recommend.

If you are making your first Ness skirt and would like someone to sew along with, see my Ness Skirt Sew-Along on YouTube below!