The Bibi skirt is a pattern within Tilly Walnes’s book ‘Stretch’. Its an extremely easy, quick and satisfying project – ideal for beginner sewists. It uses up very little fabric so is a good stash buster for your left-over knit fabrics and looks great for everyday wear or for a night out (when we’re allowed!)
Fabric
Bibi is designed for knit fabrics with a small amount of stretch e.g. Ponte Roma or double knit. Another reason why it’s a nice easy make because less stretch means fewer problems! I’ve made three versions of Bibi (so far!) and all of them have been in a medium weight ponte type fabric. One of them with a stretch lace overlay.
Fitting
Miraculously, the Bibi skirt fitted me straight out of the packet and I didn’t need to make any adjustments at all which was brilliant! My measurements fitted nicely into size three of Tilly’s pattern sizing chart and I’m really happy with the fit of all three skirts I have made.
Sewing
As with all Tilly & the Buttons patterns, the instructions for Bibi are extremely well written. The accompanying photos are a great reference and meant that I had a stress free sewing experience for this pattern! All of the steps are really quite straight forward and would be a great introduction to sewing with knits for someone who hasn’t done it before. As ponte roma / double knit doesn’t unravel you don’t even need to finish your seams if you don’t want to! Extra bonus!
Style
One of the main things I like about Bibi is that its so easy to just throw (no zips or buttons to contend with) but I still feel smart when I’m wearing it. There are lots of options to make yours different – you can make it in one single colour, or decide to colour block the different skirt panels. The Stretch book also gives you some suggestions on making a unique garment – e.g. adding a seam split, waist tabs or making it into a pinafore dress. I made my first version in a single purple colour, my second one in a patterned black and green fabric which meant I had to pattern match across the different panels. In my third version I added waist tabs and some gold buttons that I had in my stash, in addition to using some stretchy lace material over the base purple ponte roma on the side panels. The Bibi quickly became my go-to skirt for everyday wear and I will definitely be making more in the future!
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