Solid skaters

Lady skater

Lady skater

Lady skater

Lady skater

Lady skater

Lady skater

Hey guys. Ever meet a pattern that was just so elegant in its simplicity and versatility that you wanted to just scoop it up by the pattern sleeve and run off into the sunset and have little garment babies with it? That’s kind of how I feel about Kitschy Coo’s Lady Skater pattern.

There were several things that led to my buying this pattern. 1) Cirque du Bebe’s absolutely effortlessly gorgeous version, 2) her post on prints vs solids which made me realize I had the exact problem which was making getting dressed in the morning take three times longer than it really should. Yikes.

Basically this pattern is awesome. I went to the fabric store with the express goal of walking back out with solid knits in scrumptious easy-to-match fall colors. The navy was an obvious choice, and I also found a gorgeous light grey-ish brown that was on sale and just screaming to come home with me. It was weird realizing that my comfort zone of wearable colors is totally different from the colors/prints I gravitate toward for sewing purposes.

The brown was a thinner knit and probably worked better for the drape of the dress. The navy was a little thicker and while it will be great for colder weather, I’m convinced the skirt sits a little funny. I used the smallest size and made zero adjustments (other than shortening the navy skirt by an inch) and the fit was perfect (although maybe a tiiiny bit too tight but probably not a whole size). Yay for knits!

I’m a little bummed that it’s still 80 degrees during the daytime and definitely not cool enough to actually wear these dresses yet. Taking these photos was pretty miserable.

Anyway, I could love on this pattern all day but school just started back up again so I should probably go do more productive things. The moral of the story is that I need to sew more solids.

33 thoughts on “Solid skaters”

  1. How do you sew your knits? Using a serger? I just have a chepo machine so dont think i will ever be able to sew something this lovely 🙁

    1. Nope, just a regular cheapo machine! I didn’t even buy the special needle everyone recommends and it turned out fine. I would maybe invest in some ball point needles or twin needles if you’re buying really nice knits but I was mostly just experimenting on cheapo fabric so I wasn’t too worried and it turned out great!

  2. I realized… I don’t ever sew solids! haha.. I like the dress and am starting to rethinking my sewing habits. Solids would be great for fall 🙂

    1. It was seriously weird looking at my closet after I read that post on solids vs prints! I literally have like 3 solid sewn garments, and all of them have some sort of lace frouf to make up for the solidness.

    1. I was just thinking about doing that this morning! Maybe a non-sleeved one with buttons in the front? Or a bib?? A bib would look really cute poking out of a cardigan when it gets cooler. So many ideas! :]

      1. a short sleeved bib one would be adorable! I just made a 3 quarter sleeved one in a very bright red, can’t wait until it cools off a bit more here too

    1. Dooo it!!!

      PS I am so crossing my fingers I’ll get out of work in time for sewing club tonight! I was super bummed I missed last week 🙁

  3. love this pattern, and i plan on doing the same solids treatment with it for fall! i’ve made an effort to keep my sewing wearable so i don’t waste all my time and still feel like i have nothing wearable to show for it… i’m so over summer and ready for fall clothes!

    1. I have the same problem! I feel like I’m constantly sewing up new clothes but never have anything to wear. Sewing Ping has a far bolder personality than Getting-Dressed-in-the-Morning Ping. 🙁

    1. Hehe thanks!! The belt came with a Modcloth dress that I was mostly “meh” about but thought the belt was cute enough to justify the purchase 🙂

  4. Definitely love those dresses, what a great pattern! While brown is nice I love the navy blue, and the boots are adorable too! Wonderful job!

    1. Thanks! I think navy blue (with white accents) and brown boots might be my favorite color combination to wear, at least judging by my closet. 🙂

  5. These are so cute! I love them both! I’ve overlooked this pattern in the past because I just don’t like to wear knit dresses (I dunno, I’m weird, they just always seem clingy to me and I get all weird and self-conscious) but these are so pretty that I’m tempted to give it a try!

    1. No I totally understand! This was my first knit dress pattern and only because I saw such cute ones other people had made.

  6. Dear Ping,
    Your version was so inspiring, that I was literally forced to sew it 😉
    I am so amazed, that this one will probably not be the only scater dress!
    I even linked your dress to my blog, thank your for the inspiration!

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