Over the last year we've definitely gone back and forth on the idea of designing some "basics" for our pattern lineup. (We tend to get more excited by the more "involved" patterns.) The Spruce skirt/skort has been on my mind for a while though, and with our recent release of a couple more athletic style items (Cattail Tank/Dress & Tamarack Tights) I felt it would tie in nicely. My original vision started with a knit tennis skirt/skort and I added a few options from there.

I decided to also do a woven skirt with the same basic pattern.

For this version I wanted a clean/smooth waistline which meant no elastics to gather it. An invisible zipper in the side seam allows this skirt to go on, then do up with a nice clean finish.

I also chose to do 2 different length options - athletic length and knee length. In the knit version you have the option of making this skirt a skort (with attached shorts under it) for added modesty for those active kiddos! Or, you could just make the shorts on their own.

The knit version uses a fold over elastic waistband (our preferred method for doing elastic waistbands).

While this skirt is not technically a circle skirt, it comes pretty close to being one. For this pattern I decided to showcase 2 different methods of hemming this style of skirt. The woven skirt includes instructions for hemming using a fold-over bias tape facing.

The knit skirt uses the method of sewing a basting stitch along the hemline to provide an easy guide for folding/pressing that hem in place.

One thing we LOVE about the testing process is the chance to more closely interact and work with our testers. While we often hope that our patterns have helped to teach and walk someone through a new technique/skill, we'll certainly never assume we "know it all". This pattern was a perfect example, as we had the opportunity to learn something new from our testers (which we're passing along to you here)!

This is another "Tip" for hemming circle skirts for those of you with sergers. If you increase the differential on your machine it naturally causes the fabric to curve in on itself, making pressing it to the inside of the skirt so much easier (as it's essentially "gathered" that extra bulk of fabric together). I'll assume there are many of you out there that already knew this - but it was a new idea/technique to us! Gotta love this sewing community!

Another thing the testers added to this pattern was the idea of putting piping in the seam between the waistband/skirt. We loved the idea and added it into the instructions so you can do it to!

One thing you may notice as you begin to put together and sew this pattern is that the front and back skirts/waistbands are VERY similar. We can't encourage and emphasize enough how important marking your pieces with the given notches is! They help both in lining up pieces to each other AND with keeping track of which pieces are front vs. back. Single notches are always associated with front pieces while double notches indicate back pieces.

Another great idea is to mark the back of your finished skirt in some way. A piece of ribbon tucked into the seam, heat transfer tag, a label, etc.

We hope you'll enjoy sewing up your own Spruce Skirt/Skort (it's actually a really quick sew!) and that you'll share your own makes with us on Facebook and IG! #sofispruce #sofionadesigns #spruceinthewild