Liberty Sewing Patterns Zina Wrap Skirt

This is a wrap skirt in a mini, midi or maxi length, either with or without a ruffle. It is also published as the Simplicity 8606. I went with the maxi length with a ruffle. For choosing size, my waist measurement meant I was between sizes 14 and 16 which fall within the larger of the two sizing brackets, of size range 6-22. I went with size 14 after measuring the waist on the actual pattern pieces to see what was more appropriate.

For cutting it out, I used a brilliant tip I found in a YouTube video by Manecoarse about using a laser level to line up the pattern pieces with the grainline. It worked so well.

I needed to take a massive 11cm off the length which I only thought about halfway through the project. This meant taking it off the curved ruffle which required a little mathematical jiggery pokery to ensure it still retained a nice curve. I'm not sure if there's a proper way of doing this but here's my blog post describing how I did it. I didn't take anything off the main skirt, but thankfully the ruffle didn't look too short against it.

I love the different options you get with this pattern in terms of length or ruffleness. The overlap is good and I wouldn't worry about a lot of leg showing in a gust of wind (see photo). I followed the instructions to sew the hem on the ruffle first before attaching it to the skirt, but then found out I needed a lot off the length and so had to undo some of it. I'd do the hem at the end next time to also check it was level. I used another really useful tip here by Ripple Dandelion about using the laser level for this too. It made the levelling off a doddle.

The fabric was Art Gallery fabric Summerdress Dreams Flare in rayon challis from Lamazi Fabrics, my first time using rayon. It is beautifully soft and drapey, I will definitely be using more of this in the future. It wasn't particularly sheer either which is a bonus.

I used French seams throughout and added anchored pockets. My fabric was lightweight and I thought this might give it a little more sturdiness. I used a rolled hem foot instead of folding it up twice as this method was by far the neatest.

This is a great pattern with several options, and a nice easy one that doesn't need fitting. I love the maxi length and floatiness of it in this fabric. Great for a beach cover-up too, and a good wrap overlap to spare your dignity.

Loads of photos, details, my thought processes as I went through the project, and how I got round the mistakes I made in my blog post here.