A wardrobe staple

The Chardon skirt is a great wardrobe staple. You don’t get tons of design options, but it can be made in a whole multitude of fabrics that will give you plenty of versatility – I made mine in a crisp cotton poplin (from the Foldline curated SewHayleyJane classic box) which gives a more structured look to the pleats, but I can imagine this looking gorgeous in a lightweight wool for something softer and less-defined. For pear-shapes like me, it is a flattering silhouette as it nips in the waist and billows outwards in an obvious way.

Construction of the skirt was nice and straightforward; comes together quickly and satisfying to sew. It’s a great pattern for an ambitious beginner as there is nothing particularly advanced; sewing the pleats take some time but relatively simple so long as you follow the instructions. There is no fiddly invisible zip insertion (my biggest bugbear!), instead you use a regular zip and create a flap to conceal it. You could sew an invisible zip here if you find your own instructions.

When choosing your size, make sure to pay extra attention to the finished waist size as there is very little ease and comes up quite small. Best to err on the side of caution and I would recommend making a size up as it is much easier to take it in than let it out, especially with all them pleats!

The pattern is well drafted; I will definitely be making many more! One thing I would recommend, which is missing in the instructions, is to sew down the waistband facing as it is difficult to lay flat and looks quite ugly when it folds up over the edge when you’re wearing it.