Henrietta Skirt
The fabric featured in this post was kindly gifted to me by Minerva as part of their Brand Ambassadors program. All other supplies and materials were purchased by me. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
As I prepared to go see the Barbie movie this summer, I realized that I didn’t have that much pink clothing. I had a few items, or prints that had some pink in them, but no pink dresses, skirts, or other bottoms. Certainly nothing that screamed Barbie pink. Of course it is totally fine to not own a stitch of pink, but as I perused the satin fabric I was interested in working with from Minerva, I figured why not. Make it pink!
The fabric I used is the Minerva Core Range Classique Duchess Satin Fabric in the color coral. This fabric is really fun, and I can see it being used for so many options. This fabric is non stretch and a medium weight. It has a great sturdy hand so I feel like it would be fantastic for bodices that you want to add boning. I might do this in the future! Even though the fabric has structure it also has a soft feel and is comfortable to wear. This fabric is perfect for making a cocktail or evening wear dress. And speaking of Barbie, if you loved the Carolina Herrera tulle inset maxi dress that Margot Robbie wore in the Vogue shoot, I think this fabric would be perfect. The fabric would do a great job holding the structure of that bold skirt. It comes in 37 colors, so the possibilities are endless!
Since I was already working with a bold color I figured I might as well go for a bold silhouette too. Originally I wanted to make a bias cut slip skirt, but the more I thought about it, I wanted to utilize the structure this fabric has and try something new. I kept feeling drawn to the unique style lines of the Henrietta skirt, by Spaghetti Western Sewing. Since this is a demi pattern, you get some pattern pieces, but other parts you draft yourself, which is a great way to try out and get a feel for some pattern drafting. This also means less paper pattern pieces to print out, which speeds up the process a bit. This pattern also goes from a 36-67 inch hip measurement which is great for size inclusivity. My current hip measurement is 41 inches and I went with the xs size. I’m also about 5’1 and I wanted my skirt to be long, hitting about my ankle so my rectangle panels were 10x39 inches. For the gathered pieces I added 28 inches for my length. If you buy the pattern and follow all the instructions this will make sense. For my hem, I pressed and folded ⅜ inch and then ⅜ again and stitched.
Typically for this pattern you would want to use a light weight fabric, but when looking at the hashtag there were so many fun options I decided to go for it even though my fabric was heavier. I think the volume is really fun, but definitely a step out of my comfort zone. Since this was a unique look I also decided to try something new with my photography. Playing with lighting and working with pink colors was so fun, I hope you like it! I also have some fun videos on Tik Tok that better shows the color of the skirt and also some styling. Go check it out! Username @henny_Lou