I have always loved wrap skirts and dresses – and right now I’m crushing on this one.
Love this skirt! Megan Neilsen’s Cascade Skirt (sheltering from a strong on-shore breeze!)
This is Megan Neilsen’s Cascade skirt and it’s a simple, satisfying make. It’s essentially a wrap circle skirt, with the curve cutting away across the front pieces to achieve this lovely cascade effect.
It’s just four pattern pieces, the back, two front pieces and the waist band. The side seams are French seams and the hem is rolled. If you don’t have a roll hem foot (like me) I would advise some endurance refreshments as you sew around that hem THREE times – it’s a monster! Not to mention trimming the hem before you roll it. Patience has never been one of my virtues (in fact… I’m just trying to recall any of my virtues…).
the NeverEndingHem
Other than the NeverEndingHem, this is really a very simple make.
I somehow managed to squash this skirt out of two metres – without doing anything terribly dodgy in the cutting/grainline department. I was so determined to make the skirt from this fabric – nothing else would do. The waistband was cut from the length of the fabric – the only piece of fabric I had left after I cut out the front and back pieces. This fabric is very very soft and I think making the button waistband option would have been a disaster. I also interfaced the waistband – just around my waist to give the fabric a little more endurance.
THE skirt of summer…
This is a long skirt. I’m a stately 5 foot 4 – Megan Neilsen’s model for this skirt is 5 foot 9 – just sayin’ as it explains why this is so much longer on me! Some people have chopped off the length to make it more mid-calf – personally I like it long, I love the sweep of the skirt and how the front ripples open as you walk. In a steady onshore breeze people got to see plenty of my legs – I spared you the ‘legs’ shots… I know, I’m good like that.
Confession: I’ve never been much of a fan of the high-low hem – or the mullet hem as I call it – however as a wrap skirt, that moves and flutters as you walk, this is quite lovely.
Perfectly soft viscose rayon for this design
I had no plans to get the skirt pattern, however when I was in Melbourne for Frocktails and doing a ‘small’ spot of fabric shopping with the girls, I found this blissful viscose rayon at Darn Cheap Fabrics (note this one is not available online, I’ve checked). It’s reminiscent of Monet or the sun setting over the water and I immediately wanted to make the Cascade Skirt with it – it just seemed perfect… Busy Lizzie (in Brissy) got some of this fabric – so let’s see what she does with it!
Cascade Skirt – the back view. It was a windy afternoon!
For me this is a perfect summer casual skirt. It replaces a sarong to put over my swimmers, it’s easy to wear with flip-flops and a t-shirt/singlet, and after this beach blog shoot I threw on strappy silver heels and a tight denim jacket for a casual dinner.
you can wear it strolling on the beach…
on the beach…
and just dipping your toes in the water…
dipping my toes in…
or just a spot of idle daydreaming…
daydreaming…
Also see: Lladybird | Cut Cut Sew | Holly Dolly Blog | Sleek Silhouette
Note: Blog post dedicated to Leah of a Little Stone Cottage a brand new sewing blogger who grew up in Port Macquarie and I think misses out beautiful beaches and weather! Mwah 
