Rosery Apparel Clover Skirt review.

Look at all those nice buttons!

I’m a huge fan of Janelle and Rosery Apparel. Her videos are so calming and every time a new one drops, it’s my cue to settle in my favourite chair with a nice mug of tea. When I saw her Clover Skirt pattern, I knew I had to give it a shot. I love maxi skirts, WITH POCKETS!! I’ve never tried buttons and buttonholes before, so I was a bit apprehensive about that.

I downloaded and printed the pattern and spent a loooong time taping it together. Any patterns I need to print in the future, I’ll get printed at my local staples. I wasn’t sure what pattern to print as I’m slap bang right in the middle of the size range. I decided to go for the larger just to be on the safe side.

For the fabric, I chose a pretty black floral cotton which would match most of the tops in my wardrobe (and look great with my boots too).

Everything was going great until I got to the waistband. I couldn’t quite understand the inside out/folding thing Janelle did, and I thought the waistband was going to be too short, so I added more fabric to the waistband. But of course, Janelle was right and the skirt ended up being way too big on the waist. After watching the accompanying video a few times, (ok, maybe it was about twenty times) I saw where I’d gone wrong. Fortunately, because it’s a panel skirt I was able to take off some of the bulk on the waist quite easily using my serger.

Then came the buttonholes. Oh boy. I did a few practice runs on a scrap piece of fabric. Great. All the buttonholes were good until I got to the top two. Then my buttonhole foot went wonky (yeah, everything was where it was meant to be) and it ‘forgot’ the length of the button, and I ended up with a hole twice the length it should’ve been. I usually wear my tops untucked so it wasn’t a big deal, but it’s given me a lasting fear of buttonholes. Sewing the buttons on was no problem. I used wooden buttons and I’ve had no trouble with them in the dryer.

Thoughts

All in all, I love this skirt. It’s totally my style and the skirt has had a lot of wear since I made it. I have really long legs, so I lengthened the pattern several inches. To be able to do this is one of the reasons I took up sewing because I can never find skirts that are long enough. I’d definitely make this again if I can get over the buttonhole fear. Next time I’d pay more attention to the waistline and trust the process! As I’m a visual learner, I loved that there was a video to accompany the pattern. And did I mention IT HAS POCKETS!!

What didn’t I like?

I felt the pattern was a little pricey given it’s a printable, and that really adds up if you’ve got printing costs at a copy shop. But, I love Janelle and I love supporting her business, so I’m happy to pay the extra.

I loved the cotton fabric I used, but man! It was a furnace under there. Sweaty thighs anyone? In future I might use a linen or a more breathable fabric. I’d also consider pattern-hacking and adding a zip at the back instead of the buttons. But I do really love this button-down look.

My rating

4/5 Very happy with how it turned out.

Skirt and boots. My favourite combination!