The “Babette” Skirt – A Pattern Review

When my friend Rebecca asked me if I would like to review her latest skirt pattern I immediately said yes! Prior to sewing this skirt it had been 16 years since I had made an article of clothing for myself. The last time was kind of a disaster…I made pajama pants with the print upside down.  This time, however, I had completely wonderful results!

Rebecca and her husband are the design team behind Rebecca Ruth Designs. They design patterns that are easy to follow and very versatile – which is what I need. This is the third pattern I have sewn from Rebecca. The first one was her Smock Monster Pattern and I also made her E-Book Reader Tablet Case.  I have thoroughly enjoyed sewing each of these patterns.

What I love about the “Babette” Skirt is that it feels as though one pattern will truly fit most women. All you need is your waist measurement and where you want the skirt to hit on your leg and you can easily fit this skirt to any body.  I decided that I wanted my skirt to hit just below the knee. I took the measurement from my waist to just below the knee and it came to 23″.  I bought extra fabric, mainly because I loved the print I found.  The nice thing about this pattern is that it is a paper pattern, no printing out tons of sheets of paper. I decided to trace out the size I wanted onto freezer paper so that I could reuse the pattern again if I ever want to make it in another fabric or in a different length.

All the supplies to make this skirt could easily be found at your local JoAnns, which made it a one stop trip for Anne and I.  Total sewing time for me, a relative clothes sewing novice, was 3 hours. I think it would have been less but I did a bit of ripping out when I sewed in the buttons. Apparently I’m not very good at sewing a straight line!

I opted to make the Circle Skirt version and it has a truly unique closure method that I have never seen before. The skirt closes at the pockets.  No zippers! You use buttons and some woven cording. Truly inspired.  The skirt has 2 pockets, but you cannot tell when looking at it straight on unless your hands are in them.

Final Thoughts:

Skill Level: Beginner (because I am definitely a beginner!)
Materials: Easy to locate at your Big Box Fabric Store (my skirt is made with quilting weight cotton)
Time: 3 hours for me, but I think the second time around it would be much faster!
Size Range – Fits waist sizes 24″ to 51″

I loved sewing this pattern. I have already decided that this will be my Christmas Eve Skirt (with an extra thick pair of tights because I know it will be COLD).