For the 25th post in my  series, the letter Y, I’ve chosen a “You Sew Girl!” pattern, the A-Line Skirt. This 2011 pattern is from Australian designer Nicole Mallalieu. Nicole Mallalieu began her pattern drafting career as a handbag and hat designer, but once she ventured into garments her A-Line Skirt also garnered excellent reviews on PatternReview.

Although I already have several A-Line skirt patterns, when I read “the skirt is a great ‘canvas’ for textile embellishment and instructions are included for THE BEST way to insert an invisible zipper” this pattern proved impossible for me to resist. I’d never mustered the courage to try invisible zippers, so instructions for THE BEST way to insert one piqued my interest. The close up photo above is of the invisible zipper I inserted using Nicole’s method. Not bad for a first attempt, and actually this is the best zipper insertion I’ve ever managed!

In my opinion all of Nicole’s sewing instructions for the skirt are THE BEST. She left nothing to chance and spelled out every single step. Photos demonstrating sewing techniques and helpful tips were included with the text. One time saving tip recommended hemming by machine with a blind hem foot. This inspired me to try out the blind hem foot that came with my sewing machine when I purchased it (quite a few years ago). Yup, I’d never attempted a blind hem before either.

So I’d like to say “Thanks, Nicole Mallalieu, for showing me how easy it is to insert an invisible zipper and for inspiring me to try a blind hem by machine. I’ll add both techniques to my sewing repertoire – your pattern was totally worth investing in!” In my opinion the incredibly detailed sewing instructions included with this pattern make it perfect for everyone, especially less experienced or self-taught sewers.