This outfit combination makes me feel oh so sexy, while being comfortable at the same time. How many outfits can do that??? Not many, I tell you. This combination is brought to you by Deer and Doe. The Ondee sweater is a cropped top perfect for pairing with high-waisted skirts and dresses. The Brume skirt is a high-waisted pencil skirt made from knit fabric.

The Ondee sweater pattern has short sleeves, long sleeves, scoop neck, or contrasting collar. I have tried them all (more blog posts to come…) and I like the scoop neck with either sleeve variation. What’s great about this pattern is how quickly it comes together. I don’t think I’ve ever had a pattern that sews up this quickly, especially if you use a serger/overlocker. I think it takes me about 2 or 3 hours from cutting to finishing, which means someone who sews quickly, this will take only about an hour. The reason it comes together so quickly is that there are no hems to turn under, it’s all finished with bands (the neckline, sleeves, and hem). Not only that, but you hardly need any fabric at all for this top. You only need 1m or 1.1m, or less if you’re not worried about the grain. I made one of these tops with a scrap of 80 or 90cm I think. I did modify the pattern a little bit for this top. I lengthened it by 3cm so that I’m not showing any skin unless I lift my arms.

This particular top was made with polyester jersey I found on a trip to Innsbruck, Austria quite a few years ago. Or it might have been Germany…. I think I originally bought it with the Briar top in mind, but I kind of felt that maybe a Briar was a bit too casual to go with this print. I just went ahead and cut out my Ondee, hoping as I was cutting that I was making the ‘right’ decision. I really think I did! It’s such a cute top and because it’s such a bright and busy print, it’s not too overwhelming as a crop top.

The Brume skirt is also a fairly quick sew. I sewed it on the sewing machine instead of the serger so that it’s less bulky. There are quite a few pieces for a pencil skirt (front, back, side front, side back, yoke, waistband), but it’s totally worth it because it fits so beautifully around your curves. The fact that it’s jersey makes the fitting really easy. I have a fairly small waist compared to my hips, but I didn’t have to do any fitting adjustments. I’ve made this pattern a few times now, and my only recommendation is to topstitch the seams with a zigzag instead of a twin needle. I found the twin needle made the seams a bit wavy, and you really want those curves on the butt area to be smooth.

This black jersey is 97% cotton and 3% spandex. That means that it recovers nicely and doesn’t get stretched out like 100% cotton jersey would. It’s a versatile piece because you can wear it with boots in the winter and regular shoes for the rest of the seasons. A black pencil skirt never goes out of style, so unless the colour really fades, this skirt is going to get a lot of wear.  I would definitely recommend this skirt pattern!