Despite having designed our own looks for our first collection of sewing patterns, each one very much based on ourselves and the kind of thing we want to be wearing, both Charlotte and I now totally prefer each other's patterns! Charlotte keeps churning out Elisalex dresses, one more wild and beautiful than the one before, and I can't seem to stop whipping up Charlotte skirts, with a clear penchant for hem ruffles shining through.

So we thought we'd show what we've been making to wear this festive season... Starting with me (Elisalex) and my New Years Eve party Charlotte skirt.

Let me begin by saying that I'll be spending New Year's in the Caribbean (jealous much?) so the first thing was to re-interpret a supposed Winter design for sunnier climes. And this is what I love about sewing patterns - they transcend everything that irks me about fast fashion - passing trends, ill-fit, crappy fabrics and 'season' being just a few of the fashion cons that simply are not an issue when you can make your own.

Instead of just shortening the skirt with a straight cut (which is what I would have done for a standard mini skirt without the hem ruffle), for this baby I really wanted to emphasise the curves of my hips and bum. I cut it with a mega mini dipped hem, stopping just below my pelvic bone at the front and at the fullest part of my bum in back. I then attached the hem ruffle and ended up with something that reminds me of a Can-Can dancer doing the Lambada on a beach in Brazil. My kind of skirt!

For the fabric I chose an orangey-red brushed cotton with little blue polka-flowers I had in my stash. I only had a couple of metres so I had to cut the ruffle in two pieces, matching the two seams with the skirt's side seams. The brushed cotton makes this skirt cosy enough to wear with tights and boots in Winter too, which means this skirt is going to be getting a lot of action, trans-seasonally as well as internationally.

Don't forget we'll be starting the Charlotte skirt sewalong on January 14th, where we'll be seeing you through step by step, and covering a bunch of possible alterations, including this one. For now I'll leave you with a little clip of how I'm planning to see in 2013...