A pattern with simple lines is such a versatile tool for wardrobe building. Change the fabric, and you change the look. When it’s a pattern you know fits you well or that you have spent time adjusting to your perfect custom fit, it’s great to be able to sew it over and over without looking like ‘that lady who always wears that same skirt’.

Here are two different looks from a simple A-line skirt pattern, my Chocolate Chip Skirt pattern for women.

On the right, we have a sporty version made with Hudson Jeans Stretch Twill in a fun and slightly nutty zebra print. Twill is a bottomweight fabric that makes great jeans, shorts, and skirts, and I think this particular twill would make an awesome jacket! There are more details about this skirt in my earlier post.

On the left, we have a much flowier, dressy skirt made with cotton lawn. Cotton lawn is a lightweight, breathable, 100% cotton fabric. It’s silky smooth, flowy, and somewhat delicate. Very different from twill! It can be slightly sheer so is best lined with another similar-weight fabric. My pattern has a free-hanging lining that lets the fashion fabric move and breathe. It was nearly 100 degrees when we took photos, and trust me, this skirt is much cooler than the twill one!

This particular lawn is Robert Kaufman London Calling cotton lawn, lined with a white ‘clip dot’ (also known as dotted swiss) fabric, in similar weight. Cali carries the London Calling lawn in a number of pretty prints (remember our gorgeous twirly dress post?) and the clip dot in several solid colors. I turned the dotted side facing outward to keep the inside smooth against the skin. My skirt, my rules!

I noted in my twill skirt post that I added some jeans-inspired finishes like back pockets, flat felled seams and a 1/2″ turned hem. For this dressy skirt, I kept the front pockets (because pockets duh), french-seamed the side seams, and blind-hemmed the fashion fabric to keep the more dressed-up look.

OK, maybe these skirts are not exactly “naughty or nice” … but maybe Sporty or Posh Spice?

I hope this inspires you to try one of your favorite patterns with a different type of fabric! You want to be sure, of course that your fabric choice is suitable for your pattern (check the envelope or materials recommendations). What sorts of simple patterns do you like to use with different fabrics to get different looks?