A Blog for the Perpetually Frustrated Home Sewist

Heart Choker Skort (Simplicity 8698 Review)


Hello everyone! This week's post will be about a scooter skirt (skort) with heart details made using heart chokers and a vintage Simplicity pattern. In this post, I'll discuss the construction process and review the pattern. Keep reading to see all the details. 


Here's what the front and back of the skirt looks like. 


INSPIRATION 

The idea for this project is not very original at all. I based this skirt pretty directly on a few I had seen for sale online on various Storenvy and Taobao reseller sites.

The skirts were available for a while from Peachy Amo and possibly Syndrome Store, but I can no longer find the product link. If I find a link later, I'll stick it here! 

I first saw these skirts in early 2017, and they've remained in my head ever since. I finally had the time to commit to making one this past week! I loved how the skirts combined the already popular heart chokers with a pleated skirt shape.

I probably would have just purchased one of the skirts above if not for a few a reasons. Firstly, the skirts were only available in a limited size range that would have definitely not fit me. Second, I didn't like the direction of the pleats on the white skirt. So, it was clear that making the skirt myself was the only realistic option if I wanted the skirt to look how I wanted.



MATERIALS 

Obviously, I needed heart chokers (or at least heart-shaped O-rings) for this project. I found them for only $0.80 each on Aliexpress last November, so I was able to buy 5 for only $4 (and that includes shipping!). You'll often see this style of choker being resold for much higher on Amazon and other sites. 
The chokers are available in many colors; click here to see where I purchased them from. (The price is currently $0.90 each rather than $0.80.)
For the main fabric, I used a basic black bull denim from JoAnn Fabrics. To line the front flap of the skort, I used a generic polyester lining fabric.

Here's what the lining looks like. I promise it doesn't look that puckered in real life!






PATTERN

Finally, on to the pattern! Like I said above, I had kept this skirt on my mind for a while, and when I saw this vintage pattern on Etsy, I knew it would be a good choice. I liked that the pattern had shorts built in, because I've been wanting to make more functional garments that I can wear during the summer and for roller skating.



Simplicity 8698, released in 1970, contains patterns for two different styles of scooter skirts and one pair of pleated shorts with a front tab. View 1 is the shorts version with a faux button tab and optional belt loops. I made View 2, which is designed to look like a pleated skirt and has a front flap on the front and back and also optional buttons. And View 3 is a wrap style skort with an attached flap covering most of the front and back of the skirt and an optional pocket. All views are finished with a shaped facing rather than a waistband and the length is approximately 15."

The skirts are described as "scooter skirts" on the pattern, which is common for patterns from this era. I always considered to scooter skirts and skorts to basically be one and the same, with scooter skirts having more of a vintage look, but after searching this topic online, it appears there is some difference. At least one person describes a scooter skirt as looking like a skirt from all sides, with shorts hidden underneath, whereas a skort looks like shorts from the back. This may or may not be true,  but it's interesting to consider.

I made a mockup for this skirt to check the fit, and I realized that it was a little too large around the waist. So, I took the sides of the skirt in a little bit. However, despite doing this, it still ended up a little too big (possibly because i forgot to staystitch part of the waistline. So, to rectify this, I took in the sides of the skirt a little bit after finishing the skirt. This wasn't a problem in the end, but now the heart chokers aren't centered like they were before. Here's the before and after.


Other than that change, I also added a half inch to the overall crotch depth for comfort purposes.

Also, because I attached the heart chokers to the front of the skirt, I decided to move the zipper from the left side seam to the center back seam. (I was worried the choker strap leather would interfere with the zipper seam.) As a result, I decided not to add the skirt flap to the back, so I wouldn't have to alter the pattern more. 

Ultimately, I really liked this pattern and plan on making it again. It's a great option for an easy to wear skort that matches almost anything. This would also be a great option for anyone sewing pants for the first time, because the shorts included are very easy to put together and fit very loosely. If you're looking for this type of pattern, I'd recommend this one! 


OUTFIT DETAILS



Even though I have quite a few pink tops and shirts, it was difficult to find one that matched perfectly with this skirt. I tried on a variety of tops, and I really wanted to pair this with the Esther Loves You x Lazy Oaf mesh top I had bought earlier this year. I love the top but find that it fits a little baggy on me, and I don't have the proper bralette to wear under so that it looks like I want. Maybe in the future I'll make it work!


While writing this blog post, I decided to try on the Esther Loves You top again. It doesn't look too bad, but I'm still not sure about it. I cropped my head out, because it was a bad photo. 

In most of the photos on this post, I paired the skirt with a matching choker (the leftover one I bought) and matching heart choker shoes. The shoes are from Demonia and I purchased them from Dollskill. They aren't the most comfortable shoes, but I wore socks in the inside, which helped a lot. I think these would work better with tights in the fall or winter to prevent friction around the ankles. But it's already too hot here for that! And I loved that the shoes matched so perfectly. I chose black fabric just so the shoes would match. Also, on a positive note, the shoes weren't too expensive, especially compared to similar styles.

The mesh bodysuit I'm wearing is from the Laser Kitten x Forever 21 collection. I absolutely love how it fits! It's so comfy and I'm worn it multiple times.


After taking photos for this blog, I realized that I hadn't looked through my sweater drawer for potential matching tops. I wore this pink cropped sweater when I wore the skort to go out roller skating.



I also made a pink scrunchie to pair with the outfit (and to wear in general in other outfits).







CONCLUSION 



Thank you so much for reading this far! Ultimately, this skirt was a pretty fun and quick project, and I'm looking forward to wearing it around this summer. Despite having some trouble finding matching tops, I think I'll get a lot of use out of this top compared to other items I've made in the past. I'm already working on another version of this skort, so check back next week for that!

To see my other heart-themed projects, click here.
To see my other Simplicity pattern reviews, click here

2 comments

  1. This is so cute!, where did you find the pattern? or is there a way you could share it?

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your nice comment! The pattern is vintage Simplicity 8698, and I bought it on Etsy at the time I completed this project. I don't think I can really share it in any easy way at the moment, but there is one available on Etsy right now if you search for it. I also looked on Ebay and saw a few available, but the sizing may not be exactly what you're looking for. I hope that helps! Sorry I can't offer much more help. If you can't find a vintage pattern, you might be able to modify a newer skort/shorts pattern to add a flap to the front.

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