The Skye’s the Limit: Have You Made the Peppermint Skye Shorts?
- Words by Peppermint
Tired of having to choose between the breezy drama of swishy flowing skirts and the sensible practicality of shorts? Suffer no more! Collaborating with brilliant British patternmaker Mandi Bharij from Make With Mandi, we have created the Peppermint Skye Shorts – the answer to all your problems… or at least, all the pants-related problems!
These swing shorts skilfully combine fun and function, with flow aplenty around the legs and hips – and pockets, of course! The curved front yoke paired with an elasticated back waistband is all class at the front, comfy at the back, making them the ultimate throw-on-and-go piece for all your warm weather adventures.
This fantastic pattern was created in partnership with our good friends at Spoonflower. The world’s largest marketplace of independent designs from global artists, Spoonflower is leading the way in custom, sustainable textile printing. Their on-demand process significantly reduces materials, energy and water, and uses non-toxic inks and fabrics that are ethically sourced.
To create our version, we used the Organic Cotton Sateen from Spoonflower, printed with a botanical palm leaf pattern by Italian illustrator Francesca Besso.
If you haven’t made your own version yet, what are you waiting for? The sky’s the limit with the possibilities of the Skye Shorts. We asked five fabulous sewing influencers to whip up a pair in a Spoonflower fabric of their choice. From @FiveSpicePower‘s rockin’ broc, @Geri_In_Stitches‘s peppy poppies, @SableCraft‘s checkerboard chic, @Holly_Dennett‘s William Morris moment and @SewUThinkUCan‘s crafty culottes. We heart them all!
Find out what they all had to say about the pattern and get inspired to make your own!
DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN NOW!
FIVE SPICE POWER
Fabric Choice – Organic Cotton Sateen in Broc On
“I would like to stress, before anyone accuses me of deliberately setting myself up to be the butt (haha, butt) of a million ‘bushy crotch’ jokes, that I really didn’t think twice about choosing this hella cute broccoli themed fabric when the Spoonflower team reached out to me late last year. No, I thought about it HUNDREDS OF TIMES, and not once did I notice the potential for bush-related hilarity. See, the Spoonflower team was incredibly generous in the range of patterns I could choose from. Choose one of the hundreds of beautiful patterns, they said to me, a woman who once spent three hours in a Hannah’s trying on two pairs of shoes. Ultimately I settled on either this or a repeating motif of cats skateboarding. Sensible, adult choices for the working professional who means business.
“Despite the ongoing apocalypse this arrived shortly before Christmas and I set about turning it into a pair of #PeppermintSkyeShorts (by Make With Mandi for Peppermint). I haven’t actually sewn anything since making MSP his Christmas shirt (he wore it like a Good Lad despite it being two sizes two large and giving him the general appearance of a small boy who has been told to wear his brother’s shirt to save money) so this was a pleasantly quick re-entry into sewing. It checks all the boxes: cute, airy, elastic waist, pockets, didn’t cry sewing it. I made only one departure from the instructions and that’s only because I’m a wilful tart and refuse to be taught how to sew on a waistband. Altogether it makes a lovely addition to my summer wardrobe and I will definitely be leaving many butt prints in this on park benches and hot car seats in the sweaty months to come.”
GERI IN STITCHES
Fabric Choice – Organic Cotton Sateen in Wild Poppy Meadow
“Most honoured to be asked by Peppermint and Spoonflower to sew up a pair of #PeppermintSkyeShorts in a Spoonflower print of my choice. I picked this Wild Poppy Meadow print in the organic cotton poplin and it’s such an easy and beautiful fabric to sew with. The large flower print has all the colours that I love.
“This sewing pattern looks deceptively like a mini flare skirt but it is actually a pair of shorts, so I can prance around however I like while keeping my modesty intact. It has an elastic back so it’s pretty and practical. Pattern made in collaboration with Make With Mandi.”
SABLECRAFT
Fabric Choice – Organic Cotton Sateen in Dotted Checks
“My vibes for 2022 are: chaotic french clown. When I’m not in my carhartts at the barn of course. I whipped up these #PeppermintSkyeShorts on… the coldest day in Rochester so far. The real feel is -5 today. I’m leaning in to weird checkerboard patterns this year so I was so lucky to work with this organic cotton sateen from Spoonflower.”
HOLLY DENNETT
Fabric Choice – Poly Crepe de Chine in William Morris
“My new make, the Peppermint Skye Shorts. I decided to use this amazing Spoonflower viscose fabric as I knew it would have an amazing drape that would work well for this pattern. The fabric is perfect for styling for winter and will also be great in the summer. I shortened the length of the shorts so they sat at a more flattering length on my legs.
“These shorts were the quickest make I have made in a long time! Was fun only spending a few hours on a project and then have some brand new shorts. Recently my makes have been big ones that have taken a lot of sewing days.”
SEWUTHINKUCAN
Fabric Choice – Lightweight Cotton Twill in Big Scale Dancing Lines
“We do not work for the fabric or the pattern, they work for us. A tale of a true ‘make it work’ project. I was asked by the lovely people at Peppermint Magazine to try their free pattern designed by Make With Mandi using a fabric of my choice from Spoonflower.
“The #PeppermintSkyeShorts pattern is more like a flared skort that is designed to be sewn with very lightweight fabrics. Enter the magnificent Big Scale Dancing Lines fabric in cotton twill I chose from Spoonflower. It was anything but light and flowy and there was no way it could work with a pattern with that much flare. I went into hacking mode and decided to reduce the flare quite a bit and lengthen the shorts into culottes. Though I’m not a fan of the pattern’s curved waistband, I’m quite happy about the result and the fit overall and absolutely love it paired with another fave of mine which also happens to be the free #PeppermintPaddingtonTop.
“The fabric is fantastic. This set which can easily be dressed up and down is going to be worn a lot. We as sewists have the freedom to dictate what we want to the pattern and fabric and not the other way around.”
Pop over to spoonflower.com for more inspiration, then download the free pattern and make sure you tag #PeppermintPatterns (and #PeppermintSkyeShorts) in your creations!
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“My piece of advice for makers and designers? Run your own race… make sure your key decisions stay anchored in your brand’s core beliefs.”
- Bec Bligh
Quick show of hands: who’s opened a water bottle expecting a refreshing sip… and instead been greeted by the unmistakable whiff of uh-oh?
Because for something that follows us everywhere (desk, car, hikes, yoga…), the humble drink bottle is strangely prone to becoming a science experiment. Hard-to-clean corners and gaskets. Mystery smells. Bec Bligh and her husband Tim know it well. A six-month sailing trip along the Queensland coast left them with a lifetime of memories and one stubborn annoyance: mouldy water bottles they couldn’t properly clean.
So they did something about it.
Enter @EverVessel. Thoughtfully designed borosilicate glass and stainless steel bottles that keep things beautifully simple: durable materials, wide openings, easy-to-clean parts and none of the techy gimmicks that tend to age badly. Turns out simplicity, done well, is pretty powerful stuff. (Their many design awards agree!)
And lately they’ve added a little extra delight: the Artist Series, where creatives like Paola Castro, Ben Miners and Martin Thompson transform these everyday companions into tiny travelling artworks. There are more colabs in the works, too: hydration, but make it joyful! 🎨💧
We chatted with Bec about the sailing trip that started it all, the philosophy behind Ever Vessel, and why the most sustainable product is often just the one you keep using.
Tap the link in our bio to read the full conversation. 🚰
#EverVessel #ReusableWaterBottle
Pull up a chair… there’s room at this table!
For the first time, Feast for Freedom is bringing people together for a spectacular long-table dinner as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.
A Longer Table is exactly what it sounds like: one beautiful shared table inside the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1), piled with generous dishes inspired by this year’s hero cooks, Noha and Nige.
From 6 to 9pm on Wednesday, 25 March, this is what you can expect:
🍽 A three-course shared feast
🍷 Matched drinks
🎶 Live entertainment
✨ A room full of good humans
Your ticket doesn’t just buy you a delicious dinner. It supports the ASRC’s vital work and helps create a fairer future for people seeking asylum.
Seats are limited, and long tables have a way of filling up quickly – head to @MelbFoodAndWine’s website to book now: feastforfreedom.org.au/mfwf
#FeastForFreedom #MelbourneFoodAndWineFestival #LongTableDinner #FoodForChange
Sew versatile! 🪡
Another great make from Lisa from @SunnySewsEveryday:
My #PeppermintWaratahWrapDress is finished and I’m so proud of it. It has been designed not to flap open and flash your pants in the wind, so I feel confident it will be a great wheelchair or standing dress in English weather.
#PeppermintPatterns #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
Frame your face with the Peppermint Bucket Hat!
Stay safe and stylish in the sun with your very own self-sewn and self-drafted wide-brimmed bucket hat. This beginner-friendly sew is perfect for a sunny day. Get out your pencils – this pattern is created using equations and maths!
This DIY project was featured in Issue 53 and now you can access it for the lovely low price of only $5.
Sun-safe chic is always in style. ☀️
Find it via the link in our bio!
Photos: @KelleySheenan
#PeppermintPatterns #PeppermintBucketHat #BucketHat #BucketHatPattern #DIY
✨ INSTANT CLASSIC ✨
The Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with a few special details based on the ever-stylish shift shape – the perfect dress you need in your wardrobe right now!
Myrtle cuts above the knee with options to customise the length. Don’t think she’s reserved for hot weather either: try a heavier-weight fabric to turn your Myrtle into a pinafore-style garment for layering.
For our fabrics we chose two from our lovely sewing partner @Karmme_Apparel – the bold Rottnest Stripes in a lightweight, soft-drape cotton, and the quality linen in the handpainted Mexico Collection.
Get making the Myrtle – the only question is, can you stop at just one?
Link in bio 🪡
Fabric: @Karmme_Apparel
Sewist: @Laura_The_Maker
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Models: @SerahSews and @Pins_And_Tonic
Location: @ShareTheDignityAustralia
#PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress #PeppermintPatterns
It’s time to Feast!
Some recipes travel a long way before they land on your table to delight your taste buds. This year’s Feast for Freedom invites us to gather our friends, cook something delectable and raise funds for the incredible work of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1) while we’re at it.
The 2026 Feast features recipes shared by two remarkable cooks: Noha, who brought the flavours of Palestine with her when she arrived in Australia, and Nige, a Sri-Lankan Tamil cook whose journey with food began in the most unexpected of places.
You can host your own Feast up until 30 April – simply register online and get planning! Host a dinner, organise a workplace lunch, or gather your community… However you do it, the idea is simple: cook, connect and celebrate the cultures and stories that shape Australia.
Want to find out more? Head to the link in bio to meet Noha and Nige, learn more about their stories, and discover a delicious recipe to try.
#FeastForFreedom #PeppermintMagazine #FoodForGood #ASRC
