This was meant to be View C... but when I laid out my fabric to cut it out, I realized that it was only 42" wide instead of 44", which was too narrow! What's up with that? Is that a quilting cotton thing? Anyway, I improvised by cutting View B, but extending the hem all the way down to the size 16 length. It worked well enough, and I'm actually super happy with it - I think any longer would have been too long on me.
As I mentioned in previous posts, the modifications I made were to cut 1" off the top of the waistband, and to grade the waistband pieces from an 8 at the hip to a 10 at the waist. My hope was that these two modifications would bring the skirt down to a more tolerable place for me to wear it, seeing as I find things sitting on my natural waist completely uncomfortable. (I am seriously a child of the low-rise generation!) I failed, however, to consider the fact that my muslin was not interfaced and had no twill tape... so this didn't work out quite as well as I'd expected. It's still a tad high for my comfort, but I figure it'll be a good piece to help me try to get used to things sitting higher. We'll see how that goes!
A few detail shots...
I lined this with a white/silver voile. You can't really see it, but it has a silver sheen when the light hits it. It's actually quite pretty, honest!
The lace hem facing worked out great and really spoke to my inner perfectionist... it's so easy to make evenly spaced hand stitches when you have a patterned lace to follow! In retrospect this would have looked fine machine-stitched and that would have saved me a lot of time. Oh well... I do love hand-stitching :)
That double line of stitching on the lining hem was just because I didn't get close enough to the edge the first time around. Oops!
This method of zipper insertion was positively magical... thanks, Tasia! (Mine doesn't line up perfectly but I couldn't care less!)
Time will tell if this skirt sees a lot of wear, between the fabric (not my usual style) and the fit. Regardless, I still love it and I'm already plotting my next version. (View A, which I think will be a little more wearable for me.) I'm just trying to debate the best way to tackle the fit issue. I'm torn between fussing with the grading (maybe from an 8 at the hips to a 12 at the waist? Would that be crazy?) or maybe just omitting the twill tape at the waistline and seeing if that allows a little more stretch? Hmm... let me know if you have any suggestions!
(Also: every skirt should have pockets, don't you think? So great!)
Super cute! I love the pockets :)
ReplyDeleteOh it turned out so cute!
ReplyDeleteI want that skirt. It is adorable. The fabric is so pretty.
ReplyDeleteThat is a beautiful version.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!! The skirt looks wonderful and it's very interesting to hear about the changes you made, etc. Hopefully this will inspire me to get going on my Crescent - I'm planning view B...
ReplyDeleteThat is so pretty!! I love all the wonderful little details you put in, it looks so professional.
ReplyDeleteSo cute! I love the perfectionist's touch with the lace, and the print is great.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! (And Chrissy, you should totally try it, it's so fun! Although, your blog is making me want to get another quilt started, so yay for mutual inspiration!)
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's sitting high at all! In fact, I think it would look strange if it sat lower. As it is, I think the fit is great and the construction beautiful. Well done!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! We may have to agree to disagree about the fit, though! I only want it about an inch lower which doesn't actually look that different, but feels vastly so! I'm also quite long from my hips to my natural waist... Check out my muslin post for the difference between where this skirt originally sat vs. where ready to wear jeans sit! I do think this looks okay as is, it's the way it feels that still isn't perfect for me. But we'll see if I get used to it :)
ReplyDeleteAh, to have a long waist!
ReplyDeleteLOL - well, I'm short from waist to armpit, to make up for it! (I was reading in that Trinny & Susannah body shape book that short waist + long crotch is common in hourglass figures? I thought 'long crotch' was a funny way to put it but I can't think of a better one! Anyway, not sure if there's much truth to that but it's true for me!)
ReplyDeleteIt looks fantastic! And yes, all skirts should have pockets! I'm working on making sure all of mine have them, i'm stumped on how to add them to pencil skirts though, so if you have any suggestions!
ReplyDeleteGreat job with the skirt.
Ooh, that would be tricky! My gut says that it probably depends more on the fabric you use for the pencil skirt (i.e. something thicker and more forgiving) and how tight you like to wear them... but I really don't know! LOL
ReplyDeleteThis is gorgeous! I totally feel you on the waistband-rise-thing. I am not coping well with the idea of high-waisted pants making a comeback.
ReplyDeleteHere's a thought re. Sewaholic fit: her patterns are made for the pear-shapes, meaning that the waist-to-hip difference is going to be bigger than a typical pattern. So grading out two sizes to the waist may not be uncalled for for those of us who are, ah, a little more rectangular. (Erm, by the measurements my hips are a Sewaholic size 0 while my waist is a Sewaholic size 6 or 8. How depressing.)
Hah, I'm so glad I'm not totally alone on my low-rise love :)
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about the fit thing. By her measurements I'm a 10 in the waist and an 8 at the hips, so not the hugest difference... but if I'm wanting to wear it below my natural waist, the difference grows (or, rather, the difference between the measurements shrinks, causing the difference between the sizes to grow... am I making any sense? LOL)
I think I am going to try to grade from an 8 hip to a 12 waist and see what happens. By my measurements on the adjusted pattern pieces, that should give me about an extra inch of ease (not the full 1.5", because I've cut off 1" from the top), which should (hopefully) allow it to drop just a little further down for my comfort. Fingers crossed!
gorgeous job! it looks amazing on you too - I love the pockets :)
ReplyDeleteThis skirt is gorgeous! I found your blog through BurdaStyle and I am in love. Keep up the good work! You inspire me--I want to run out and buy the first pattern I see and make something. =]
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!! And, you should!! :)
ReplyDelete