Every Quarter Inch Counts...

Well, I told you I would likely blog today, but I sort of implied it would be about books...
...sorry.
I began and finished another project today, though!



















This skirt is made out of kind of a fun, funky material. It reminds me of upholstery from the 1960s. I could tell from the get-go that it would be super challenging to work with, but I think everything turned out ok (except when I sewed the band on inside-out and had to seam rip the whole thing--yuck! I don't use patterned print much when sewing, especially when I'm making anything I'd wear in public (PJ bottoms are always patterned and cute, but there's no pressure--if I mess up, I'm the only one who sees them) because it gets complicated when cutting and I always seem to mess something up. This pattern was especially difficult to distinguish, because the right side and the wrong side look a lot alike, but different enough to where, if I had sewed it wrong, you would've noticed. It was a nice challenge to work with this fabric!

The McCall's pattern I followed was super easy and quick, which is always really nice when making skirts. It's my firm belief that skirts SHOULD be a simple project--I hate when they take a lot of time and stress!

I did have to "customize" the skirt a little bit. It's supposed to have darts in the back and in the front. I had originally put darts in both places, only to remember that I have a very wide waist (see picture above). When I wrapped the skirt around me, there was a big gapping section. Every quarter inch counts, so I took out the darts in the back, left the ones in the front, and sewed the sides at a 3/8" seam instead of the standard 5/8" seam. I'm thankful it turned out, though. I think that, had I gone up another size and included the darts and a proper side seam, the skirt would have looked too big.

The patten was for five "different" skirts. It's the same style of skirt, only different lengths. When I picked this one I liked that it went below the knee, which I feel is more appropriate for work. I ended up having to hem it up an extra 1/2" because it was so long it made me look like a midget (which, at my height, doesn't take much).

Now all I need to do is buy a cute pair of brown boots to go with it :)