Well I have been showing sneak peeks of this skirt for so long that I am just relieved to finally be able to mark this project as finished and be able to share it on the blog!
This is the first pattern that I have used from Gertie's New Book For Better Sewing. It is a classic pencil skirt but with 4 front darts rather than the usual 2 and once again I have found a pattern that required next to no adjustments (WIN!). I think the main change I made was to significantly shorter the pattern as I don't really like the look of skirts below my knee (unless it's a maxi of course).
The fabric was the very same fabric that I featured in a recent "Make It Yourself", however, I bought mine from Truro so paid the higher price. I only discovered that Fabric Land stocked the same fabric for a cheaper price after I had made my purchase. To be honest though, when I say higher price, it didn't really break the bank! As soon as I spotted it on the Truro website I had to have it, without really knowing what I was going to make out of it (I have to admit, that is how I tend to buy fabric…which probably isn't the smartest way to shop!). It is a lovely cotton sateen with a nice amount of stretch, which means it is really comfortable to wear. The only down side is that it tends to wrinkle very quickly, as you can see in these photos!
The skirt is lined in a bright pink lining which I trimmed in some very cute lace. I also hemmed the skirt by sewing on a very sweet pink grosgrain ribbon, turning it up and blind stitching in place. That's the main reason why the skirt took so long to finish - I tend to procrastinate a LOT when it comes to hand stitching…and hemming. But you guys know that about me already, since I think I mention it in almost every blog post!!
There is a very small slit at the back (you can't quite see it in the above pic unfortunately) which I think I should have made a little bit longer. I normally put a vent in the back of my fitted skirts, but forgot when I was cutting this one out. It's not a very tight fit though so no big loss really. There is also a bright pink invisible (or perhaps, not so invisible - whoops!) zip and the waistband closes with a classic hook and bar. I find that hook and bar closures can sometimes pull out of shape a little and recently I read that adding an internal button and loop can add that little bit of extra support to the waistband and stop that pulling so I may add this to the skirt at some stage, and will definitely be adding this to my next pencil skirt.
The colours in these photos are not quite true to life, as they are making the orange a tad deeper and brighter than it really is - but saying that, it is still a pretty bright skirt!! Also I promise that the top does actually match one of the pink shades in the skirt, even if it doesn't appear to in these photos!!
I am really pleased with how well this pattern has fitted me and am marking it as a 'TnT' pattern for me, which is pretty exciting considering I wouldn't say I actually have too many of those! As I mentioned in a previous post I have already cut out another 3 pencils skirts to make, and this is the pattern I have chosen. So I'm hoping I will be able to whizz through the construction for them pretty quickly. If I do manage that in the next couple of weeks then I'm thinking I might try my hand at Me Made May. I gave it a go a few years ago (when it was Self Stitched September!) but failed miserably due to having very little to actually choose from. Perhaps if I get the pencil skirts done I'll stand a better chance of making it through the month. We shall see!
Details:
Pattern: Pencil Skirt from Gertie's New Book For Better Sewing £12.75
Fabric: Orange Floral Cotton Sateen from Truro £18 (£9/m)
Pink Lining £3
Notions: Zip £1.89
Thread £0 - Stash!
Grosgrain Ribbon £0 - Stash!
Lace for hemming lining £0 - free gift
Total = £35.64
Oh gosh, I really need to stop adding up the true costs for my projects - I was enjoying my blissful ignorance as to how much things were really costing me!! But not to worry, my future skirts will work out a lot better since I won't be adding the cost for the book - phew!
Oh and I'm totally claiming this as a stash bust since I have had that fabric for AGES! Yeay! Love bustin' that stash (gives me an excuse to buy more!!).
Oh and the lovely Katy was inspired by my "Make It Yourself" and made her very own version of the skirt - it is brilliant so make sure you check it out (P.S. I promise we didn't take our photos together - although it totally looks like it!)! And if anyone else fancy getting there hands on a bit of this lovely fabric? If so, she is also offering 1.5m of it in a giveaway!
