It keeps pretending to be fall here but I know the truth. Another 80+ degree day is just around the corner. I’ve yet to put away my spring wardrobe and I still have a few warm weather blog posts to catch up on. This skirt has been in my “to alter” bin for ages. I made it in my Sewing 1 class at fit and really liked the color and simple shape so I kept it to wear for myself it just needed a few alterations.
The pattern is pretty standard. It is a simple pencil skirt shape with two darts at the back waist and two small stitched down pleats in the front. The front also features curved pockets. The back has a split hem. (Well it had more of a split hem before I had to hack off a lot of the length.) This was one of those classes where everyone gets the same pattern in the same size, the idea is to learn various sewing techniques. Which is probably why it has an old school lapped zipper instead of an invisible zipper at the back.
The fabric is a lovely light blue twill that I think I bought at the schools fabric store. It is lightweight, soft, and has a nice little drape to it. I’ve decided recently that blue is my signature color. While it’s not necessarily my favorite color, I tend to gravitate toward it a lot in my clothing and it goes pretty well with my skin tone so there you have it.
The reason I’m just now getting around to blogging this is because I just recently got around to making the necessary adjustments. Most importantly, I had to hem it to a more flattering length for me. This completely eliminated the cute little split hem at the back, but thats ok. I originally was going to take it in, then when I pulled it out to work on it I decided it didn’t need it. But now, looking at these pictures I think it does. Just a tiny nip in the waist and then maybe tapered a bit more towards the hem for a little more shape.
The finishings on the inside are pretty basic. The side and back seams are serged. The hem is finished with a hem tape and then blind stitched. I just love hem tape. There is something so classic about it. The inside waistband is turned under and stitched down by “stitching in the ditch” from the outside.
I of course love cropped tops so pencil skirts are always a great pairing for that. This crop top is self drafted. You may recognize it from this post about my shorts set that failed. It has a split opening in the back with two button closures at the back neck. Keep an eye out for this to be offered as a FREE pattern sometime in the near future – but probably only for subscribers so make sure to join my monthly email list!
I will probably mostly wear this skirt with T-shirts. I don’t own a ton of t-shirts but I love pairing them with pencil skirts because it both dresses up the t-shirt while dressing down the skirt. As much as I love pencil skirts, something about wearing them makes me feel very exposed so I like to balance it out with something less fitted on top.
SKIP TO THE END?
Pattern: Unknown
Fabric: Blue cotton twill from stash
Notions: Regular zipper, hook and eye
Difficulty: Easy
Adjustments: hemmed
Finishes: serged seams, hem tape & blind stitched hem
Sew it again? I don’t even own this pattern anymore!
What do you guys think, could it use a little more shaping?
Want to see this skirt in motion? Check out the corresponding Vlog post!
Happy Sewing!
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