Friday, January 13, 2012

The "Goes with Everything" Skirt - Completed!


This is my first completed project of 2012, and my second item for my SWAP. I'm super excited!

Fabric: 1 1/2 yards dark denim from JoAnn and a bit of quilting cotton from my grandma's stash
Pattern: Burda Jenny pencil skirt
Year: Modern
Notions: navy zipper, fusible interfacing, hem tape from grandma's stash
Time to complete: 16 hours. What? I said I'm slow!
First worn: to work on January 13
Wear again? Yes! I'd wear this skirt every day if I could!
Make again? Absolutely! This pattern was a breeze to work with. The time it took was just me being the tortoise. :)
Total price: $14

The Sew Weekly theme this week was to use an accessory as your inspiration for a garment. The minute I saw the theme, I knew what I would be using as my inspiration. I bought this scarf from Urban Outfitters (a store that I paradoxically love but in which I've never been able to find an item I didn't hate). It was the first thing I've ever found there that I loved, and I loved it so much I had to have it immediately. It goes with everything I own, with its navy, off-white, dark red, pink, light blue, yellow, orange...I could wear anything with this scarf and it would match.

In the spirit of multi-use garments, I made a skirt that I could wear with anything in my closet (including that lovely scarf). In fact, I can wear this skirt with the blouse I bought months ago and then never wore because it doesn't go with anything else I have. I can wear it with the colored tights my mom bought me for Christmas (I'm wearing the maroon today).


I cut a size 36 (US 4) in the waist and graded to a size 42 (US 10) in the hip, then shaved off some of the width in the high hip because my width is lower. I also took a page out of Tilly's book and removed a lot of the width of the waistband, because I'm pretty short too. My finished waistband is 2" wide. I made a swayback adjustment and then did a similar adjustment to the front of the skirt. I think the ripples in the fabric that make that necessary might be created by my low, wide hips, but who knows? All I know is that adjustment works. :) I added 1 1/2" to the length of the skirt, so it would hit just above the knee. Finally, I used Sunni's tutorial over at A Fashionable Stitch to add a back vent to the skirt, and I put in a lapped zipper instead of a centered zipper.


Oh, and I looked at Lauren's post on hem tape over at Lladybird to get a visual on how to put this stuff in. It looks so pretty, doesn't it?


I love this super-dark denim and the perfect fit, but the thing that's really special about this skirt for me is the fact that I was able to use things that used to belong to my grandma. Every time I pull this skirt on, I'll see this pretty blue-flowered cotton that my grandma bought once and used for something small (there was a tiny bit of it cut out). That was also some of her lace hem tape (and it was already cut to exactly the length I needed...weird!).


*Oh! And the first three photos were taken by my awesome and supportive coworker Monique.

9 comments:

  1. Well done, it looks great, and I bet you'll get loads of use out of it too.

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  2. Looks lovely !! I love the shape of the Jenny so much - it looks fab on you ! Great job !! x

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  3. Lovely skirt - it really does look like it will go with everything! BTW nothing wrong with being a slow sewer - I'm slow too!

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  4. Great job! I really do like it's slick shape and versatile fabric. I really need to get on making my own pencil skirt. They really do go with everything, I feel.

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  5. Very pretty and looks like a good fit! I love the lace hem tape, such a pretty detail!

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  6. Great fit and the back vent is nice.it seems a lot of bloggers are sewing with denim this week. Me too!

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  7. Wow, thank you all so much!

    Gabrielle, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I'm really working on enjoying the process and not just the finished product. :)

    Alessa, I keep turning my hem out just so I can see the lace hem tape. I've never had such a pretty detail inside my clothes! Well, except for the jeans I had once that had "You are beautiful" embroidered on the inside of the waistband. The company that did that was genius. I always felt good pulling those jeans on.

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  8. I was shocked to see your skirt, as it so much resembles this skirt of mine ;) And I love your hem detail!

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    1. The two skirts are so similar! Your snap closure looks very cool too. I haven't taught myself how to use snaps yet, but I bought some recently, so maybe it'll be time to learn soon.

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