Skirt #3 Finished!

In my last post I was struggling with a mistake I made on my black, linen-blend pencil skirt.  Well, I fixed my mistake, and I am glad I did!  It took a little perseverance on my part to undo serger stitches, but it needed to be done.  I learned that I need to baste on the sewing machine first, then serge so I don't end up with a mess later (we'll see if I follow that advice for future reference).

Anyhow, here is my review for Simplicity 2868...

I immediately liked the concept of this pattern--"Easy Chic" style, if you will.  If I had to describe my sense of style, this is most closely where I would end up with.  I even adore just about every piece on the pattern envelope (I like In K designs).  So I definitely had high hopes for this pattern from the get-go, and though I like the end product, I feel a little let down.

To start with what I like: there are only two pattern pieces to work with--a front piece you place on a fold, and a back piece you cut two of.  Simple, right?  Yes, no tricks here, that part is simple.  There are two darts on the front, and two on the back, and all of that came together without a hitch.  So far, so good. 

Well, the first thing to throw me for a loop was the side zipper.  I had never done one before, but I didn't think it was a big deal.  I would do what I always did, but this time the position of the zipper would be different.  I was so excited when I got my invisible zipper in first try that I didn't notice that the ends of the skirt didn't match up too well:

I haven't decided how I am going to fix this yet.  It is a small nuisance, and right now I have been pairing this skirt with longer tops in order to cover-up this issue.  The rest of the skirt involved using a piece of twill tape to sew a waist stay (also a first for me, but not complicated at all, it is similar to sewing binding).  Of course I added my usual lining, hemmed the skirt, and slipstitched the zipper opening to finish everything off.

I know it's a little difficult to see all the details with the darker fabric, but I just wanted to give you an idea of how everything looks.

I'm not too sure if I will be making this skirt again.  If I do, I really need to find out how to adjust patterns for a big derriere!  Once I do that, I think this skirt would be more to my liking because I really would like the fit to be a tad better.  Or maybe this is the best fit I'm gonna get for a pencil skirt, and I should count my blessings!  For now, though, it will do.  And besides, it is black, and goes with a lot of clothing already in my closet!

Since I have completed this skirt, I can cross off one item from my Tim Gunn Sew Along list now!!  YAY!! Only 10 more items to go for this year!

Stay sew-filled!