I have some serious catching up to do on the blog. I have some new makes I absolutely have to photograph and write about and yet I still have a couple more I haven’t written about! I’ll do my best with writing posts in the next couple weeks, but unfortunately I am not as passionate about writing as I am about sewing. I’d much rather spend all my free time sewing, even if that means I am eating my dinner made out of leftovers over kitchen sink. Thankfully, Shaun doesn’t mind it. Yet.
I made this skirt waaaay back when I tested the Chi-Town Chinos for Alina a couple months ago, which by the way is a great pattern! I wrote about the shorts version here.
I actually put together the muslin for the skirt at the same time I muslined my very first pair of shorts. Just like with the first pair of shorts, I started with size 10 waist and size 14 hips. The end result was a decent skirt, very workable and looked pretty okay to me. My only concern was that the skirt hung weirdly off the bat, but that would probably have evened out with wear and just leaving the garment hanging.
You can see from the picture above that the skirt looked almost straight from the front and very A-line from the side. Yet the back was sticking out a little unsightly. It was a pretty minor issue to me though. Only the perfectionist in me was slightly concerned.
I left the skit muslin alone and worked on my shorts, perfecting their fit. After the success of FSA adjustment on the shorts, I had an idea. Why not give it a try with the skirt? Really, why not? I was very curious to see if there would be any difference in fit. Just like with the shorts, I started with size 12 and followed the By Hand London tutorial, changing it a little to fit the skirt parameters (since it doesn’t have a seat seam really). The end result really surprised me! The skirt was hanging way nicer in the back!
And of course, I accidentally deleted the photo of my adjusted muslin… I really thought I kept it, darn it. So I guess the view from the back of the finished skirt will have to do. And here is the side:
As you can see it barely sticks out in the back! The FSA on the skirt ended up deepening my darts and creating more space for my bum, right where I needed it. If I am not too lazy in the future, I will try to do it on all my skirt as well as pants patterns.
The fabric for this skirt came from Blackbird Fabrics shop. Unfortunately it is all gone. Caroline carried this beautiful silk blend last year and I have been drooling over it all last summer. It is medium weight and rather loose weave, perfect for skirts and dresses. After a couple months of stalking the fabric, I finally jumped in and bought it, only to have the fabric lie in my stash for another year. We all know, sometimes it takes years for the right pattern to come along to match the perfect fabric, right?
I really wanted to play around with the chevron stripe effect. So I cut the front two panels on bias and matched the stripes along the center seam. By the way, I am so proud of myself for all the stripe matching in this skirt! Just look at the sides, I’ve definitely given myself more than one pat on the back while working on this skirt.
The only downfall of this skirt is it slightly puffs out at the front in the lower tummy area when I wear it. It is very minor and hardly noticeable, only by me. I think it is because the front is cut on bias and the fabric is rather loose weave, so it stretches quite a bit and creates extra space where I didn’t want it. As I said, it is barely visible and it certainly doesn’t stop me from wearing the skirt. Just something to consider in the future. When pattern pieces are cut on bias, the weave and feel of the fabric should definitely be considered. I could have probably stabilized the fabric with interfacing to avoid it, but then it wouldn’t be as pretty from the inside…
The skirt is certainly a win in my eyes. I have been wearing it all the time and I absolutely love the match of the fabric and the pattern! If you haven’t bought into the Chi-Town Chinos craze yet and are looking for a solid shorts or a skirt pattern, I definitely recommend it. Its a great basic pattern that gets you both for the price of one.
What are your go to shorts and skirt patterns?
Love,
Anya
Fabulous pattern matching and lovely skirt. Mmmm, I could do with some shorts…! 😘
Thank you! Me too… I really should make more as I’ve been wearing my own pair pretty much non-stop on the weekends…
Fab stripe matching and clever bum adjustment! My winning shorts pattern thus far is the Salme slanted pocket shorts – plenty of room for my ample rump! I haven’t made a short skirt in such a long time!
Thank you! Oh is the ones with the side zipper? I have been looking at them too. It’s nice to know that they have plenty of room! I really want to try a couple of her patterns. One day! So much to make and so little time 🙂
Wow, this looks great! I love it! I’m a new follower, came upon your blog on Bloglovin’ a few weeks ago.
I have a theory about why the skirt front puffs out. I haven’t sewn this pattern, so it’s just a theory and I admit I could be mistaken, but hear me out. I think the reason the skirt puffs out is the downside to your perfect pattern matching. The back of your skirt has horizontal stripes, and the seam line cuts straight down through each stripe. And then for the front pieces , the seam goes through those stripes at a slant. So if you could picture that the length of the line through each stripe is longer when slanted than it is when cut straight through, then my theory is that the seam line for the front piece had to be cut longer than the back piece. And to make the stripes match, you ended up easing in some length on the slanted stripes. Did you have to cut the front pieces longer than the pattern called for? (Either that or some length uneven-ness occurred in the hem?) If you didn’t, then I’m full of it, and your theory about the stretchiness of bias-cut fabric could be all it is 🙂 (Or if it was cut to the correct size, was it maybe stretched at the pockets to make up for the easing i mentioned lower down?)
Anyway, I would wear that. I think it looks awesome 🙂
Hi Molly!! Thank you very much! 🙂
Hmmm… I think there certainly a lot of sense to your theory!! And wow! That’s very thought trough and smart 🙂 After reading that and thinking about it, I think you may be onto something! I didn’t lengthen the front pieces at all, I just cut them as is on bias. Same with the back pieces, just cut them as is, trying my best to alight the stripes. However, now that you mention it, I remember I DID ease the front pieces at the side seam a little when I realized I could do the absolute perfect stripe match!! I completely forgot about it. You are right, I bet that easing I did is what really created the puffiness. Ah! So cool! Thank you so much for helping me figure it out!!
Thank you! I think so too, it’s barely noticeable. Just one of those things that only you see because you wear it and you feel it 🙂
Another beauty here, Anya!!!
Thank you, Abbey!
I love what you’ve done with the stripes! Very fun & funky. Grainline Maritime is my go-to shorts pattern, but I tend not to need too much room in the booty. I do have my eye on a looser style Burda shorts pattern, as I love shorts, and skirts just don’t work for me (I know, all skirts is a bit extreme, but I’m just not into them!) But then I’ll have some shorts variety!
Thank you very much, Chloe! Oh, I wanted to try Maritime shorts as well. It seems like a great pattern, just like the rest of Grainline patterns are 🙂 I also want to try looser shorts! I am thinking Emerson Shorts by True Bias. I even already have the pattern printed out. Which ones are you thinking of?
I hear you about the skirts. It’s so interesting how certain styles / garments are just not for everyone. As long as you know your preferences it is great!
I just stumbled upon your blog and I love it. Great skirt! It feels very fresh and summery. I don’t have a go-to skirt of shorts pattern, unfortunately. I am working on a pair of paper bag waisted shorts from Burda Style right now, though, so it they turn out chic perhaps that’ll be my new go-to pattern.
Thank you very much! It certainly feels that way 🙂
Oh cool! I have been eyeing paper bag waisted shorts, they have a very interesting look and style! Definitely can look very chic. I would love to see yours when you are done.
Great job with your adjustments – and thanks for posting photos of them. I really enjoy reading the details of fitting adjustments. You ended up with a great-looking skirt.
Thank you very much, Masha! I really enjoy reading about fitting adjustments as well, I find you can learn so much from that! I am glad you find it interesting and useful also. Thank you!
This skirt looks fantastic!! I love the stripe placement you did too! I really need to try this pattern – both your skirt and shorts look awesome!
Thank you!! It is a great pattern! 🙂
The fabric is awesome! I’m so into turquoise and all around it))) love the skirt!
Thank you so much! I love the fabric. It has been sitting in my stash since late last summer waiting to be made into a skirt. I am so happy with it! Thank you :*