Victory in Skirt Form

 Everyone remembers this skirt, right? The fabulous one? Well, I made it! Or- my version at least.

BOOM BABY!

I would have posted this like a week ago, but the hem decided to stage a rebellion, so I had to wage a little week-long war. 

The rest of the skirt only took two days. I used this pattern, but made some significant changes. 

(1) I didn't make the blouse at all. Instead, I topped the yoke with a 2-inch waistband. 

(2) I used fusible interfacing (for the first time EVER!) on the yoke to give it a little more structure. I don't have a great tummy, and I didn't want to show off my pooch too much.

(3) The pattern called for a 2- piece A-line type skirt, with darts at the bottom. I was worried about too much bulk in the gathers, so I just cut a straight skirt from selvage to selvage. 

(4) The pattern is fully lined, but this fabric really doesn't need that, so I just lined the yoke.

The only differences from the inspiration skirt (seen on the right) that I can tell are the color, hem length, and skirt fullness. I couldn't really find a cream colored fabric that would work, but I love this grey color (Bonus: this fabric doesn't wrinkle, either). Second, I hemmed my skirt for flats. Honestly, this deprives it a little bit of its drama. I know myself, though, and if I had hemmed it for heels, it would never get worn. Thirdly, as mentioned above, I was worried about how well this fabric would gather, so I didn't want to make my skirt too full. If I had followed the pattern, there would have been a lot more fullness to the skirt. It might have worked, it might not, but I'm happy with what I have.

This was my first zipper, first time working with interfacing and lining, first time gathering without elastic thread, and first time working with a large pattern. This was definitely a learning project, but I am SO happy with the results! 

This skirt turned out casual enough to wear any day, but nice enough to be snazzy. It's comfortable, too! I have worn it all day and had no problems. If I don't feel like following the inspiration look, this skirt really looks great with just a nice tee shirt over it as well. The drop waist makes it really something special. 

A few lessons learned, here: (1) never underestimate the wisdom of your grandmother, (2)  perfectly matched thread can hide a lot of mistakes, but be really hard to rip out, and (3) hem battles can be long and bloody, but the results are SO worth the fight.

Thanks to the friends and family who inspired me to make this and helped me with fabrics and cutting and all the things that go into making something.

BONUS: Smasher decided to get in on the picture taking. He's such a good helper.

My Pattern Rut

So I have come to realize something about myself recently... When I like something, I really like it. And I - unintentionally - wind up buying it over and over again.

Available here.

 For example:

<---- I have three shirts that all look exactly like this. Except different colors. When shopping earlier, I thought, "ohhh that shirt is really cute" without even registering that I have three EXACTLY like it. All bought at different times, from different stores. 

I also go through color ruts. However unconsciously, for a time, every thing I buy winds up being the same color. I had a Coral Phase, followed by a Navy Phase, followed by a Mint Phase, followed by a Grey Phase.... Every workout thing I own is grey or mint, because I was in those ruts while stocking up on workout gear.... I'm still in the Grey Phase, come to think of it....

And now, I've just discovered that I'm in a pattern rut.

I've decided I'm going to make a quilt for mine and The Grump's bed. I just wanted to pick a pattern and color scheme (I'm thinking grey... big surprise) before buying fabric. And I've found myself drawn to the same types of patterns. 

Oooooh lovely lattices...

Like this one.

And this one. This one is grey, too!

And this one.
  

So I think I'm actually going to make one like THIS magnificence. In grey, of course. Perhaps with some yellow and teal.

The funniest thing about all this is that recently I had to throw out a crocheted afghan which I had been working on for several years. I had intended to make this for my bed in my first home. I don't have any pictures of the afghan (I lost the instruction book for it years ago, as well), but I just realized a few days ago that it was a - drum roll please - LATTICE DESIGN! It even had little squares inside of big squares, like the quilt I JUST decided to make a few days before!!

I guess I like what I like... but DAMN. 

Apparently, I'm stuck in an EIGHT YEAR  pattern rut. Maybe I'll get over it once I actually get around to making this thing...

Does anyone else do this? Or am I just a weirdo?