A swishy skirt

I haven't been able to commit to sewing anything regularly for quite a while. Busy life! But when I saw the January MAGAM I was determined to be involved. Some annual leave and a public holiday meant that I should have enough time. And I did! I chose the first new pattern I've sewn for a while - Sewaholic's Gabriola. I have had this pattern in my stash for a while. I love the shape - fitted over the hips and then flared to the ground. I was sure it would flatter my figure even though I'm not a pear shape that Sewaholic is usually designed for. I did the usual research, discovering some beautiful versions on the web. I also found a very useful tutorial by Caroline Amanda at Sewaholic to grade between sizes from waist to hips. Check out my Pinterest board here.

I hummed and hahed during fabric selection but landed on this lighter weight cotton sateen by Lisette that was at my local Spotlight. I had been coveting it for a while. Isn't it lovely!

I cut it out using 4 metres, leaving me enough for a leftover Sorbetto (yet to be finished). I cut a size 12 waist and graded to an 8 at the hips. I made up the pattern according to the excellent instructions. I finished all seams using a simple triple zigzag (usually reserved for stretch fabrics but I find it sits much flatter than a normal single zigzag stitch). And yes, this skirt is a fabric and thread hog, but it was worth it!

In recent makes I have found I needed further fitting mods over my hips, so I basted the side seams and fitted carefully before finishing the waistband (and yes, I've learned from previous experience. Unpicking a waistband is no fun!). I ended up taking in another about 1cm on each side seam. I wanted a close fit over my hips. I used hooks on the waistband rather than a button but I still might change this.

Please excuse the end-of-work-day wrinkly fabric photos. And yes, these are in the bathroom (!) It's the only full length mirror I could find that got the full length of the skirt in the shots.

I raised the hem a little (I'm a slightly short legged 5'6") which meant that I could make the hem a little deeper. This is something I like to do when I want more weight at the hem. I hand stitched the (never ending) hem this week, sewing by newly installed halogen down lights in our living room (lovely!).

The end result is great. I wore it to work on casual clothes Friday with a black silk tshirt and denim jacket. I think it will look better with a lighter top - maybe off white. But that's in my sewing queue ☺️  I received lots of compliments. And I must say that there is a feeling of decadence walking along with a long skirt swishing at your ankles.  Whee!