Vogue 8426 skirt

 

This skirt is part of my Winter Indulgence SWAP. I chose this pattern because the skirt of my wardrobe pattern, V2925, has a curved seam over the hip, that I thought was very flattering on me. I hoped that the straight skirt with back pleats would be equally as flattering, and also look as if it was part of the wardrobe and match well with the jacket by having a similar design feature. I looked up the pattern on patternreview and it had been reviewed favourably by LauraLo, Erica.B and HawkeMorningStar, among others, so I felt in very good company, although somewhat doubtful that my skirt would turn out as well as theirs.

 

 

The pattern was very straightforward, but, like HawkeMorningStar, I found that it was rather big. It would have fit me quite well in a straight 12, with only a little tweaking at the waist, but of course I made things difficult for myself by cutting out a larger size "just in case". The only real change I made to the pattern was to interface all the pleat lines, so that my soft wool flannel would hold the shape properly. I used prowoven interfacing for this, pinking the edges so as not to have lines showing through to the right side. I also interfaced the zip line with proweft interfacing, and used an invisible zip. I finished the facing and hem with bias binding. On the hem, I used a method that I think comes from Lauralo's blog, of stretching the bias binding as I applied it, so that when it relaxes it pulls the hem in slighty, making it very easy to turn to the inside and hand sew. I am pleased with this skirt, and plan to make another version in some muted red denim that is lurking in my stash ready for a casual winter skirt.

 

My sewing today was limited. We had a very social weekend, enabling me to wear 3 different SWAP outfits (the casual ones). I mended a tiny amount, then made a rashie swimmer top for my son. We are going on a long weekend kayaking trip in a fortnight, and his 3rd summer rashie has just given up the ghost. I worked a bit on his giraffe pyjamas, but am a bit stumped about how to make a long neck. He may need to be a short necked giraffe!