Burda Style Magazine 12-2009-122/123 work skirt, SWAP extension

When I was making the 2013 SWAP for my daughter, I had planned to make her a pair of trousers from the same fabric I used for my husband's horrible-to-sew trousers (having part of the family live several hundred kilometers away can be useful for fabric distribution). However, due to a cutting out error or two, I did not have enough fabric remaining, and ended up making her some dark grey trousers for the SWAP instead.

 I have been diligent in my stashbusting (with particular attention to those odd shaped pieces with limited sewing possibilities), and managed to eventually use the cut-out-to-the-wrong-side fly fastening and the remaining fabric piece in a nice work skirt with a flared back instead of a pair of trousers.

 The pattern is from Burda World of Fashion 12-2009-123,  aside from the very complicated fly, which is from Vogue 2836 ,( but in reverse direction). Version 122 of this skirt in the magazine has a front fly also, instead of the side zip shown below of version 123.

 technical drawing from burdafashion.com

 This skirt has the added advantage of co-ordinating with all the work blouses I had made for the SWAP, which should make it quite useful.

I have used a contrast internal waistband (shirting cotton), and pewter daisy buttons in order to feminize the suiting fabric (tropical wool, dark grey on black stripe), and used a waistband pocket for practical purposes. I also added belt keepers, with the pocket fastened with an extended keeper, as my daughter keeps loosing weight whilst away from her mother's cooking. The change in stripe direction in the waistband was to save me matching stripes to the used-to-be-trousers section of the waistband. I am lazy like that, as it saves me tearing my hair out.

The skirt is lined with cotton batiste.

I cheated, and did not finish the rather long hem by hand. Instead I sewed it with an edgestitch foot as shown in this tutorial at Coletterie. I am moderately pleased with the finish, as the wool shrunk beautifully in the hem with pressing, and the machined hem echoes the topstitching in the remainder of the skirt. The skirt is a little longer than we would have chosen, but  according to the very strict dress code that applies for her sessions at the teaching hospital, if she wears a skirt, it has to cover her knees when she sits down. I don't think there are many professional women who have to obey this sort of dress code in Australia anymore! RTW office wear tends much shorter than this in our locale.

I particularly like the subtle changes in stripe direction in the circular cut back section.

Stashbusting statistics, tropical suiting wool, about 1.5m Goldhawk Rd London 2010, and 1.5m cotton batiste, finefashionfabrics, about 2009.