Debut of the preppy plaid skirt!

Decided my newly sewn plaid skirt, while technically a mini, is no shorter than many other skirts I wear to work on a regular basis, so I couldn't resist making today its debut. I put a hook and eye at the top of the zipper, but otherwise it is unchanged from the other night. Ensemble, c'est tres chic, non?

I can't believe how well I did with the fit. It sits at my high hip so nicely. I was afraid it would ride up, like another stiff-fabric skirt I have, but it's sized so well that it just clings to the shape of my hips and stays exactly where I want it. Exactly the right amount of ease and everything. I'm sure this is due to the precision with which the sloper instructions have you use your measurements. Though I did alter the pattern by lowering it to hip height, which could have caused a problem, but I guess I was in fact able to logic it out. The instructions are so well designed, even with the myriad mistakes I made in the drafting process, that I would realize right away when I did something wrong because the elegant, logical structure would be obviously disrupted. I was very impressed.

I figure I'll test it with a day of wear and see if it needs anything, like a waistband or a lining. I'm inclined to think not, it's working so well as it is. Seems a little prone to wrinkling; though the fabric is a coarse woven cotton, it has kind of a linen-like feel. But I can sit and stand and move comfortably in it. It lays flat across my front and hugs my backside without clinging too much. The only thing I'm actively unsatisfied with at the moment is the inside is completely unfinished. My seam allowances are just kind of flapping around in there. Makes me wish I had a serger to just securely seal them all up. If I lined it that wouldn't be a problem anymore, but as I said, I worry a lining might make it too heavy, and I don't want to risk screwing it up with a process I've never attempted before. Yeah, yeah, practice makes perfect, but I actually like this garment. Maybe I should save the first try for something I don't care about. But that would mean deciding on some other way to finish the seams.

As with any successful project, now I want to make more things. Too bad I'm so busy today, or I'd spend the rest of the day messing with draping my dress form. I don't know much about draping, but I want to just pin stuff all over it and see what I get.