FO: Skirting the Issue

My first sewing project is done! And it took less than a day. Man, sewing is fast!

I knit because I love it. My motivation for overcoming my long-standing fear of the sewing machine was different: I need clothes that fit. I am tall, with a small waist and curvy hips. It is difficult to find anything that fits when clothing is based on a size and shape that has little in common with my actual measurements. In particular, I've been searching for skirts I like for several years. I don't generally wear shorts--they make me feel too exposed--and long, lightweight skirts are a good option in hot weather, which we have a lot of hereabouts. It's not easy to find skirts long enough, or in the style I prefer.

I was greatly inspired by Stitchywitch of Green Apples, who is an amazing knitter and crocheter, and recently added sewing to her list of accomplishments. She has been documenting her progress in making clothes that suit her style and shape for some time, and apparently it's contagious.

Despite my list of things learned from yesterday, I really enjoyed making this. It's a different sort of thing than knitting, because for me, at least, it's more product-driven. But that's okay when you can whip out a skirt in less than a day! And I'm happy with the results. The fabric is lovely, a linen blend with pretty embroidery. The fit is just what I was going for. The finished product is not perfect. The zipper is a little wonky:

Not too bad, but certainly not perfect. This was the first time I've ever used a zipper foot (obviously), and it was different than hand sewing a zipper. I considered doing it by hand, but decided the object here was to learn to use the machine, so I sucked it up and gave it my best shot.

I'm not at all sure I got the hem straight, either. I pretty much just folded the edge under, ironed it in place, and sewed it down. And I tossed out the pattern instructions when I hit the waistband, because I realized that adding a waist band would make the skirt sit higher than I wanted. In fact, I ended up ripping and resewing some of the seams to create a little more ease around the hips so that the skirt would sit lower than it originally did. I also ignored the length of the original pattern and made this significantly longer. But the pattern was really useful for getting the panels shaped right.

In fact, I've already bought more fabric for another skirt based on the same pattern. And maybe some for a summer dress. And...um...

Here we go again.