Burda July '07 - 115 Pencil Skirt

Cute, huh? After so many experiments, it's relaxing to make something that I *know* will work on my body. This is a tapered (pencil) skirt, with pockets, panelled back and a surprise in the back.

I wouldn't usually wear a top tucked in, but I wanted to show how high the waist comes on this skirt.


Size: 46
Fabric: Pant-weight cotton/lycra twill from Fabric.com.
Mods:

1. Added 0.5" to length at the hem.
2. Used waistband instead of waist facing. I typically need to tighten up the waistline on clothes. I stretched out the waistband during stitching to pull the fabric waist in.
3. Made a turned up hem instead of fringing it as in the original.
4. The skirt has large pockets. These would bulge out because of my large belly, so I faked them. I cut a facing for the pocket opening, sewed and turned. Then I cut a modified pocket piece that didn't include the extra fabric needed for an actual pocket. I topstitched the faced opening onto the pocket itself:
   

The wrong side:


Finished pocket from the right side:


Surprise: This isn't shown online, but the back has three panels and the center panel is gathered at around the back of the knee. This has two effects: first, it accentuates the pencil silhouette; and, second, it cups the tushy. In fact, it makes my tush look a lot more wonderous than it is. I can't get a picture of it on me, and sorry for the wrinklies, but this is the back:


The Cons:

1. Because of the high waist, you need to fit the waist very well. I could have done better fitting for my sway back, but it gets hidden by my tops.
2. The side seams are to the front on this skirt, and I'm not sure if it's intentional or not. Given the pocket style, I think it's poor drafting. I've never had this problem on a size 46 before. So sew-er, beware.

I did finish this in July, which makes for two patterns from the issue in the current month. Yay for me.