The Failure Skirt

My third skirt for the Summer of No Pants challenge was not nearly as successful as the first two.  I decided to up the stakes this time, and cut into my light corduroy.  I added piping, and installed a zipper.  I did some beautiful and perfect top-stitching on the waist band.

But...

It looked terrible on me.  Completely and spectacularly unflattering.

I had tried it on part way through the process, and while it was maybe a little loose, I thought that would just make it comfortable.  So I kept sewing, and did a really good job of finishing my seams and all that jazz.  When it was all done except for the hem, I tried it on and got my boyfriend to snap a quick picture to see how the hem length was doing.  The look was so bad he actually seemed reluctant to show me the camera.  I deleted the two shots immediately.

I really need to get a full-length mirror for the cabin if I am going to keep sewing clothing.  It may sound stupid, but it never even occurred to me that having one would be useful.  I haven't looked at myself in a full-length mirror on a regular basis in nearly a year, and I'm almost starting to miss knowing what I look like.  In terms of the actual Failure Skirt, I discovered that I either need to go with a loose, full kind of skirt like the first two I made, or something quite form fitting, like a few skirts I have in my closet.  The Failure Skirt is in-between and it is bad.  I used the "straight skirt, fitted waist" variation from Sew What! Skirts.

Nothing against the book, really.  It's just not the right style for my body.  I tried to save it by chopping off the waistband, taking out my (practically) perfectly installed zipper and adding a thin elastic waistband.  And subsequently discovered that a thin elastic waistband does not work, either.  The fabric is a little too thick and stiff for it to drape properly; this was also a problem with the original zipped version.  I am planning on switching out the thin elastic for a wide one and finishing the hem with a zig-zag stitch.  But...  not right now.

Setting up the sewing machine and ironing board in this tiny cabin just really takes over the whole house, somehow.  It's hard to get in or out the front door, and it totally impedes kitchen-related activities.  You could probably fit my entire cabin into Anna Maria Horner's recent studio renovation, and still have space leftover for shuffleboard.  It gets stressful having all the sewing gear set up, and I can't handle it this week.  It's so busy: besides my usual commitments, I am putting in extra hours at work learning some pretty complicated shit (not my heli company but an example of one of the machines I am learning a lot about).  I now know about scissor and sleeve assemblies, and I am not talking about sewing.  So a last-ditch-effort fix on the Failure Skirt has been set aside, and plans for a fourth pantless project have also been set aside (cutting out pattern pieces doesn't count), until chaos on the home-front feels manageable.  In the meantime, please admire the good job I did on the piping: