Pattern Review - HotPatterns 24/7 A-Line & Pencil Skirts

Pattern Description: From the HP website: "Loving these groovy, stylish skirts, designed for any and all skirt fabrics, from denim to broderie anglais, from suede to cotton, from tweed to crepe. Fitted Skirts finish *just* below the knee and have front & back darts, a center back invisible zipper, optional lining and a contoured waistband that sits right at the natural waist. A-Line skirt has a gentle, controlled flare and a bias-faced hem; Pencil skirt is ever-so-slightly tapered with a deep hem and a concealed back slit. Try these hard-working pieces with a matching jacket as part of a chic suit and as indispensable co-ordinates for your everyday wardrobe. These great skirt styles will showcase a gorgeous fabric, or act as an inspirational blank canvas for all your favorite trim and embellishment ideas and techniques."

I made the Pencil Skirt version

Sizing: 6 to 26. I made a 10

Did it look like the photo or drawing when you got through? Yes

How were the instructions? They were great. This is a very straightforward skirt. It's well drafted and, if you opt not to line it (as I did in this case), it is a wonderful skirt for a beginning sewist.

Fabric Used: Wool tweed left over from making the Making a Jacket Series on BeSewStylish (now CraftStylish).

Any changes? None. This is a muslin. Not a wearable muslin - I don't do wearable muslins. This is going to Goodwill tomorrow. It's perfectly wearable, and it looks great, but I wanted to try making it up for fit and construction tweaks before cutting into my Sexy Secretary Skirt fabric for the real McCoy.

Likes/Dislikes: No dislikes. I love the pegged line of this skirt. It's exactly what I am looking for this fall. Very "Mad Men". I'm a little tempted to peg it even more for the final version, a la Michael Kors' Fall 2008 looks:

Photo: Style.com

Any Changes? As I said, this is a muslin, so I made it as-is to check the fit and look on me. There are a couple of changes that I will make for the purple version. First, to eliminate bulk at the waistband, I'll make the facing from petersham ribbon or lining, not self fabric. The waistband is contoured, and as you can see here, it's pretty bulky in this fabric.

Second, after trying it on, I decided to lengthen the front darts by 3/4 of an inch. The way they hit before looks a little poochy. I made the change on the muslin and the look was much more to my liking.

I'm debating whether to add pockets to it. The pattern has no pockets, I like having pockets in skirts, but maybe I'll just skip them to keep the lines clean.

Would you do it again? Would you recommend it? I am going to do it again, and I definitely recommend it. On me, this skirt hits just at the knee. I really like that. But it's also very easy to lengthen or shorten it so you get exactly the look you want. I thought about making it longer, like the Kors looks, but that might be a little matronly on a 5 foot 7 inch me.

Conclusion: Classic, stylish - a real winner!