The Two-and-a-Half Hour Transitional Skirt

It's July. That means that the stores, catalogues, and pattern drawers are starting to fill with fall and winter fashions. Vogue Patterns, in particular, has come out with a collection that hits it right out of the park. But...

It's July. That means it's hot and humid here in Boston (finally!) and for the first time since last year, the thought of working on a woolen or cashmere fabric is not really appealing. So what's a sewing maven to do? Make a skirt from a season-spanning fabric, of course! I decided to make a pattern I've used before, HotPatterns Plain & Simple Pencil Skirt. This time, to keep it really plain and simple, I omitted the lining. I used HP's pattern, but a couple of other great options for pencil styled skirts that will work up quickly are Vogue 8603 View C (which has princess lines, so you can fit it easily), Simplicity 2564 View D, and Butterick 5934

For the fabric, I wanted something that was cool enough to wear now and into the fall I decided upon Italian Petite Houndstooth Cotton Stretch. To make this in my size (a size 10 in the HP pattern), I only needed 1 yard (not even) of the fabric. For any of the patterns I highlighted, you can use one yard or less for a size 14 (big 4). The recommended yardages are higher than you'll actually need. Since the skirt is unlined, I finished all the seam allowances and hems with my serger. The only slight change I made to the pattern was to use a lapped zipper application, which you can see here:

I hemmed the skirt by hand, using Els' fantastic tutorial from The Sewing Divas. The entire project took me 2 1/2 hours (hence the title of this post) and cost me the price of one yard of fabric. If I had done a centered or invisible zipper, it would have taken me even less time. Ditto for if I had done a machine blind hem. And now I have a skirt I can wear for the rest of the summer and right to the really cold weather!

Parting Shot: Orange Nails!
I borrowed this idea from Cidell. Normally my nails are either bright red or neutral color. But this week I decided to go for the spicy approach and I went with bright, bright orange. It's an OPI color called "Don't Bet Against OPI". Whoever names their colors has the most fun job!
Yeah, they're my nails. I don't have acrylics or gels or anything. I tried acrylics once, but they drove me crazy, so now I just keep my nails short and polished. My toenails are painted bright blue, but I won't be posting pictures of my feet any time.

Happy sewing!