Monday, January 27, 2014

Simplicity 1783 - Part 2

Simplicity 1783, pattern cover

Big Bear's birthday party was Saturday, and it seemed like all of the kids had a really fun time. Woo! I hope to share more on that soon, but I need a bit more time to decompress. In the meantime, let me share part two of Simplicity 1783. In Part 1, I shared View B, the top. This time around I made View D, the skirt.

Simplicity 1783, view D, hanging at an angle

What drew me to this one was the front kickpleat and the fact that it called for only 1 yard for fabric. The fabric is a poly-blend plaid I found on clearance at JoAnn's back in 2008 (yay for finding using stash (but it is true that I forgot I had this, it was buried so deep)!).

Simplicity 1783, view D, front view

It turned out really well!

Simplicity 1783, view D, hanging from the front so you can see the pocket wonkiness

Just don't look too closely at the pockets. Ugh. I decided that I wanted to try and add some interest to the pockets by having the plaid on the diagonal. I knew this would mean I'd be working with all bias edges, and if I had followed the instructions in the pattern as written, it would have resulted in all kinds of wonky. So I decided to first underline the pockets with a quilting cotton (highly stable) and then follow the instructions as written. Unfortunately, there was a fair amount of bulk and I had a hard time trying to keep everything pretty and even. What is worse is that the first time I attached them to the skirt, I didn't even line them up-- which, with the plaid, was VERY evident. And then, after attaching them the second time, I realized that they are actually different sizes. Doh! I don't know why it didn't occur to me to actually compare the finished pockets before I attached them to the skirt. Fortunately, I don't feel like it is very noticeable when I'm wearing the skirt. Certainly, not noticeable enough to make me do them a third time.

Simplicity 1783, view D, detail view of front fly

I gotta say too that I am pleased as punch with how the fly turned out. Woo! I've never done a fly in this manner before, and it was definitely more involved than the ones I've done in the past, but I really appreciate the finished look. Very snazzy.

Simplicity 1783, view D, back view

I made a size 16. The only changes were to use 1/2" side seams and to use hem tape at the bottom hem.

Simplicity 1783, view D, detail view of hem, showing the pretty hem tape

The hem tape allowed me to do a 5/8" hem instead of a 1-1/4" one, resulting in a really nice, wearable length for me. I'm not sure I would have felt as comfortable even 1/2" higher. This is already what I consider very short for me. I am 5'4", so if you are any taller, you may want to add some length.

Simplicity 1783, view D, another front view

While the top in this pattern may not have been my cup of tea, the skirt is definitely a winner!

3 comments:

  1. Very cute!

    I agree. I made it and was surprised at how short it was (err. I could've measured...)

    I love plaid. I especially love bias cut plaid. Your skirt is awesome :)

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  2. I love the bias pockest! I wonder if the fuseable (like used for tee shirt quilts) would have worked better?
    But... cute cute cute! A great piece to have in your closet!

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  3. You are getting really good at making clothes!

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