Burda 11-2009-120, Square Pocket A Line Skirt

Since biking became so much easier with the introduction of Capital Bikeshare (one way trips! no locking up!) my clothing needs have changed rather drastically. Where I had been adopting a pencil skirt silhouette and have long eschewed the A line skirt as unflattering to my pear shape, I am now having to make the switch to skirts with volume so I can safely put my foot down for balance while stopped at red lights (one can manage getting onto a bike in a fitted skirt, it's the stopping without falling over that's impossible).

I had seen Burda 11-2009-120 a couple times--both Amanda and Elizabeth have made it--and I thought it might be a good biking skirt.

The fabric is from The Carol Collection.  I cut into it for the under-collar and facing of my Vogue 8307 Armani-style coat. 




The pockets are lined and then topstitched onto the skirt, leaving the upper edge loose to create the belt loop.  Luckily, the forest green color of the Vera Wang silk/rayon satin Fabric.com was selling in January 2010 was a great match for the fabric.

To make sure the lining wouldn't show, I trimmed a scant 1/8 inch off the edges of the lining other than the very top edge that lines up with the waistband.  You can see on the pocket that hasn't been pressed how this causes the pocket to balloon because the two pieces are not the same size--the lining is slightly smaller. (More photos illustrating this in the album.)

I always like to press from the wrong side for things like this, so that I can roll the seam and see a tiny edge of the fashion fabric peeking out from down below.  Then press.  You can see that despite the size difference it presses flat.





The instructions for the lining have you cut the front piece minus the pleats. I felt that would defeat the purpose of the skirt--without the pleats the A is not very wide and might not be enough room for biking. I cut the lining the same size as the front skirt, and just did one large inverted pleat rather than two. The lining--also from the Carol Collection--is quite thin and doesn't add bulk to the project.







The waist is faced with the same Vera Wang satin as I used for the pocket.

To insure that the fit remained consistent (as the wool is a rather loose weave) I stabilized waistband with ribbon as I did here.  I also interfaced both the outer waistband and the facing, the wool with a heavier interfacing and the facing with a lighter.









The details on this stood out better with topstitching, so the pockets, tabs, and waistband are all topstitched.  I just love the shape of this pocket!  It's such a clever little detail with the built in belt loop.








To make sure the center front double inverted pleats sits properly and to emphasize the feature, I topstitched the edges of the pleat.  At the hem, I marked and pressed and then topstitched with the hem turned up in place.  It keeps the pleats nice and crisp.




I took a risk with the length of the skirt, as it is hemmed below the knee.  This is a challenging length for me, as I am short.  It can really only be worn with boots, which is somewhat limiting, but it is not a skirt that will look right in Spring or Summer anyway.

I think it came out well and I really like the details and the topstitching. 

It is a good complement to my vintage fabric Burda 09-2007-120 tie neck blouse.  I feel so very 70s, though I am no rival for the queen of 70s, Sewspicious Minds!

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.