Burda 12-2011-105, Rosebud Wrap Skirt

It is pattern stash contest time!  It's a good exercise in getting to long-planned projects.  My first entry is   Burda 12-2011-105 (available for purchase at the link--I am not affiliated in any way and do not receive compensation).  I finished this skirt the night before our DC-area meetup, and Sewandwrite was kind enough to take the fun photos.  I haven't yet confessed the fabric.  It is a Fabric Mart Maggy London piece; I received it on Thursday, washed it that night, and sewed it on Friday.  It never had time to hit the stash, which means it barely counts, right?




Because the skirt can't be shortened in hemming without losing the shape/design elements, I took forever trying to figure out the right length.  After trying a couple different tissue fits, I decided to shorten it 1 1/2 inches.  I took out the length about 2/3 way down on the front pieces (I folded out an equal amount of length from the back piece).  I just smoothed out the curves when cutting.




The skirt is meant to be hemmed with a facing, but I decided to do a full lining instead.  I wanted to protect my skin from the scratchy metallic jacquard.  I generally put in the zipper of a skirt as the last part of basic construction so I can do final fitting, but with my finish method the zipper had to be done in the middle.  That's ok, because you have a fitting opportunity in crossing the fronts over one another.

First, sew the side seams of the fashion fabric and the lining.

Second, put the zipper in the center back seam of the fashion fabric (which I added; this is supposed to be cut on the fold but I don't like the way side zippers can stiffen the side seam in an asymmetrical way).  Stitch the center back seam of the lining from the hem to the bottom of the zipper opening.



Third, trim 1/4 inch off the lower edge of the lining for turn of cloth.











Fourth, pin and stitch the lining and fashion fabric together along the hem edge, right sides together.









Turn and press, folding slightly into the fashion fabric rather than right at the seam--that's what the turn of cloth is for.  This will prevent the lining from flashing.








Fifth, carefully match up the waist edges of the fashion and lining fabrics.  Make sure that the length is perfect.  Pin and stitch the darts and pleats in the fashion fabric and lining as one.

Sixth, fold the right front over the left front.  Baste in place.  Then finish the waist.  I used a straight waistband in a single piece; the pattern calls for a shaped waistband with front and back pieces but I felt it would make the waist just a little too high.  You could also finish with bias tape or a waist facing.






When I make it again, I will keep the 1 1/2 inch all around shortening, and take an additional 3/4 inch off by reshaping the front pieces to shave off length very close to the bottom/side seam, and shortening the back accordingly.  Taking any more length out of the body of the skirt will raise the crossover too much but it is just slightly too long in the back.




The right front--the top piece of the front--has four pleats in it.  They are of random widths and just looked weird when sewn as drafted.  I unstitched them and redid it with evenly spaced pleats of the same width.  I reduced the amount that was to be pleated out by probably 1 inch total for a wider, more secure crossover.

In hindsight, cotton batiste was not a good choice for lining this skirt.  It is definitely comfortable, but especially with my somewhat velcro-y fashion fabric, I should have chosen a slippery lining.  I have some trouble with the back fashion fabric and lining sitting strangely with one another, so that the back hem appears to be puckering.  The length of the two pieces is perfectly matched (minus my turn of cloth), but the batiste causes the pieces and the wrapover to grab each other and interact in weird ways. Oh well.  This skirt is, alas, not long for the world.  The metallic threads in the jacquard are already poking out all over the place and eventually it will just look ratty.

Other than my operator error in choosing poorly on the lining fabric, I really like this pattern and the final skirt.  It is bikeable, though off the bike there's a danger it will flash the shorts I always wear under skirts to avoid leers (or at least disappoint the leerers).  I'm certain this isn't the last skirt I'll make from this pattern.  I think it might be fun to make it in a more formal wool for a nice contrast between menswear fabric and a decidedly womenswear look.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.