Pink Pencil Skirt

I'm excited to have finished this little project as it represents several firsts! It's my first make of the year that counts towards my Vintage Pledge. It's the first time I've made anything out of either of Gertie's books (I have both). It's my first time sewing a lapped zipper, which, thanks to online tutorials was fairly straightforward. It's also the first time I've made a pencil skirt, since I tend to gravitate towards the opposite extreme of very full skirts.

I was able to wear it out this weekend and found it to be very comfortable! I went shopping for several fabrics to use for pencil skirts and happened upon this stretch denim in a perfect shade of pink, and it was on clearance! I really loved the weight and feel (was surprised that it was a denim, actually) and so I bought the rest of the bolt, heh. I fully lined it with a scrumptious houndstooth, isn't it fun???

I love peeking inside and seeing this staring back at me! I paired it with a cropped sweater and black belt this weekend, and had the perfect matching pink flower for my hair. :-)

 

Here are a few pics I took along the way while sewing. I did use boning above the waist, which helps keep such a nice shape while wearing it.

Took this pic after having just finished my first lapped zipper, the bottom part was machine sewn, top part is hand picked (and I clearly have room for improvement when it comes to even/straight stitches!)

 

I really like the look, I'm sure I'll be doing more of these.

 

 

Here's a peek at the inside!

You can see some of my stitches on the top here, this was also my first time understitching any garment by hand! It was recommended in Gertie's book, and it was just simpler than trying to machine stitch over the bulk of the boning and several layers.

I also sewed the hem by hand, it's so nice having a nearly invisible hem from the outside!

All in all it was a very pleasant sewing experience, the pattern was perfect for me, didn't need to make any alterations to it at all.

It was also pretty quick to sew up, especially for me, even despite all the hand sewing involved. It's amazing how quickly a garment comes together when you don't have yards and yards to hem, haha! I see about 34 more of these in my future... :-D