My Image M1114 Skirt

It's Sunday night. It's raining. I'm tired and feeling somewhat lazy, so here's the patternreview for the skirt. I'll talk more aboaut it later, but for now, my eyes are crossing.

Pattern Description: Fly-front jeans-style mini-skirt, with pieced front, back yoke and back pockets.

Pattern Sizing:I made a 38. My Image's sizes run pretty close to Burda's, but maybe a little bigger. In a woven skirt in Burda, I'd cut a 40 and probably use wider seam allowances.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? It looks like the drawing. The two photos of the skirt in the magazine used dark fabric and dark stitching, so you really couldn't see the style lines very well. I also made some changes, noted below.

Were the instructions easy to follow? They weren't too bad. I didn't really use them, being so accustomed by Burda to not bothering until I'm in over my head. But I did read them over, and while their English is a little stilted, and some of the wording is odd (front and back "pass" instead of "yoke"), they made enough sense.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I thought it was a cute pattern. I liked the piecing, and it seemed like a good piece to try out a new pattern magazine.

Fabric Used: Khaki cotton twill. I wanted to use denim, and topstitch it properly (as in, topstitch it visibly), but I wouldn't get too much wear out of a denim skirt. Khaki twill seemed like a good compromise - jeans-like enough, but I'll be able to wear it to work if I dressed it right.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: First off, this skirt is REALLY short. Really. Short. I added 4" to the length, and it's still above my knees. And I'm 5'3". Did I say it was short?

My changes, aside from adding the length: since I wasn't doing it in denim, I really didn't want to do the fly front. I don't like fly fronts on skirts, since I sit most of the day. Pants don't ride up, but skirts do. So that was my first change, moving it to a side invisible zipper.

I probably should have then cut the front yoke and the center front panel on the fold, but I didn't, for two reasons. Reason one: I forgot. Reason two, after I remembered: I'm not big on those inset corners, and I knew if I had to do two of them identically on one piece, I'd be guaranteed to mess one up. Repeatedly. And the center seam actually works for me, with all the other seams.

My third change: see that horizontal line at the bottom of the center front panels? That's what they call a "design opportunity." Otherwise known as I added 4" to both side front panels and the skirt backs, but for some reason the pattern drawing in my head (the inaccurate one) didn't remind me to cut that central piece longer. So that's the length the whole skirt would have been, and I don't think my 47 year old thighs should be loose on an unsuspecting world without a little warning.

Fourth change: I left off the back pockets, which were just a little too jeans-style to me. I thought about changing the pockets or maybe adding flaps, but then I decided that the front pockets, which I didn't even notice in the photos or pattern drawing, were enough pockets for me. I really like them - they're my favorite part of the skirt, and I didn't even know they were there when I made it!

Last change: the traditional jeans-style waistband also didn't make much sense without the fly front. I cut a straight waistband, interfaced it, sewed it right sides together with the skirt, pressed it up and then stitched in the ditch to make a narrow waistband. My original idea was to do a faced waist, but this seemed like a good compromise.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I don't know if I'll make this particular skirt again, since it's pretty recognizable, but I'd recommend it. And it served its purpose well, which was to give me an idea of how My Image's pattern draft stacks up to Burda's and whether I'd want to make more of their patterns.

Conclusion: Cute little skirt, probably not for work everyday, but instead of jeans on a casual Friday, and definitely on the weekends.