I'm a Little Teapot

Trying to break free from my Knit Shirt Frenzy, I decided to do something a little different. I wanted to bring some funk into the wardrobe, so the skirt from Vogue 8561 seemed to fit the bill.



And here is what I ended up with (sorry for the lousy dress form pics. The fabric is hard to photograph and my dress form is WAY smaller than me).....



Pattern Review

Pattern Description from Vogue: Skirt has asymmetrical seams, patch pocket and flap, back-lapped zipper, back darts, contoured waistband and topstitching.

Fabric Used: Bargain cotton twill from Joann's. It has a subtle stripe which I thought would show off the fun bias bits of the skirt but would not drive me crazy with trying to match the stripes at every seam. I did the topstitching in red, mostly because I had it handy.

How were the instructions? Um, I guess they would have been ok if the pattern itself had actually been right. See below.

Construction Notes: When I was putting this bad boy together, I kept running into all sorts of problems. None of the pieces really seemed to match up as they should. I double checked the pattern pieces, the instructions, my sanity level, etc, but it was still not working. I wondered if the bias pieces just stretched out freaky-like but they hadn't seemed to when I compared them to the original pattern pieces. Eventually I just gave up and forced it to fit together any which way I could.

Of course, AFTER I finished the skirt, I found this post by Sew What that said the pattern was all wackadoodle and that Vogue was going to reprint it. So I am sane after all (HA! At least as far as this skirt is concerned!).

I did like the way the instructions did the pocket. It had you cut out an oaktag version of the finished pocket pattern, then sandwich the fabric between the oaktag and a larger piece of tissue paper. Then by tightening the tissue paper around the oaktag and pressing the fabric through the tissue, it makes the fabric have a really nice sharp pocket outline . The actual instructions say this better. I was skeptical, but I tried it and durn it if I didn't have a perfect pocket as a result.



Likes/Dislikes: I like the design of the skirt. I do. However, this wasn't really a good choice for me and my body type. I am short and stout (hence the name of this post) which does not make for flattering lines when I wear long skirts. But it really is super cute, so I wore it anyways. I love the pocket detail, although I would put that buttonhole a little lower if I were to do it again.

Would you do it again? Would you recommend it? I have no need for two funky skirts that are not so flattering to my short stubby self. But for anyone without my figure issues, I would absolutely recommend it.

Conclusion: A cute pattern that might have been easy to put together if Vogue hadn't screwed up the pattern. Fun topstiching. Fun (though not entirely practical) pocket.