15-minute houndstooth skirt

My brain was feeling completely numb from working on the BurdaStyle Book coat. And I haven’t even touched the fabric yet.  After spending a decent chunk of time taping the pattern pages together, I realized I would have to add in seam allowances. Now, having just taped together 48 sheets of paper, I wasn’t about to then trace them onto new paper and add seam allowances, so I decided I would just draw them right onto the printout. But unfortunately there wasn’t enough margin around many of the pattern pieces to just draw the seam allowances right on so I began a patchwork process of taping little snippets of paper around the pieces so that I could draw complete seam allowances. (If you’re tempted to tell me that seam allowances on patterns are the work of the devil and it’s soooo much more accurate to do without them and shame on me for succumbing to this lazy American innovation, this is the part where I tell you that I don’t enjoy drawing them directly onto fabric for a fajillion little coat pieces and not everyone wants to sew the way you do. Golly, I am irritable after this day of non-sewing sewing.)

So, even though I’m not usually one for quickie projects, I needed a break. A sewing break. A sewing break from non-sewing sewing. Ta-da, the 15-minute sewing break skirt. Oops, I blinked:

(Shown with my Minimalist Cowl top, the pattern for which you can download for free.) This skirt was more of a craft project than a constructed garment. Pretty much just a tube with a little bit of shaping at the hip and waist. I don’t have a serger so I just sewed the seams with the stretch stitch on my machine and a teflon foot, and finished the raw edges with a cover stitch. The waist edge is just folded over and stitched with a stretch stitch, but I may do a more professional waist treatment in the future.

The fabric is a black and white houndstooth sweater knit that looks like wool but feels like acrylic, which is just fine with me:

And although it is not tight, it does do that clingy thing under the toosh that knits are wont to do, which is perhaps making it slightly more booty-defining than I was expecting, but not so bad that I can’t wear it to work (I think.):

Okay, that’s enough- stop looking at my butt, pervs. Close up of the front, in all of its basic, undetailed, even-an-idiot-could-sew-it glory:

You might be wondering about the black trim on the fabric. It’s actually a ribbed border that came “for free” with the fabric, because…

… this was no ordinary fabric!

There is the magnificent “Before” shot of the skirt- a beyond hideous Cosbyesque boxy sweater, with a delightful contrast mock turtleneck and black ribbed trim. Yum! This voluminous vintage lovely came home with me from the thrift store, where I was shopping for something I could appropriate for my BurdaStyle book coat. I was sort of successful in that endeavor, I think. We’ll see after I finish drawing the freakin’ seam allowances and actually get started on sewing.

Ok, break over, back to coat!