School Wardrobe - Simplicity 3754

Finished!

This really wasn't that hard of a skirt to make, so it was nice to finish something in just a few days.  Here is the finished skirt.  You'll note that it is a bit big - that's my little extra insurance in case she does grow! 

I've done a few things differently than the pattern, but before I get to those I thought I'd show you one thing I did like about the pattern, that I haven't seen often in commerical patterns:  twill tape to stabilize the top edge of the waistband.  The pattern instructions include 1/4" twill tape sewn into the top edge seam of the waistband and facing to help stabilize it.  It is a curved waistband, so this will prevent the top edge from stretching out.

One thing I think was a little missing from the pattern instructions was how to stitched that pointed back yoke onto the skirt.  It is very much like sewing a "y" seam in quilting, and can be tricky to do all in one seam.  The pattern has the center back seam stitched up to a dot, 5/8" away from the top, but not all the way to the top - this is what you need to do.  What the instructions don't tell you is to stitch one side at a time, up to the center back seam, breaking the stitching at the seam.  This produces a better point than trying to stitched the waistband on in one long seam.

Now for my changes.  As far as fitting changes, well, I had to take the side seams in at the waist quite a bit - no surprise there, as I think I've seen this alteration somewhere before.  Genetics really aren't kind, are they?  This change was easily accomplished by stitching the waistbands to the front and back pieces before stitching the side seams - a little different from the pattern instructions. 

Next, when constructing the back vent, I stabilized each side with a small piece of twill tape when sewing the center back seam.  This hopefully will prevent the skirt from ripping out at the vent, should my daughter decided that she's going to do something that's probably not a good idea in this skirt.

This picture shows all the rest of my changes.  I left off the belt loops.  I added a fly shield - the pattern did not have one.  This is pretty easy to do and it is included in all the Burda and Patrones patterns that I make.  I've also added a button of her choosing and buttonhole rather than a large hook and eye.  Lastly, I top stitched around all the edges of the waistband to give it a more complete look since it does not have the belt loops. 

She's very happy with the skirt and I'm pretty sure it will get worn weekly as it goes with a lot of things in her wardrobe. 

Parting Shot:  More Lilies.  I thought I'd miss all the lilies blooming while on vacation.  When we got home, I found white ones still in bloom with more to come and the orange daylilies blooming, too.