Finally... A Skirt That Fits

Here's the last of the summer sewing.

I'm very  excited about this one.  All my skirts, self made and RTW, usually fold at the top of the waistline in an uncomfortable way.  I've solved that with this one:

Unfortunately I can't seem to locate the fitting instructions I found on the web, but the method is exactly as shown in the  issue of Threads magazine.

My friend Claire helped me fit the skirt muslin.  I used the basic 4 dart skirt from B4461 from which I had already straightened from the hip line down to remove the A shape.  I added to the waist seam allowance another 1" of height.

I sewed the side seams, sewed in horizontal balances line, through in a quick and dirty zipper and marked on the darts the outside , but not sew them up.  When I put it on I pinned a piece of elastic at my waistline.  Claire pinned the darts to fit my body and with a magic marker drew a line below the elastic.

I took the muslin apart, balanced out the darts and copied it on to paper.  I like to use medical (spa) paper.

For this version I did a bit of work to the pattern.  I created a contour waistband by drawing a line 3" below the waistband.  Cut them off, closed the darts and added seam allowances to the bottoms.  I attached the front the back at the side seam to create one piece and added a few inches to the front for the fly.   To the main pieces I added seam allowances at the waist and a fly front which I copied from the Ginger Jean pattern.

Now to find a nice piece of Navy wool.  I'm planning a winter version too.