There’s a contest running on patternreview.com right now in imitation of the Great British Sewing Bee. I am swamped with unfinished projects, commissions, and getting a business off the ground, and I also contracted the flu–so I thought, “May as well participate!”
Here’s my entry!
It’s a faux leather rendition of the Ginger skirt by Colette Patterns. The contest was to make, in roughly a week, an A-line skirt with a waistband, a hem, a zipper, a button/hook&eye closure, and a lining. Contest is judged based on execution, creativity, photographs, and the write-up. One required photo is of the inside–which is good, because that’s where all my creativity happened!
What you’re looking at is a composite image showing the skirt flipped inside out, to show the pink bias tape at the hem, and the hot pink pockets I added, BECAUSE POCKETS.
Honestly, I jumped into this contest because I wanted to see how far I could get–not, as I’m sure others did, because I like A-line skirts (never wore one before!) or because I was at all interested in the contest prize. In fact, I was a bit irritated with the first part of the contest, because A-line skirts strike me as incredibly 90’s–they remind me of ultra-thin eyebrows, stick-straight hair, and spagetti strap tank tops. NOT my thing.
But the pattern, outside of a few drafting/technical issues (adding extra room specifically for the butt made it IMPOSSIBLE to cleanly install the back zipper, argh!), I was surprised to find that I actually LIKE this skirt. Make it classy with a white button-down shirt and a bit of red lipstick and it actually sort of fits my personal aesthetic. Not to mention it’s surprisingly comfortable.
So: make another one? Probably not. But this skirt will definitely get some wear!
What do you think? Are A-line skirts classic wardrobe staples, or are they dated?
sputniksong 