Another week, another skirt...

You'd have thought I might have learned from the mistakes of the last sewing debacle, and chosen to make something (anything) other than a skirt. Alas, no. My logic being that I had, at least, some foundation in skirt-making on which to build.*

This half-hour pattern (cough) is taken from Geneva's wonderful blog, a pair & a spare (please check it out at http://apairandasparediy.com/). It has a more sophisticated cut than the previous make, due to the simple waistband (no elastic!) and circular hem. However, with sophistication comes headaches. This project certainly gave me a few...

1. I'm beginning to understand that the 'simple' task of cutting out is never quite as it seems. Unlike the good ol' school days where cutting out was a carefree and joyous affair, in dressmaking it is a SERIOUS BUSINESS. If the cut is even marginally inaccurate, you will inevitably end up wearing a bin-bag (and that's if you're lucky). There must be few shapes harder to cut out of flimsy fabric than a circle... I was going for the 'ring-doughnut' look, but instead produced a four-leaf clover.

2. This led to my second problem. Rounding the clover shape off meant cutting further inland (i.e. my skirt was beginning to look worryingly short).

3. Now, there comes a moment in every sewing venture (for me anyway...) where you reach BREAKING POINT. Like a bolt from the sky, you are suddenly hit with the realisation that everything you have done is wrong, and there is just NO. GOING. BACK. Well, this was my POINT. Not only had the 'skirt' become a belt, but the waist was too big. So big, that three (much shorter versions) of me could fit inside it.

I took a deep breath. 

It dawned on me that, against all odds, this could yet be salvaged. Some revised measurements and a couple of cheeky pleats later, I had made THE SKIRT. I even managed to sew in my first zip (something I'm particularly chuffed about!).

Phew. Don't be expecting another skirt for a while folks. I'm off for a long lie down in a very dark room...

*Albeit considerably rocky, and prone to collapse at any moment.