One of my recent makes this winter is a lovely basic, yet not so basic, charcoal grey skirt.
This wool blend fabric was a plague in my sewing room. It was previously a failed garment of mine, Simplicity 3313 – the green jumper on the left.
Darling pattern right?!
My first attempt at Simplicity 3313 was a major fail:
Sighting a poor match between pattern & fabric, I attempted making it second time in that dark charcoal wool. It was much more stable wool fabric, I was certain it would work, being a better fabric match and all.
But it didn’t work. At all. :( It looked just as frumpy as the first time I made it.
Despite being the cutest pattern, Simplicity 3313 & I weren’t meant to be. Instead, I sent it off to a new home and attempted to unpick my stitched jumper to reuse the fabric as something else.
I’ve been longing to make Simplicity 4083 skirt and it seemed like a great match with this wool blend fabric.
I settled on View #1 with those wonderful triangle pockets – and will most certainly make view 2 & 3 in the future.
This wool blend fabric feels like a very thin felt. It’s a dense weave fabric that holds it shape quite well. It must be the addition of poly that helps the wool stay crisp.
I paired this skirt with a 60’s creamy taupe cashmere cardigan that I recently bought.
I think it works well despite the era mismatch.
I’m so glad I used this fabric with this pattern. I am not even wearing a crinoline nor do I have horsehair braid sewn in. The hem just stays nice and full, all on its own.
My only regret is that I should have gone with a darker thread, so that the triangle pockets were more visible. Ahh well.
Modifications:
The skirt was labeled for a 32″ waist – a bit too large for me. It was easy to reduce the side seams of the skirt and make the waistband a bit smaller to fit.
I’m so relieved that my prior (failed) project is no longer torturing me; that I’ve been able to turn it into a wonderful new skirt instead.
Cheers & happy sewing.
In: Sewing
That is a really cute outfit–I totally covet that cardigan!
Love it! And I really like that sweater – I thought you’d made it!
Thanks Alice & Kristin. The sweater is ever so slightly long in the torso on me – but it fits IF I don’t slouch. lol
The jumper just needs to fit better at the waist. And of course pressed pleats and hemmed it would be very flattering. The straight lines of the pleats will make you look taller. Llynnda.
Oh totally, Llynnda. The second version of my jumper was more fitted and I had made the bodice a bit shorter also. But no matter what I did, it looked like my waist had disappeared. It was un-salvageable – but on the bright side I love my new skirt. :D
That makes for a really nice outfit. I’m glad you could salvage your beloved fabric, that skirt looks fab! Why did you have to modify the waist? Did the pattern come in one size only?
Thanks Susie. :D This is a great question!
Vintage patterns generally come in just one size. This skirt pattern is from the 1950’s and is marked for a 32″ waist so the lines are for that size only – hence that specific alteration I had to do.