Pink Eclaire pencil skirt

Remember that Burda sew-along, way back in May?

And remember how I (somewhat rashly) said I was going to make something from each of the Burda magazines I own?

Yeah. Well, I got as far as making a blouse from the first one in the pile, and that was all I had for show-and-tell in May. But, that’s not actually all that I did! I cut out, and partially stitched up, two other garments – one each from the January and February 2013 editions.

Shamefully, I still haven’t finished the blouse (I got a bit distracted by the pajama party and the Indie pattern month), but the skirt has been done for a good three weeks, and finally got photographed in the weekend. Woo hoo! So, here it is – BurdaStyle 01/2013 skirt #124…. (Their pattern names leave a bit to be desired, don’t they?)

Sure, the pattern I used was for a leather skirt, and I went with some unknown wool/acrylic blend thing, but hey, the basic pattern remained the same. 🙂

I did make a few adjustments, though. There was no way I was ever going to be able to walk normally in this skirt pattern (a pencil skirt without a vent or kickpleat in the back? How do people walk in those things?!?), although I did try trusting the pattern and stitched it up with no kickpleat to start with. Sure enough, walking ability seriously hampered.

So I measured out where I needed extra space for stride length, and unpicked to that length to create a back vent.

At which point, I concluded that, yes, the measurement was right in that I could now walk comfortably. However, I didn’t like the look of the back vent.

So I improvised, cut out a rectangle, and stitched up a kickpleat. Sure, it’s got a seam where drafted-on kickpleats don’t, but you know what? That doesn’t bother me so much. Instead – I have a pencil skirt I can walk in, that I like! This makes me happy. 🙂

Pencil skirts aren’t really my ‘thing’, but I’m quite liking this one. As may be evidenced by the wrinkles, after a day’s wear.

Oh yes, and I forgot to get photos of this part, but it’s fully lined in a nice dark burgundy, and I was very proud of myself because I did a hand-stitched invisible hem. This is quite a Big Deal for me, lazy sewasaurusrex that I am. I really do need to do more hand-stitched invisible hems – sure, they take a lot longer, but they make me smile when I look at them, so it’s worth it. (Even if that sentence does remind me of a Pantene ad… *shrug*)

So anyway – pink pencil skirt! Yay!

And a big thank-you to Claire, who sent me the January 2013 edition of BurdaStyle I used to make this skirt – you’re fabulous, and this skirt wouldn’t have been here without you! So it’s kinda named after you, and also after cake because, well, I like cake.