I'm using McCall's 3830; I have previously sewn this skirt, but after wearing the earlier version a few times, I've determined that the fit could be improved.
McCall's 3830
The lining is vintage Aquascutum lining fabric snagged on Ebay (oh, the fabulously random items that can be found there!).
I am about half-way there, and am excited to see how the vent turns out (assuming I can determine how to attach the lining and fashion fabric vents together, which looks to be the trickiest part).
I would like to draft a godet for my next pencil skirt; I think it's another elegant way to finish a hem slit.
The classic reference book Vogue Sewing (which my sister fortuitously gave me as a gift years ago, well before I started garment sewing) has really good instructions on how to insert one.
I actually learned about godets from Project Runway: a contestant was discussing her hem finish, and another contestant - who was not professionally trained - lamented that he did not even know what a godet was. I didn't either, so I looked it up!
* * *
It was a Wadder Weekend for me. The second in a row, actually. I planned to make a dress from an amazing graphic silk, but the bodice just wasn't working with the lightweight silk. I used the silk instead for a simple shell with Simplicity 2599, which I've made before, but the armhole facings did not attach properly. I had already trimmed the seams and understitched, and needle marks will not come out of silk. It was time to just let this material go.
Argh. Really, isn't it just awful - gut-wrenching - when you spend hours cutting, stitching, trimming, and the garment does not work? My husband noted that I can always learn something from a failed project; when I retorted that I knew what I did - I clearly did not mark the facings properly - he indicated that I can learn not to be sloppy. Ouch. But you know, he's right. No more cutting corners on pattern markings! Sad it's taken me over a year to internalize that...
