A new skirt from the dutch pattern magazine My Image. I sewed M1103 from the Spring/Summer 2011 issue. It was high time I quit sewing the same old same old skirt, the paneled Vogue pattern skirt that took quite a bit of time to sew and 2 1/4 yards 58" fabric minimum. This My Image skirt took much less time to sew and uses just barely over 1 yard of 58" fabric. Of course I did my usual and used a knit with a designed for woven pattern.
I like to start with a size or two smaller than my size when I use a woven pattern and sew it in a knit. The My Image size chart says I would use a size 40 and since this particular pattern only goes down to a size 38 that is what I used to make a muslin in a woven. The muslin fit, maybe a little too body skimming but it did skim, not hug. Hmm, no smaller size to use and with all those panels I knew I did not have the patience to try to size it down. I decided to sew it anyway in the 38, I really liked the effect of the panels. The result is maybe a bit loose but it still fits well enough to make me happy.
The back hem of the skirt is longer than the front. This I had to think about for a while since I wasn't sure I liked that look. The phrase "mullet skirt" came to mind. It is a couple of inches above the knee in the front and just grazes the bottom of the knee area at the back. It grew on me this high low concept and I kept the feature instead of evening out the hem.
I found it interesting that there is very little shaping happening in the panel seams around the hips. This made the panels pretty easy to sew together.
A few changes were made to the pattern to make this better in a knit.
- The center back seam which would accommodate a zipper was eliminated. It was a ruler straight seam with no shaping.
- The back darts were eliminated and side seams above the side panels were shaved off and shaped a bit to take care of the then missing darts' shaping.
- I added two or so inches to the top so I could use an elastic waist finish in place of the waistband of the pattern.
The hem is about 1/2 inch folded under, pressed, and coverstitched which worked well to handle the curved edge.
The fabric is a bamboo/cotton/lycra french terry from Vogue Fabrics. It is a lovely soft french terry with just enough body to make a non clingy skirt.
The fabric is a bamboo/cotton/lycra french terry from Vogue Fabrics. It is a lovely soft french terry with just enough body to make a non clingy skirt.
My Image has a nice website where you can browse the magazines. I ordered the current issue and a pack of three back issues from the site which arrived from the Netherlands within two weeks. I like the styles, they are on the casual side and remind me of my favorite danish Onion patterns.
I leave you with a screenshot of the magazine page (full magazine here) zoomed in on the skirt where you can see the nice side panel. The shape of this panel really helps the high low hemline work. The impression from the side view is a natural hem slope instead of a "who forgot to hem the back of the skirt" thing.
