Blue Prints For Sewing A Frame Pencil Skirt

Fabric: African Wax Print from Liberia - A friend brought it back from his travels
Pattern: Blue Prints For Sewing A Frame Skirt - Version 1 (pencil skirt)

When I first saw this pattern I fell in love with the idea of color-blocking and different arrangements of stripes and pattern pieces to make a really unique skirt.  I've had the fabric for about 6 months if not closer to a year and hadn't decided what to make with it because it's such a bold print. Usually I'm not a print person at all. I knew being able to incorporate a solid would help tone this down a little bit and add some fun to my wardrobe. I used some black linen I had leftover from my Tessuti Alice Top for the side skirt front pieces that actually form pockets with the lower side front pieces. I didn't have enough linen left to incorporate any contrasting on the back side pieces of the skirt but I like the solid look on the back.

As far as sewing goes this was pretty straightforward to make. Nothing too challenging or technically involved. I cut a size B for the waist and graded out to an F I believe through the hips. From the bum up to the waist the skirt fits great. I feel like it's a little loose/not as much pencil shape below the bum and down to the knees due to it being graded to an F. I have a wide hips and a round derriere but my legs aren't that big. I think next time I'll grade back down to a C/D by the hem. I did take it in a few inches at the bottom but think it can still stand to be taken down a few inches more. Ignore the chalk in the picture. I didn't wash it post making and marking before I decided to wear it. Woops. Another woops happened when I was ironing my waistband after attaching. I guess I had my iron turned up to high because it burned right through the fabric exposing the interfacing inside (see the bottom left picture?). I didn't want to cut another waistband so I did some 'visible mending' with some orangeish thread I have. I kind of like it and think it adds some fun detailing. I think this might've been my first time sewing a lapped zipper and it was pretty straightforward and lines up nicely.

 You can see what I was talking about in the middle picture, the skirt doesn't curve back in below my bum like a traditional pencil skirt should. I think I might leave it as is because I'm lazy and I don't want to unpick the side seams to take it back in. It still fits nicely and has a nice shape from the front. Just like my last post this skirt can be worn in the summer or spring and in the winter or fall with tights and layers. I was looking through some of my old blog posts and man the pictures and quality of the pictures is just horrible. I feel like i'm able to take better pictures now that I have my dress form to hang my clothes on while I photograph them. It really makes for a world of difference and I want to be able to share all of those small details with you. Thanks again mom for the awesome gift it's very well loved. 

Fabric: African Wax Print from Liberia - A friend brought it back from his travels
Pattern: Blue Prints For Sewing A Frame Skirt - Version 1 (pencil skirt)

When I first saw this pattern I fell in love with the idea of color-blocking and different arrangements of stripes and pattern pieces to make a really unique skirt.  I've had the fabric for about 6 months if not closer to a year and hadn't decided what to make with it because it's such a bold print. Usually I'm not a print person at all. I knew being able to incorporate a solid would help tone this down a little bit and add some fun to my wardrobe. I used some black linen I had leftover from my Tessuti Alice Top for the side skirt front pieces that actually form pockets with the lower side front pieces. I didn't have enough linen left to incorporate any contrasting on the back side pieces of the skirt but I like the solid look on the back.

As far as sewing goes this was pretty straightforward to make. Nothing too challenging or technically involved. I cut a size B for the waist and graded out to an F I believe through the hips. From the bum up to the waist the skirt fits great. I feel like it's a little loose/not as much pencil shape below the bum and down to the knees due to it being graded to an F. I have a wide hips and a round derriere but my legs aren't that big. I think next time I'll grade back down to a C/D by the hem. I did take it in a few inches at the bottom but think it can still stand to be taken down a few inches more. Ignore the chalk in the picture. I didn't wash it post making and marking before I decided to wear it. Woops. Another woops happened when I was ironing my waistband after attaching. I guess I had my iron turned up to high because it burned right through the fabric exposing the interfacing inside (see the bottom left picture?). I didn't want to cut another waistband so I did some 'visible mending' with some orangeish thread I have. I kind of like it and think it adds some fun detailing. I think this might've been my first time sewing a lapped zipper and it was pretty straightforward and lines up nicely.

 You can see what I was talking about in the middle picture, the skirt doesn't curve back in below my bum like a traditional pencil skirt should. I think I might leave it as is because I'm lazy and I don't want to unpick the side seams to take it back in. It still fits nicely and has a nice shape from the front. Just like my last post this skirt can be worn in the summer or spring and in the winter or fall with tights and layers. I was looking through some of my old blog posts and man the pictures and quality of the pictures is just horrible. I feel like i'm able to take better pictures now that I have my dress form to hang my clothes on while I photograph them. It really makes for a world of difference and I want to be able to share all of those small details with you. Thanks again mom for the awesome gift it's very well loved.