FESA FO: The knit pencil skirt
Serger Love
Imagine that. I have a serger again. My serger broke, slowly but steadily during the winter months, and since February I have been without. When it finally did break all together, I feared it was nothing to be done, so I delayed taking it to the shop, because I was afraid of what they would find. When I finally found the nerve to deliver it though, it took them a week, and then it was good as new!
To celebrate my newly homecoming serger, I splurged on some knits. I know my last post was all about stash busting, but my knit stash was basically non-excisting, and so I decided to get some nice and warm knits for fall.
First Fall Make
My first make this autumn was this pretty and practical pencil skirt, the pattern is BurdaStyle 07-2012-120. It´s a pattern I have made once before, and the skirt I made then has seen lots of wear.
An old trusty friend
Since I had made this once before, I pretty much knew what to expect. The biggest difference is of course my fabric choice. While my last version was in a steady cotton sateen without any stretch (from Offset Warehouse), this version, I made in a ponte double knit I found at Rainbow Tekstil here in Oslo. This particular fabric had a high viscose rayon content compared to polyester, which is something I prefer. The lower poly-content, the better, in my opinion.
Curved darts
My favorite part of this skirt pattern is perhaps the front darts. They are as you can see from the tech- drawing, and not so much in the bright sunlight in the picutre above, curved. This makes for a particularly flattering waist design, in my opinion.
Woven fabric pattern for knits
I really wanted the structure and stability that I love in a woven garment, all tangled up with the cosy-ness and comfort you get with a knit. That´s why I chose a pattern for wovens, with darts and a back seam, instead of just stitching up a tube, although it would have been easier.
Conclusion
To conclude – this is a new favorite! It´s perfect for biking, it´s warm and cozy but at the same time elegant enough for work. Since the pictures were taken, I have made one slight adjustment, and that is to take it in a pinch in the waistline, as it was little too big. How is your September sewing coming along?
Ooh lovely autumn colour Solvi! It looks great too. I like the idea of using a woven pattern for a knit to get a better shape & fit. I haven’t done much sewing recently except one jersey pencil skirt which sadly went bobbly straight away – think I need to invest in some low poly content ponte too!
Thanks, Kathryn. The color was what drew me to this fabric in the first place. Sorry about the bobbly-ness in your skirt, I made one in a knit that was too thin once, but I now use it as a slip for other knit skirts, so it didn´t turn out all that bad after all. 🙂
Stunning! And ponte double knit – delicious! I have a length of red ponte to make a Lady Skater dress.
You look fabulous, of course, and are perfectly right about those really cool curved darts. What an interesting design feature 🙂
Thank you! Love to see your Lady Skater stitched up, I´ve made it once, but found it wasn´t for me, regardless of all the beautiful versions that are out there. For me, the Renfrew neckline works better than the one on the Lady Skater. Also, I made it in a rayon jersey that was too slippery for the skirt. It is definitely a good pattern though, and using ponte for it is an excellent idea! 🙂
oh la la!! you look stunning! and i love the cut adn darts on this skirt. burda does have some gems… you did an amazing job with the fitting, and the lenght is perfect. super classy, even styled so casually like you did!
Thank you! I am a big time burda fan, and this one is a favorite. Actually, I made up another version right after this one, so now I have three. 🙂
Love the colour! This looks like such a useful, stylish skirt, I would wear this so often in the autumn/winter.
Ooooh, I like this, it’s gorgeous and looks fantastic on you! Great colour, and I bet it’s so cosy as a knit