Lonely Garments Club

Who doesn't have a lonely garment? One that hangs in your closet and never gets worn because you just don't have the right thing to wear with it? I had just such a garment in my closet, so when the "Lonely Garment Club" contest was announced on Pattern Review, I thought it would be a good time to make something to go with it.

When I first considered entering this contest, I had envisioned a midi-length skirt made out of the same linen/rayon blend I used for this skirt. Before I made my final decision, though, I consulted my good friend, Polly, who told me that a midi-skirt might not be my best look. So I decided on a shorter skirt.

The pattern I chose was Simplicity 2226, a skirt with contoured waistband, lapped zipper and optional tie belt in two lengths, available in Misses sizes 6 to 18. I made the shorter version (because I am short, not because I wanted a short skirt) and omitted the belt loops.

This is a Learn to Sew pattern and the instructions are extremely detailed with excellent illustrations for each construction step. For example, the instructions for the lapped zipper insertion include four detailed paragraphs with very clear illustrations for each paragraph.

I chose a black linen/rayon blend that had been aging in my stash for at least ten years.

There are a couple of reasons I particularly like this pattern...first, it has huge, sturdy pockets. When I say huge and sturdy I mean they hang from the waistband and are easily large enough for a cell phone or a small dog. Second, it has gathers that add a nice fullness, but it is smooth over the hips.

I like this pattern a lot. It's well drafted and what I mean by that is that all the pieces fit together exactly as this spatially challenged individual would expect them to; there are no mysterious places where the seam lines don't quite line up and you have to guess whether you should east them together, chalk it up to poor cutting, or assume that your fabric has stretched.

Even so, I hit a few bumps along the way. After altering the waistband and assembling the skirt, when I tried it on, it was tooooooo big. I took the whole thing apart (so sad because my lapped zipper was p-e-r-f-e-c-t) and took the waistband in a total of two inches at the side seams; it was still too big! I'm still not sure if that was a drafting error on my part or if the fabric stretched that much.

So I re-re-drafted the waistband and re-cut. In addition to re-drafting, I also used a more stable quilting cotton for the facing. And I handled the waistband like it were made of the finest, most fragile silk. The resulting skirt fits as I intended it to, but in retrospect, I wish I had drafted the waistband to sit a little closer to my natural waist than I did. It literally can't fall of, but I feel like it's in imminent danger of falling of at any moment.

I will make this skirt again, but with a re-re-re-drafted waistband. I have a fun border print set aside that will be great for casual wear. I highly recommend it for everyone, but especially for beginners.