FO: Brown Melissa Skirt

I finished a sew-jo improving project last weekend - and it's a total staple item! 

 This is my second time making the Melissa Skirt by Muse Patterns. I picked up this pattern in the Sewing Indie bundle this year and it has turned into a TNT for me. My first version was made of jean and in spite of the little fit issues I still wear it all the time. This skirt is basically my equivalent of jean pants. I even had to do a little repair on the skirt, but it was worth it to get it back in rotation. I knew I wanted to make another version in another basic fabric, so when I found this material at a
thrift store I knew that's what it would become.

The fabric is a bit of a mystery since it came from a thrift store, but I think it's some kind of stretch twill. It's definitely got a heavy polyester content to it because it doesn't wrinkle like other twills I've worked with. The stretch is pretty substantial, meaning it's a thick fabric with a slight give all over. The fabric is not quite as heavy as canvas. Anyway, it's a really nice fabric and I was thrilled to find it and for the ridiculously cheap price of $0.50 - I mean, really.

 I love this pattern so much. It's a gored skirt (which I love), button front (which I love), and has interesting pockets so it's not plain (which I love). The pockets are really the star of the show, and while it is a great opportunity for a pop of color I decided to go with all brown so that I could wear this with everything. I did have to make some little alterations this time around. On my jean skirt the pockets are too narrow to accommodate my hands. I do not have large hands, so I think this may be a slight pattern issue. To fix this, I just added 1/2" to each side of the pocket panel pieces. Since the skirt flares out, this extra 1" overall didn't effect the fit and now I can comfortably insert my hands to retrieve things in my pockets. Woo hoo! I also did an on-the-fly sway back adjustment. My previous version showed a lot of bunched up fabric at my center back below the waistband, so this time around I just changed my sewing angle at the top of the piece and came in 1" overall there. This fixed the bunching just fine.

 I'm particularly proud of the insides of my skirt. I faux-felled all the seams by overlocking them, then pressing to one side and top stitching them down. It makes the skirt feel much more professional. I still had issues easing the skirt into the waistband, so there are still a few puckers. It just seems like so much fabric to pull in! It's more like gathering, not easing. My puckers are small, so I don't really mind them on this dark color. I also love how nice the pocket bag looks inside the skirt - so neat!

I'm pretty proud of my details on this skirt. It's still not perfect by any means, but I can see a great improvement in my sewing. The top stitching is nice and straight - I had the idea to use the blind hem foot with the guide rolled all the way out and then the needle in the far left position - this left the stitching a nice distance from the seams and kept things nice and straight. I really love the buttons - they're hard to see but if you zoom in they are a coppery brown with a scroll design on the top. I overcast the hem, then folded up and top stitched. This fabric was so hard to gather up! That's what I get for favoring these heavy fabrics, I guess. It was worth the effort though :)

So, there you have it - another Melissa skirt :) I wore this on Thanksgiving as well as the next day and it is super comfy. This project ended up being a good sew-jo inducer. I wanted to get sewing again, but couldn't get motivated. I cut this skirt out, then didn't start sewing it for 2 weeks! It was a nice success though, so I'm back in the game. I also finished this in the month of November, so it was eligible for the Muse Loves Merino contest. I know it's probably boring to others, but I find it pretty exciting, so wish me luck :) Yay for cute and simple sewing projects!

Summary:
Fabric: 1.5 yards of heavy stretch twill - thrifted $0.50
Pattern: Melissa Dress/Blouse/Skirt by Muse Patterns
Notions: 7 buttons - $4.50 , fusible interfacing - $0.25, thread - $0.50
Hours: 6
Total Cost: $5.75