OAL2016: Deep Purple Hollyburn Skirt

This project was a bit of a splurge for me (definitely guilty of retail therapy). I was going through a hard time in my personal life (I was still living split between two places and things were breaking at both locations plus a bunch of personal life junk), and I had a 15% off code to Fabric.com (affiliate link) that my mom and I planned to use together. I was already making my Hetty cardigan out of my stashed coral colored yarn, and when I went to pick a fabric for my Hollyburn skirt I kept coming up with nothing but less than thrilling options in my stash. This is ridiculous since my stash is ridiculous and I still can't believe I didn't have anything. Maybe it was my mood, maybe it was the planetary alignment - I don't know, I just knew nothing that somewhat worked seemed like anything I wanted hanging in my closet and I didn't want to waste time and resources sewing something I wouldn't wear just to fulfill an online challenge. It was about to be my birthday, and I had a coupon ... so in spite of my strict budget I splurged on some Robert Kaufman Brussels Washer Linen in a lovely deep purple color :) I adore linen skirts and wear them quite a lot, and this fabric is a 55% linen and 45% rayon so it had a lovely drape that would be great for this pattern. Elegant drape plus cool and breezy linen? Sign me up, friend. So, it may not be quite as eye catching and exciting as the dress I made last year for the Outfit Along, but this is a great wardrobe staple that will mix and match with a zillion things I've already made or thrifted so I find it very exciting :)

Given the fit issues I had with my first Hollyburn earlier in June, I added to the waist of the pattern. I made the waistband finish out at 40" so I would have a little bit of ease (I'm actually around 39" at the waist) and I added 1/2" to the sides of each panel piece before cutting. After sewing up the whole thing and inserting a beautiful lapped zipper, I tried it on to discover it was too big :/ It just sagged and really looked dumpy. *Sigh* such is my old bad habit - thinking I'm bigger than I am when it comes to sewing. Because of the order of construction, I was able to fix this issue by just taking out the lapped zipper (sob) and pulling the excess in at the center back seam. This worked out better for my body anyway as my front is longer than my back as far as my waist goes, so this made the side seams actually sit where they should on me. I took out 3/4" on each side and re-did the lapped zipper and it was great :)

I went with a lighter purple zipper because it was all I had in my stash. It turns out that purple is the color that I am lacking, so the choices were slim to none and I was lucky to have this lavender one in the right length (you can see it a bit at the top of the waistband - oops). As far as the finished skirt - I absolutely love it. This fabric is kind of magical and I'm so glad I decided to take the plunge with it. It drapes beautifully! Don't believe me? Check this out:

Look at how fluid it is! Ah, lovely. Interestingly enough, the drape seems to make this skirt fall a bit more like a circle skirt would when I wear it. Also the dark color completely hides the center front seam, so you know I'm happy about that :) The pockets are great too - as ever. Man I love these pockets...

Details! There's a close up of the lapped zipper - seriously my new favorite technique. It just feels like magic. And you can see the lavender zipper when it's open. I think it's kind of a cool touch, like it's close enough to the color family but not the same because it's cooler than you. I had to show off the pockets because they are just wonderful. The last pic above is of the hem that I HAND STITCHED. Good golly that took forever, folks. I also hand stitched the waistband closed, so you know I was really dedicated to this project. The invisible hem adds just a touch of classy to the skirt and makes it borderline fancy for my wardrobe :) All my inside seams are just pressed open and overcast (you can kind of see one there).

And let's look at that drape one more time ... Love it. I'm really happy with this skirt in case you can't tell, lol.

And here's me showing how it swishes. I feel down right girly in this skirt even though it's just a basic solid color and doesn't seem like much to write home about.

So there is Part 2 of my outfit :) Check back for the final installation very soon!

Skirt Summary:
Fabric: 2.5 yards of Brussels Washer Linen in Dark Purple - $16.50
Pattern: Hollyburn Skirt from Sewaholic Patterns
Notions: light purple zipper - $0.10, thread - $1.50, knit stay tape - $0.25,
Time: 6 hours
Total Cost: $ 18.35