FO: Black Hollyburn Skirt

I've been very good about buying fabric lately. I got on a kick of trying to catalog my stash on Trello à la Camille of Attack of the Seam Ripper. This was such a great idea when I read it last year, and I have added any new fabric and info to my trello board as soon as I can, but guys - my stash is massive. I used to think it was massive before I moved, but I got rid of more than a bucket full at my estate sale last September so I thought I was good. Then Hancock closed ... and I went to The Sewing Studio ... and I found more fabric at thrift stores then is probably good for me (but I was on the hunt for my Medieval dress and was in costume making "oh this could come in handy" mode at the time). The result has been that I have so much fabric that I am not nearly as tempted by the new and pretty as I have previously been. My stash is outgrowing my closet where it lives, which is my biggest wake-up call.

Anyway, what does that have to do with this skirt? In light of my non-fabric-buying-mood, I knew I would be safe to go on a button trip to The Sewing Studio. I was extremely close to finishing my Alecia Beth cardigan, and I wanted to have buttons on hand so I can call it done when the time came. I has looked at Hobby Lobby (my only local-ish store) but came up empty handed. So I decided to venture to Orlando and run a few errands one day, one of which was go to my favorite store :) I hit the mother load on buttons (they were clearancing entire tubes of buttons for $2 and $3), and I restrained myself on fabric except for just this one piece. In their bargain Annex there is a table of garment industry remnants that they sell for $5 per yard. This fabric was just too cool at the time, and it was a great price, so I decided to buy enough to make a Hollyburn skirt. I cut the skirt out within days, so that makes this fabric not count as stash :) Hooray! lol

I know this looks like a very boring skirt, and you'd be partially right in assuming that. The fabric is a black matte polyester with slubby lines all over. When I was in the store with the fabric, something about the fluorescent lighting made the slubs really stand out and look cool. I thought it would make a cool basic skirt - but in real life the texture isn't anything super exciting, lol. But there was something else this fabric had going for it - the party here is on the inside: this fabric is satin backed! Imagine a satin backed crepe but heavier and with a nice texture on the outside and that's this fabric. I knew it would be a great basic item with just a touch of something special, and I am always in need of a black skirt (who isn't, right?), so the satiny back side made this have no need of a lining but still feel like it has one.

I used the trusty Hollyburn skirt pattern from Sewaholic. I've made this pattern a few times now, so I knew the adjustments I needed to make. This one I did slightly different, but it still turned out with a good fit :) I need a bit more at the waist than the largest size of the pattern, and last time (on my Deep Purple Hollyburn) I added about a half inch to each seam, but that feels like a bit too much in the center front. So this time I only added to the side seams. I was slightly afraid it would put the pockets in a weird place, but all is well.

The pockets are always my favorite feature of this pattern, and these are just great, lol. They really are the perfect pocket. I always want to put my hands in them. One change I did make with this skirt is that I cut the fabric on the cross grain. When I bought it, I just figured the slubs went along the grain of the fabric, but they actually go on the cross grain. There was literally zero difference in the stretch (or lack thereof) from the grain to the cross grain (since this is totally polyester and such a tight weave), so I decided to just go with the cross grain. I can't tell any difference whatsoever in the fit, so it all worked out. I just really didn't want the slubs to go horizontally across my hips, and I'm happy with their direction this way.

I decided to go with a lapped zipper on this skirt because I think it looks a bit dressier plus I love them. They just look classy and I've really developed a knack for sewing lapped zippers. It's funny that I avoided them for so long because I just didn't understand how they worked, but now that I do I can't stop sewing them, lol.

Here's a close up of that lovely zipper :) I used a thrifted 9" zipper from my epic stash, and in this super slick inside fabric that is a little too long. As in it actually is difficult to keep the fabric up on my hips to zip it up, so I try not to open the zipper up all the way, lol. Is that a first world problem, or what? And of course the I had to add a close up of the lovely pocket :) Man, they're great.

Here's the satiny inside :) I overcast all the seam allowances because this stuff loved to fray. Another change I made was to sew the waistband as two pieces instead of just one that is folded over. The slubby texture is slightly rough, and I wanted to take full advantage of the satin side for lining, so I used two pieces of waistband to ensure I had the satin side touching my skin. It worked out really well. I even hand sewed the waistband closed! I hate doing that, lol, but since it was so nicely finished inside I decided to go the extra mile there.

I also decided to hand stitch the hem. I have a hard time hemming this skirt by machine unless I'm top stitching it, but again I wanted to keep things a bit smoother outside so I just went for it. It's a bit wavy outside, but to be honest I can't remember if I pressed it after sewing the hem, lol. So it may even out when I steam the heck out of it.

So that's my new skirt :) I know it's not super exciting to look at, but I find it very exciting. I'm always on the look out for a good black skirt! I didn't realize until I was taking photos of my recently finished makes, but this skirt looks really cute with my Sailor top. I actually managed to unintentionally make a mini capsule wardrobe out of the Sailor top, this skirt, and then another skirt and shirt that will soon be blogged. Always nice to have choices that work together!

Summary:
Fabric: 1.5 yards of black textured poly with satin back - $11.25
Pattern: Hollyburn Skirt by Sewaholic
Notions: 9" black zipper - $0.10, black knit stay tape - $0.10, black thread - $0.50
Time:
Total Cost: $11.95