Corduroy Madness (part the second)

It will come as a surprise to no one that I have a weakness for the color rust.  It is one of the few "earth" tones that I can wear and not look washed out (jewel tones suit my coloring better) and I find rust to be incredibly versatile, particularly in a skirt.  So much so, that I've had several versions over the years. 

(I looked at those posts again last night as I was thinking about this new make, and realized that my style has changed in the last four or five years, and while I've learned a few more sewing tricks, I'm still kind of tracking in one lane skill-wise.  That's okay, though.  That's my season of life, and I'd rather make stuff that I wear out than stuff that is complicated just for its own sake).  

Over the past year, I've thrifted or bought more than I've sewn, in part because my body has changed faster than I cared to sew, and in part because those changes made me unsure what to wear to feel good in my body.  Thrifting is a relatively easy way to try new things without a lot of time and energy.  That said, skirts remain the bane of my existence, because most ready-to-wear skirts are not drafted for my proportions.  

It's the same problem I have with pants (although worse, because at least with a skirt, I just have to make the hip-to-waist ratio work out.  With pants, I also have to deal with the rise, which on most pants is too short for me and doesn't leave enough room in my seat, but still gapes badly at the waist.  I don't love wearing pants anyway).

 

But I digress.  When I first got back into sewing for myself, I bought a vintage straight skirt pattern, Anne Adams 9481, and have been working with it as a straight skirt block ever since.  The pattern has gone through a number of modifications over the years as my measurements and style preferences have changed. I've basically redrafted the thing at this point, but I have a skirt block that comes out pretty much spot on every time, so that's a win in my book.  

 

 

All that is to say, this rust corduroy skirt is fairly similar to the earlier iterations of it, and uses the same fabric, but it is great for my today body.  I really like the fit and look of it, and while I need to move the button in slightly for a better fit in the waist, the skirt is very comfortable and the length is perfect for my preference right now.  (You might recognize the button from this dress).  I have a pretty deep hem on it, so if I decide to go back to below-the knee skirts again, I can easily let it out.   

I used Kaufman's midweight 14-wale cotton corduroy, finger-pressed everything as I went along, and zig-zagged the seam allowances.  I omitted the back seam again and put the zip on the side for fewer seam allowances.  On this style of skirt, with my figure, it is better not to have a center back seam, as it wears faster than the rest of the skirt over time because of the stress from sitting and moving.  

 

I made the pockets with a diagonal slash rather than a curve, just for something different, and interfaced the waistband with petersham ribbon as usual.  I graded all the darts to make sure the waistband wasn't too bulky.  I sewed it with a jeans needle which made the sewing go like butter.  The buttonholer still did not want to play nice with the cord, so I hand-worked the button hole with some embroidery floss. 

(I'm going to blog the scarf during November's yarn along--sorry to wear it so many days in a row as a tease and not talk about it!  I lurve it).  Today I'm going to work on the spruce cord version of this skirt, so stay tuned!