Corduroy Madness (part the fourth)

Okay, so I made another corduroy skirt.  In my defense, the navy one I made in October ended up not being a great skirt.  I did wear it about once a week or more this past month, and I love the color.  The fabric is buttery soft and beautiful, but it is a bit too lightweight for this style of skirt.  As a result, it just bunches and rides up and the waistband Does Not Behave during the day, despite rather strong petersham interfacing.  I think the 21-wale cord would work better as a dress, but since I don't have a winter dress pattern I love right now, I'm just going to stick that in my back pocket for future reference.

So, that left me short a cold-weather blue skirt.  I went back to the Kaufman 14 wale corduroy line to see what options I had.  The navy colorway was out of stock and the same fabric on etsy was eye-wateringly expensive, so I decided to take a chance on the Pacific colorway.  I was concerned it might be too light, too Delft or something, but actually, it is a really gorgeous shade of blue.  The thread that coordinated best was a bright navy thread (as opposed to midnight navy).  I think it will work well with my cold weather clothing and is different enough from my denim skirt to feel fresh.  

I decided to go back to a yoked pocket on this version, because I prefer them, and using the Hollyburn pocket meant I could avoid finishing the side seam (in the Hollyburn pocket, the yoke and pocket bag are all in one, so you just finish the bottom edge, as the side and top edges get put into the side seam and waistband.  With corduroy, I'm always cognizant of how many seams I need to finish and try to reduce that where possible.  Hence the side zip and omitted center back seam.

 

I omitted the button closure on this one, primarily because I have about four big fissures on the tips of my fingers right now and working a buttonhole through thick corduroy just wasn't going to happen.  As it was, sewing on the skirt hook and snap were tough enough.  

 

(And yes, I do have cream for my hands, but it doesn't help that much.  My hands are like this all winter).

 

 

My only complaint about this skirt (and it is minor) is that it is just slightly too big in the waist.  My oregano skirt has a similar issue, although I did just move the button over and add a snap, so it might be okay now.  I've already adjusted the darts and side seams on this blue skirt, but can't quite get the fit perfect.  As with anything fitted through my waist and hips, the differential is difficult because my torso height is in my rise, and there is between 10-12" of difference between my full hip and natural waist measurement.  (I think my waist measurement might be changing a bit too, so the difference is a little more pronounced than it has been recently).

I suspect that a trip through the washer and dryer might sort it out, so I'm hesitant to unpick the waistband and fiddle with it until I try that.  (And there's the not insignificant issue that my waistline tends to expand and contract a little more than average, so perhaps having a bit of extra room isn't a bad thing).  It does make for a comfortable skirt!

I think I can adjust my pattern for next time (I'm strongly considering a wool flannel version) and see if I can get the fit even better.  In any case, this is plenty wearable, and I'm happy to have it in my closet.  (And yes, my name is Juliana and I have a stripey shirt problem).