Growing up I hated skirts. I couldn't think of anything worse to wear when swinging on monkey bars, climbing slides or running around. After witnessing a girl in my school accidentally having the back of her skirt tucked under her backpack and having her whole backside exposed, she must have not noticed it when she was putting the backpack on, also made me super paranoid about wearing skirts. You have to behave like a lady when you wear one and I think I had trouble with that.
But over the years, and since my monkey bar days are behind me, I slowly grew fond of skirts and looking like a lady (or pretending to look like one). This is when I realized there was a definite lack of skirts in my closet and I decided to remedy that.
I discovered Sewaholic a while back and I was addicted since. Tasia is very talented and the things she makes are very inspiring! I also love her tutorials and I absolutely adore all her patterns. She drafts specifically for pear shaped ladies and unfortunately I am not quite pear shaped. But I really wanted to give this Rae Skrit a try! It's easy, super cute and absolutely versatile.
I ended up going with version A (B is slightly fuller and C is longer). It seemed to have the right fullness and length. The only thing I changed was elastic waistband. I decided to omit and substitute it with a regular waistband. I do not like adding too much unnecessary bulk to my waist and I also didn't have the right elastic size in my stash.
I cut the pattern off where the elastic waistband would start, added seam allowance and cut a separate waistband based on my waist measurement. I also cut the center back piece as two separate pieces since I wanted to put zipper closure in the center back seam.
I didn't follow the instructions, so I can't speak to their clarity but they seemed pretty straight forward when I looked at them. I sewed up all my seams first, except for the back seam and zipper. Then I gathered the upper edge of the skirt and attached it to my waistband. After I attached my zipper and sewed center back seam. Voila!
I love how this skirt turned out! It has just enough fullness and flare without adding too much bulk at the waist. I find that although I love my regular gathered rectangle skirts, they do tend to add bulk at the waistband and make my tummy look a little bigger. This skirt does not do it. I definitely feel like a lady when I am wearing it!
In the future I think I will add inseam pockets to this skirt. I love my pockets and if I can add them to anything I will! I already have plans on making another one, as well as one or both other versions.
Love, Anya