Pencil Skirt: Construction

One of the reasons I'm so proud of this skirt (aside from the fact that it's awesome) is because I put a lot of thought and consideration into it.  All too often, I rush headlong into a project without thinking things through, and then don't get the stellar result I was hoping for.  This time, at each stage I stopped to consider how to proceed.

My original intent was to make this a lined skirt, just because I usually line skirts.  But after I stopped to think about it, I realized a few things: one, this is stretch fabric, and I didn't have any stretch lining.  Also:  it's denim.  Maybe they exist, but I've never seen a lined denim skirt.  So I scrapped the lining and decided to concentrate on keeping the insides neat.

Here's a quick rundown of the order in which I constructed the skirt - it's a little different from the instructions (which I've now read).

1.  Sew darts.
2.  Apply fusible knit strip to entire center back edges.
3.  Finish back and side seam allowances on serger.
4.  Insert invisible zip.
5.  Close center back seam.
6.  Sew side seams.
7.  Finish bottom edge on serger.
8.  Fold waistband in half lengthwise, apply fusible interfacing to one half.
9.  Finish un-interfaced side of waistband on serger, removing 1/4" of width.
10.  Stitch interfaced side of waistband to skirt, then grade seam allowances.
11.  Stitch waistband edges closed.
12.  Fold waistband to inside, pin, then stitch in the ditch from outside to attach.
13.  Press up hem 2" then stitch down with coverstitch or twin needle.
14.  Sew hook and eye at back closure.

It looks like a lot of steps, but they're all easy, short steps :-)  And of course there's pressing after each step.

Now, some particulars.

I noticed that I've been getting kind of sloppy with my darts lately, so that they're dimpling at the ends.  I took extra care this time - I didn't want any dimples!  I usually don't bother with shortening the stitch length for the last 1/2" of the dart, because I invariably forget to increase it again before the next one.  But this time I did, and it paid off.

Sunni has a lot of great information on pencil skirt sewing on her blog.  In one of her posts I read that she uses fusible tape not only on the zipper edge, but all the way down the back of the skirt to give extra stability.  So I did that too.  I must say that ever since watching her Craftsy class, I've been using the tape on my zippers and it makes a big difference on how they sit in the fabric - so much more smooth.

Here's a picture of all the serger-finished edges.  I went with 4-thread instead of my normal 3 for finishing, because of the weight of the fabric.  You can also see the tape going all the way down to the hem.

All these pictures were taken after the skirt was finished, not during construction.  So I don't have a picture of the waistband in progress.  But here's how it looks from the inside and outside.  I chose to serge the bottom inside edge and stitch it down with stitch-in-the-ditch rather than folding the inside bottom edge in to eliminate bulk.  I really like how it worked out, and it was faster and easier than doing it the normal way.

Here's the coverstitched hem:

And finally, here's a shot of the whole skirt:

And with that, I think I've finally exhausted all I wanted to say about this skirt!