Two skirts

I made up two skirts in the last two days, although neither one really goes terribly well with all the tops I've been making. The first one is an old favorite pattern & this iteration is a direct replacement for one that pretty much fell apart. Simplicity 4044, bias cut a-line skirt. I had a black version of this which I made in 2007 that was done in with too much pilling on the fabric and the waist was just shot. I tossed it a while ago and was feeling its absence, so here it is again. No idea what the fabric is; it feels like a poly blend, and I assume I bought it at JoAnns at some point. This isn't a great picture, but you can see how it has a nice flare. The panels are cut on a slight bias, so it hangs nicely even in a cheap fabric like this; the skirt is hemmed by hand since I didn't think anything else would work well.

Next is a Lisette pattern, Simplicity 2211, view B.

I've made the shirt before, but never the skirt. It's a great piece and goes together really well, and of course all the seams give you a lot of opportunity for adjusting fit as you go, which is why I just skipped the muslin stage. Sadly I made it out of a patterned stretch cotton so you can't see the panels or the tabs! They are there, really. This fabric is from Paron's if I'm remembering correctly.

Here's a closeup of one of the tabs. This is like Where's Waldo, unfortunately, but if you squint you can see a tab. The skirt is lined with navy blue ambiance which I still detest sewing with but still love wearing. I thought about skipping a lining, since I have plenty of slips, but often with lower waisted skirts I find that the skirt slides down and the slip rides up my waist and I get bunched slip just under my waist, which just feels and looks weird. The skirts lined in ambiance are the ones I reach for most often in my closet, so that was clearly the best choice, no matter what I thought about sewing a multi-paneled skirt from it. It came out ok in the end- not too fun, but not the worst. Both the lining & the skirt are hemmed with my coverstitch. I so love that machine!!

I've been trying to concentrate on making things I'll really wear often. Having paused in sewing for a while I had a chance to notice what I really wear and what just sits in my closet, and I sent to Goodwill everything that I honestly wasn't ever putting on. That left me with only a few things, but they're ones that I wear just as more or more than really nice pieces I've bought. I kind of feel like I'm at a point where I finally have decent enough technique that I can reliably make clothes that are well constructed and finished. What I need to work on is choosing fabrics and patterns that fit what I like to wear, instead of being sucked into making something that just doesn't work. More boring wardrobe classics in cuts that fit me, fewer flashy dresses that I never put on, or something like that.

One last picture- the pretty bird fabric I used as a facing for the black skirt.