Vogue 8499 – The Skirt, In Black

Final piece for Mini-Wardrobe, 2008 — and it’s still an hour and forty-five minutes to the deadline! Whew.

I have a fantasy about this skirt. It’s constructed with long, narrow pockets attached to the side panels. I want to go to an artisan bakery, pick up a couple of incredible baguettes, and bring them home in these pockets. Or maybe put a baguette in one pocket, and a couple of smaller chunks of cheese in the other. This is a garment that seems perfectly suited to my favorite portable meal.

When my spouse saw these pockets on my muslin, he suggested sewing smaller pockets inside the large ones. I thought that was a brilliant suggestion, so that’s exactly what I did this time around. I love a little hidden, subversive flash, so I chose a cotton print for the secret pockets. Here’s how they looked as I assembled them:

I cut them to fit the side panels, added a small pleat in the middle, hemmed the top edge, and double-stitched the bottom edge before folding them up. Now I’ve got functional pockets inside the funky large ones.

Otherwise, the skirt is pretty much as suggested by Vogue, except that I shortened it by two inches, and used strips of grosgrain ribbon along the top edges of the zippers. The pattern calls for leaving them ‘raw’, but that’s not a look I fancy. At least not with ordinary zippers.

This is the final piece for my entries in PR’s Mini-Wardrobe Contest. Talk about a photo finish! Now, I’ve got to get the last two reviews onto PR, and get my pictures into the gallery.

Fantasy Realized!

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2 Responses to Vogue 8499 – The Skirt, In Black

  1. Noile says:

    Hi, sepianne — the first time I made this skirt, they drove me nuts, too. I was over-thinking them. I’m not sure how to help, but try this: complete step 3 (folding seam allowances), and step 4 (attaching one edge of zipper).

    Now, take out your tissue pattern piece for the pocket (no. 3), and place it next to your cut piece.

    Fold the tissue as if you’re doing step 3, and then, using your tissue, match those circles as described in step 5.

    It looks odd, doesn’t it? The edges don’t seem to match up right — but trust the pattern. If you’ve got those large circles matched, it will work.

    Once I saw it done in tissue, I finally got it, and could do it with the fabric. Those odd edges — the ones that don’t seem to match up right — are actually the seam allowance that lets you attach the pocket to the skirt.

    I hope this helps — I’m sure photos would be best, but they’re not happening this week, I’m afraid!

    Best of luck — this is such a great skirt! It’s going to be worth the trouble, I promise.

  2. sepianne says:

    hi, your skirt looks fabulous. i’m trying to make it myself, but being a new sewist, i’m having the devil of a time understandinthe instructions on mitering the pockets. any suggestions?

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