Zebras

So, zebra print skirt.

Hold on: not just zebra print but ZEBRA print.

I'm not normally one for animal print but I couldn't resist this.  It's another one from my California haul in the summer, from The Fabric Store in LA.

Anyway, this skirt is significant not just due to the whole zebras but also because it is the first thing that I have made from a totally self-drafted pattern. It's nothing very special, nothing more than my sloper with a (too short) waistband attached. But for a very very long time I have wanted to be able to design my own clothes from scratch and this is the start of that journey, which I'm excited about. 

I did a patternmaking course at Parsons at The New School in Manhattan last winter and it's taken me this long to actually draft my own sloper and make something from it. Fortunately, my pathological need to take ridiculous amounts of notes at everything I've ever studied paid off as I have step-by-step drafting instructions. Which is just as well as most of the time I can't remember what I did yesterday.  

Anyway, I'm delighted how well the skirt fits.  It accommodates the major curve in my lower spine that most RTW clothes don't, which always mean they are tight on the hips and large round the waist.  So this is a win. 

I fully lined the skirt and so it looks neat inside and all would be fab if I hadn't miscalculated the length of the waistband so it doesn't overlap and then stitched it wonkily so one side is narrower than the other. And then the button loop I made to compensate for the lack of overlap is too small for the button.  How is it I can get the complicated bits right but mess up on the supposedly easy bits? Oh and it's a bit short.

Despite its imperfections I've worn it a lot and have in mind that I could make a matching skirt for my daughter. Yes really. 

See you soon x