Striped Skirt with embellishments - left front

I have always loved Marcy Tilton’s Vogue Skirt Pattern (Vogue 8561).  The pattern must have been in The Stash since it was first printed.  I just could not find the perfect fabric.

Vogue 8561

There is one fabric that I will break the Destashification Rules for and that is Stretch Linen, especially when less than $2.00 per yard.  This pin-striped Stretch Linen was in two pieces, but felt I had finally found the perfect fabric for the skirt.

So I took it home and pre-washed it…..and one piece shrank considerably while the other piece did not! The stripes on the two pieces were no longer the same width apart!

I almost gave up on project until I realized that the difference in the stripes could be used to emphasize the design elements of the skirt.

Striped skirts with embellishments - front

Before I started cutting, though, I went to Sewing Pattern Review to review comments of others who had made the skirt.  After reviewing all the pictures, I realized the March Tilton pattern was a straighter skirt than I had envisioned.

Neue Mode 22678

No problem, I was sure I had a long full skirt pattern in The Stash.  Unbelievably, I did not!  So I downloaded this pattern and created similar design elements to the original Marcy Tilton pattern.

Striped Skirt Front Pocket

The pockets were cut directly from the Vogue pattern.  However, I used a very simple Foundation Piecing method to make them.  I scanned in the pocket pieces and then reduced them until they were the correct size.  After printing them out, I could sew directly on the printed line to get the curved and pointed shape perfectly!

Marcy Tilton’s instructions for cutting the bias pieces provided guidance.  I cut the pieces larger than required, steam ironed them and then made the final cuts!

In addition to fabric, my stash contains numerous embellishments.  I used beads, buttons, buckles, and ribbons to embellish the skirt.  The X’s on the pockets and topstitching followed guidance in the original Vogue patterns.   I placed small pieces of scotch tape over the pocket edges and drew the X’s on the tape to reduce “mishaps”.

Striped Skirt - back pocket

Stretch Linen is very comfortable, but being white it required a lining.  The Stash provided a white cotton to use for that purpose.

I wore the skirt to my daughter’s graduation dinner with a black top and received a number of compliments.

(…and I would probably break the Destashification Rules for Stretch Silk, too!)