Vogue 1247 Rachel Comey top & self-drafted straight skirt

The Rachel Comey Vogue 1247 top is finished!  Yay! I'm wearing it over a rtw white tank with a self-drafted elastic-waist straight skirt.

I lost count of the time put into this, but cannot blame the pattern.... it was my slippery, slidey, liquidy type fabric I chose. 

Everybody told me it ran big..... everything I read said it ran big.... yes, it runs big.  NEWLOOK patterns cut in a size 10 with a 1/4" seam fit me perfectly, so after agonizing on what to do with this pattern, dug in and cut a size 10 sewn with the french seams per the instructions.  In hindsight, I could've cut a size 6 and been okay.  Will do that next time.

The illustrious, wonderful pattern.

Originally chose this fabric for this pattern not only because of the silky drape, but also because I was so nervous about all those converging french seams matching up 'perfectly'. Can't see anything here can you?  I should've had more confidence in myself...

....because inside out you can see how all the converging french seams match perfectly.  Now I wish I'd used a fabric where you can actually 'see' the seams. :)

Modified the neckline by pressing the binding up, not turning it in.  This helped a little with the 'lowness'.... but not much.  Spent way too much time trying to hand sew this seam so no seam would be seen from the inside, but finally gave up and serged, then sewed flat.  Geez.  Can't see it anyway when it's on!!  I also left off the sleeve cuff and simply serged and turned up 1".

Now let's talk about the little straight skirt.  For as much as I did NOT like this the day I made it, I now LOVE it!!!  I've already worn it a full day, including out to dinner, and found it comfortable and easy to wear.  It is perfect with this flowy top.

Shannon, at MushyWear, was my inspiration for my skirt as she's talked so much about making her skirts from a simple yard of fabric, sewing the elastic to the fabric top, turn down and stitch.  So, I had some blue woven cotton leftover from recent pants, measured the length I wanted, added in for the 1" elastic, cut a rectangle, serged the sides and the top (and lining at this point), turned down and made a casing then stitched and ran my elastic through.  I was nervous about sewing the elastic straight to the skirt fabric as I sometimes like to 'shift' the elastic around in the casing to fit the curves of my body.

I've spoiled myself by adding linings to all the skirts I make now, and love the fact there is no half-slip elastic at the waist anymore.  In our miserable hot and humid Southern summers, this is so much more comfortable.  In this skirt, after serging each of the fabrics separately at their side seams, treated them as one fabric at the waist and turned-down casing for the elastic.  The skirt and lining each have a small 1/4" rolled hem(s).

In these elastic-waist skirts, it's nice to add a little ribbon to tell the back from the front.  As a slow sewer, I impressed myself with making the skirt from concept idea, to start, to finish all in one day.  It is a perfect little straight skirt for me.

This also completes my June Make a Garment a Month Challenge.  July was a crazy month so I'll just skip that and look to August's challenge.

I really do love my new outfit!  This is different than anything I've made before and feel like I've improved my skill level with this top.

============================================================
Cost of Garment:
Fabric for top:  $  4.50
Vogue Pattern:  $15.00  *I was so excited about this pattern, I paid full price*
self-drafted skirt:  Free using leftover fabric(s).
Notions:  @$1.00 for elastic
============================================================
Hope everyone is staying cool (or warm for my Australian friends!) this weekend!