Vogue 8426: Skirt (Fitting & Alterations)

As part of Faye's fantastic Carnival of Skirts Sew Along, I've decided to work on some skirts as a way to get my sewjo working again.  I didn't stop sewing completely, but I was impaled by indecision so this sew along popped up at the right time.  On my radar are:  Colette Pattern's Beignet, New Look 6130 and Vogue 8426.

I love the style lines and overall look of Vogue 8426.  Plus, with so many opportunities for delicious topstitching, how can I not love it?  I've had the pattern for a while and after perusing the numerous reviews on PR, I decided to give it a try.

In fitting skirts, I always have to make a 1.25" full seat adjustment.  The alteration is easy to do if the back pattern piece is simple.  The back of this skirt has three pieces (back, middle back, and side back) and all but one of the seams is straight.  Additonally, the skirt's back yoke appears to have a deeper dip.

I had to think about how to make the full-seat adjustment on with these pieces.  First, I made a muslin to see if I even needed the adjustment.  In all of the reviews I read skimmed through, no one mentioned needing this alteration.  As this side view of my muslin shows, I definitely need it.  It's too not extreme, but you can tell that the hem isn't level. 

I pondered for a couple of days on how to make the adjustment.  I figured that the adjustment could be made in one of two places:  at the yoke seam or a couple of inches below the seam.
 
In trying to do the wedge alteration below the yoke seam, I created a hot mess of uneven and difficult-to-true pattern pieces.  I attempted to do the alteration at the black line seen in the picture to the left.  That part wasn't so bad.  I ran into trouble trying to remove the extra width created at the CB from the side seam.  I couldn't get the angle of the side seam correct and didn't feel comfortable with proceeding.  So I scratched that idea and decided to do the adjustment at the yoke seam.


There is nothing scientific about this alteration.  I added 5/8" to the bottom of the yoke, tapering to nothing at the side seam.  I did the same thing to the center and middle back pieces, again, tapering to nothing at the side seam of the middle back (curved piece above).  As you can see I did this right on the fabric, so obviously I'm not that stressed about it!

 

The hem still appears to be off because I haven't attached the yokes.  I am trying to decide if I want one or two rows of topstitching.

That's all I have for now.  Hopefully I'll be able to work on this in the next couple of days.  I have lots of work to do and sewing will likely be put on hold.

Until next time, be well!

L