Simplicity 2305 - Gray & purple border print Cynthia Rowley skirt

***An updated picture of me wearing this can be found here***

Okay, before I get a bunch of comments about how you can't believe I've finished a garment after just having a baby, know that this was 95% complete before I went to the hospital. All it needed was the waistband to be slip-stitched down and the hook applied. Which took me 5 days to get around to so yes, the baby is taking up most of my time.

This fabric was a recent impulse purchase from FabricMart.com. By impulse I mean that I hadn't had it in my wishlist awaiting a sale. And it was such a last minute decision that, for some reason, I only got one yard. What was I thinking? There's not much you can do with only one yard, even if it is 58" wide fabric. Or not much that's very interesting, at any rate. Enter this pattern that I had originally bought to use for view C in a knit. The bottom border print was used for the body of the skirt and the top of the fabric for the curved casing. And I had millimeters of fabric to spare!

I have several Cynthia Rowley patterns, but this is the first one I've used. It went together very easily and I made only very minimal changes:

1. Lengthened it by 2". Even with winter tights an 18" skirt with curved side vents is too short for me.
2. Did not interface the curved binding. This fabric is a rather thick charmeuse, but I really can't see needing a stiffened hemline with a thinner fabric.
3. Finished the inside seams with bias binding for a neat finish.
4. Lengthened the waistband for fit.
5. Made the waistband the same width as the fabric binding.

The back is the exact same as the front. This skirt is really easy to fit since you've only to adjust it for your hips and waist measurements. Here at the side you can see the cute curved hem and fabric bindings that are topstitched in place.

This inside view shows the bias binding used at the side seams. The waistband was slip-stitched and the slanted exposed fabric of the bottom side seams was whip-stitched down.

I'm off to the Labor Day sale at Hancock's to pick up some 50% off notions and a Vogue pattern. Here's a gratuitous baby picture for you. (Thanks for the outfit, mom!)