Vogue 9154 - Textured wool skirt

Finding wool clothing in south Texas is just about impossible. Of course our winters are pretty mild and don't last half the year, but it does get cold here. Well, cold to me anyway. If I want wool clothing I have to make it myself, which I am perfectly okay with as it's always such a well behaved fabric. I am really into textures lately, so when I spotted this striped novelty wool-acrylic blend at Moodfabrics.com, I quickly bought 1.5 yards without anything in mind.

I decided to use Vogue 9154 and make the knee length version of the skirt. I really like the way the stripes come together in chevrons at CF and CB, and horizontally on the sides. The yoke has interesting seam lines as well, although those can not be easily seen with this fabric. I'm definitely making one of the longer views in the near future in a solid color to show them off better. Perhaps I'll add some topstitching as well.

This fabric might look striped from a distance but it's actually rows of yarn secured to an olive green backing. It's a fun texture that doesn't add much bulk. I'm really not sure how much acrylic content this fabric has. I was about to sweat to death while taking these pictures, so rest assured it is really warm. This wool pressed really well but it is somewhat thick to sew with. I had to wrangle it under my machine foot, but once in place it fed through easily. I sewed my seams using bright blue thread so that I could see it easily if I needed to rip it out. I also stitched all the seams with a 4mm stitch length.

I cut a straight size 12 and took a 1.5" hem instead of the 5/8" hem in the pattern directions. I like shorter skirts for winter when they'll likely be worn with tights. On my body, knee length skirts paired with tights make me look like I'm wearing my grandma's clothes. My maroon top was made this past January and is also wool. Can you see the perspiration forming on my forehead? Lol.

I have found that skirts without waistbands tend to slip around when worn over tights, so I wanted something on the inside that had a little gripping power. I chose a cobalt blue tricot lining from my stash for the inside facing. In order to give the waist some stability and prevent it from stretching out, I added clear elastic to the seamline. Early on I realized I was not going to be able to finish the seams with my typical overlocking stitch, so I cut strips of the tricot and did a Hong Kong finish instead. I also finished off the bottom hem the same way.

Although my camera is making this blue appear much brighter then it is in person, I quite like the pop of color on the inside. I'm also going to explore making more unlined sweater knits now that I know how to neatly finish off the edges.

Note: This fabric was purchased with my Mood Fabrics monthly allowance, as part of my participation in the Mood Sewing Network.