Vogue 1333 Sandra Betzina Skirt

I've been wanting to stitch this skirt up for quite awhile, but couldn't decide what fabric to use.    Mainly because this skirt is a fabric hog in requiring approximately 3 1/2 yards of 60" fabric in the mid to upper size ranges.  (I made a size F, which is roughly equivalent to my measurements on the chart.)  I just didn't have anything really suitable in stash that was that much yardage.  Finally, I pulled this fabric off the shelf that I got from FabricMart about a year ago--there was more than enough yardage and I wanted to see how the skirt worked up in a border print.  The fabric is a dark gray cotton/poly/lycra faille with an embroidered border of flowers in colors ranging from white to pink to fuchsia to burgundy, and vines in green.  Totally NOT my usual in fabric choice (other than it being faille--I love faille).  I'm not usually one to pick floral motifs in my fabrics, but this one just kind of pulled at something in me.  I'm glad I went with the whim, though, because I love this fabric and I love how the skirt turned out.  (this knit top actually matches one of the colors in the flowers, even though it doesn't seem so in the photo)

Kitty had to help with the photo shoot.  Everyone, meet Ash.  She is 8 months old and is learning how to be a sewing room kitty.  Some days are better than others.

Side view:

This is pattern basically is a simple elastic waist skirt with an overlay piece that has sewn tucks in three places.  I really like how the tucks/pleats cause the side drape to fall in nice folds and give interest to the skirt.  Of course, the overall volume of the skirt will look different depending on the fabric you choose.  You want something with a nice drape; anything with a stiffer hand might tend to look like you are wearing a one-sided pannier.  My hips and behind don't need that kind of help.  Actually, the tucks lay very nicely along the back without adding too much extra bulk.

The back:

As I noted above, I wanted to see how this pattern made up in a border print.  I think the answer is "fabulous!"  Note that the pattern pieces are not a straight line across the bottom where the border is placed; they both curve a bit.  This worked alright in my fabric because I had a couple of inches of plain fabric at the selvedge to work with in placing the hem.  Some border prints may be a little trickier for placement.

Other than the layout and cutting (this pattern essentially is just two really big pattern pieces cut single layer, so you need a fairly good sized cutting space and no help from kitty), this skirt is very fast and easy to stitch together.  I think this would make a great skirt for summer in a lighter weight and color of fabric, and I'm considering options in the fabric collection for a summer version.