Mabel Skirt From Colette Patterns~ Part 1

Happy Friday chickadees! I am so happy to see the weekend and to spend time nuzzled up with my little family during the inevitable cold snap that'll be hovering over Nashville the next couple of days. I have some really fun stuff to show you! I finished a couple of skirts and I wanted to give you a rundown of how they came together. I've been working on Mabel by Colette Patterns. 

A super-simple, over the weekend (if not one evening) skirt made from knit material. It was fast, easy and great practice with knit fabric (which I am slowly falling in love with). Colette Patterns are kind enough to start including plus sizes in their patterns and this skirt truly is one of the most true to size things I've ever sewn (for my body). Knits are so forgiving and I totally re-learned this lesson with this skirt. Lol, seriously, keep reading...

See this skirt? This is NOT what it looked like when I was finished. I read the measurements and I noticed that the waist measurements were about 6" shorter than my measurements required. Even at the largest size (3x). Sigh. Whatever, I thought this might be a perfect time to practice my slash and spread method just at the waist since the hips should fit perfectly. Boy, this couldn't have been more wrong. 

The finished product was HUGE! Way huge. I was going to show a picture of me wearing it but I seriously couldn't keep it on without holding it up with both hands. I took the sides in 6" (3" on each side) and it fit. I still think it might be a little big though. The material I used was not the solid knit that it should've been. I used a buttery soft, floppy knit that holds it's shape but stretches a little more than necessary. Lesson learned! Should've listened to the suggestion on the pattern. Ah, well. It's still cute!

I really love my little Mabel mini. I'm not going to be able to pass a gorgeous knit at the fabric store without wanting to make it into one of these skirts. Some people complained about the waistband being too thin but I rather like it. I didn't end up using the twin needles to hem the bottom but I do want to figure out a little bit prettier of a stitch for the hem. I'm going to look into it.

My friend Lauren (aka Lladybird) has me thinking about getting a serger and this skirt REALLY had me obsessing over the idea. Part 2 is version 3, the pencil skirt with the awesome faux pleat. I could not be happier about how it turned out! 

End review: kick-ass, instant gratification skirt that will TOTALLY fit. It's forgiving, flattering and awesome. Stay tuned for part 2 (the pencil skirt to rule all pencil skirts)