Slightly skirting the issue

 Out with a skirt and back with a skirt, and yet not a single skirt in between.

I have a weird love-hate relationship with denim skirts. They bite me repeatedly but I just can't leave 'em alone. The idea - or ideal - is that kicky little number, that "shucks I just threw this on" jam that manages to be casual yet cool, versatile yet interesting, goes with everything but is never bland.  It only took writing it down to see how impossible it is. And yet, the vision remains, tantalisingly close and achingly far.  It's almost the whole wardrobe dilemma in a nutshell.

Mostly I keep the yearning under control, but like any urge it will occasionally have its day. And this year there are all those button through skirts. Button through skirts....hmmmm...

Oh, and did I mention that I don't much like indigo denim and would much rather have black, if-it's-not-too-much-trouble? Last year on one of my rare, teeth-gritted and vowing never again, jaunts into Lincraft to unsuccessfully try to buy a zip(!), I found instead a denim sale and bought a few (oh ok, 5) metres of what I thought was a nice weight, slight stretch dark grey denim to replace my latest pair of slightly clapped out blackish jeans (the other holy grail. sigh). Bought, smuggled in, washed, it sat in my stash to wait for inspiration.

And then recently I pulled it out to make a pair of jeans for my daughter.  I cut a pair for me at the same time, though I've not yet been inspired to finish them. And there was a length left over. Not enough for trousers.  Too cold for shorts.  And all those button throughs.

Reader, I cracked again and made this:

Did I really just do this again?

I went through 8 years of Burdas until I found a skirt pattern that I could use to make it. I modified skirt 119 from October 2011.  I daresay the perfect pattern exists, either pre 2008 or post April 2016, but I did with what I had and that was ok. All I had to do was add a centre front button placket and lengthen it not very much, and I was golden.

http://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/skirt-with-patch-pockets-102011

patch pockets and steampunky buttons

internal bracing - bad photo but all I've got

Except for the size I cut - I'm inexorably expanding to size 44 but I'm not there yet so that was a centre back flat felled seam done twice in denim, thank you very much. But we will gloss over that outbreak of swearing.

Rear view not showing seam very well

Though I've worn it several times, I'm still wondering whether to add jeans style rear pockets. They're made and sitting in my sewing room waiting for me to decide.  Though looking at this photo I think it could use the detail there. And pockets always = good, yes?






So here it is, a shin length button through denim skirt. Part Mary Poppins. Part steampunk. I don't know if I love it or hate it, but I certainly wear it. And I did receive an unsolicitation today, so that was nice.

Does kind of work with my bike, see behind.

Oh - and it's not black or even grey.  It's dark indigo- or d'oh, for short. Sigh. Maybe it would work in a grey flannel? I've plenty of that.

Details:
pattern: Burda 2011-10-119
fabric: cotton-elastane stretch denim from Lincraft in INDIGO
buttons: steampunky metal ones from Big W
shirt: rayon made in the great hiatus. nearly worn out.