New self-made skirt

New self-made skirt, originally uploaded by Cohabitating_Closet.

Spring break will be over soon, and while my conference paper still needs editing, I do have stuff to show for my time. Like this new skirt. I recently bought and read (like an academic, I took notes and used sticky pads in the margins) Wendy Mullin's Sew U books. While I like to run before I can walk, I started small, using cheap fabric for the simple A line skirt project. I made some mistakes, read some of the directions in the wrong order, but hey, everything turned out OK in the end. This is a highly flawed garment but I'm exceedingly proud of it.
Basically, Wendy Mullins explains that an A line skirt is a triangle with the tops cut out. The most complicated part was probably the zipper and the facing around the waist. The directions were all on one small page and I kept reading and checking the book glossary before I figured stuff out. I am impatient and expect my brain to work super fast all the time, but I feel more confident about these things for next time.
Fabric is quite expensive, and lots of stuff gets lost in the cutting process. Luckily, Modeani fabrics on 39th St. has a lot of cheap and on sale fabrics. (I've heard good things about the Chinatown fabric stores too, but that visit will take more planning). This light, woven and slightly stretchy blue and black mini plaid is not exactly my style, but I think it will pair nicely with cowboy boots too.

I probably did this zipper wrong. It's supposed to be a visible, not invisible, zipper. But it works, so I'm going to be proud anyway.

I did the lazy girl seam finishing. Hey, those pinking shears costs more than anything I'm wearing.

We're off to do more home improvement stuff. This is what we do during our breaks. The cohabitator LOVES handy stuff. Perhaps it's because he makes his living off academicky stuff too.

Scarf: Urban Outfitters sale, 2 seasons ago
T shirt: borrowed (permanently) from sister
Obi Belt: Etsy
Skirt: self made, pattern from Sew U (by Wendy Mullins)
Flats: Target