'Meh' no more

Grrrr! I had hoped to post this week about Simplicity 4896, the 1940s coat which I seem to have been making forever. Unfortunately even though I've 'only' got the lining to make up, this is taking far longer than I had expected.

So instead here's a short post about a quick win (yea!); fixing the less-than-successful cotton skirt I made back in April, otherwise known as The 'Meh' Skirt.

Now that the weather has turned cooler, I remembered the suggestion made by Kate of Sewing At Damgate, who thought that wearing the skirt with thick tights and a thicker jumper might be a better look. So I tried the skirt on and, while trying to work out what alterations it needed to fix the various problems, turned the waistband under. . . .

Bingo! It was as if the Good Dressmaking Fairy had waved her magic wand. All the fit issues simply vanished. The annoying, neither-one-thing-or-another length was transformed into something I like.

It fits!

Confession time: I've retained the waistband, and just altered the fasten (a hook and bar fortunately, not a button and buttonhole) and secured it to the lining in a few places. At some point I might shorten the skirt a little bit more, so that the tiny bits of blue flower at the bottom are removed.

I am unreasonably happy with this simple fix! I still love the fabric; and teamed with an old jumper of Mr Tulip's, my favourite green Splendette earrings, and a necklace I quickly made from glass beads from my local fabric shop, it makes for a perfect retro look.

Happy, happy, happy!

So there you have it; proof that revisiting a failure after a cooling off period can really work. Thanks for the suggestion Kate!