The Sidone Hiking Skirt, part 2 -- Make It Work!

Since I'm watching part of the PR marathon leading up to the finale tonight, figured it was an appropriate title.


This is my inspiration skirt, kindly lent to me by K. So you can see how it attaches on the inside (a tab with velcro). And the blue stuff inside is kind of like a suedecloth to prevent chafing from the quick-dry, not-so-soft nylon.

I cut out and basted the mockup today. I'm really glad I made a mockup, because the basic concept is good, but it needs some tweaking...

#1: I should have done more of a straight line when adjusting the waist-to-hip sizing difference--the curve was bubbling out horrendously and I had to baste it in a good half an inch in spots.

#2: For some reason, the yoke sits very high in the back. It also gaps a bit, probably due to the fact that I cut the yoke from the bias-cut front. I added the darts that would have been in the back, and will also have to add at least an inch to the hem in the back.

#3: On the outer wrap, the yoke needs to be angled up a bit more so it'll line up with what's going on underneath. To fix this, I basically based a 5/8" dart for 4 1/2" , taking part of it from both the yoke and the skirt and tapering it into the seam that was already between the two. I'm also having to move the tab down and trim part of the skirt accordingly.

#4: The inside wrap goes over too far-- almost to the seamline. This would probably be ok for a regular wrap skirt, but since I do want the front to close in the center, this needed to get trimmed down. I took about 1 1/2" from the top and then tapered it into the pre-existing edge. Also ended up having to take a dart between the yoke and skirt on this side.


(In the meantime... Project Runway finale time!)

Can it be? Am I hearing this right? Christian just said nice things about Rami and Jillian's collections? Especially Jillian's? Now I know he's stressed. It's making him have a personality glitch.

Wait, no, he's back. Let's see... Jillian's stressing over models, Christian's snarking about her, Rami's being pretty quiet.

The collections:

Jillian-- I liked several pieces. That grey-and-red coat. The short blue dress. The gold dress. Some of them I thought were kind of odd, and I'm not totally convinced the striped sweater fits. That, and the sleeves make me think of a mop.

Rami-- Has some good color. Not sure about the gym bag with the pink skirt look. I do like his army green pants outfit a lot. And the woven corset wit hthe draped skirt. The two evening gowns were just stunning. Looks like the big poofy coat didn't make the cut, but that's probably good since it was highly criticized.

Christian-- No real woman would be ble to wear that first look-- too tight in the chest and big on the hips. Some of his jackets are good, though a bit neo-Victorian for my taste. Not into the poofy ruffle coat. Or that ruff that makes it look like her neck got eaten by a bridesmaid gown. Oh look, it's a Musketeer! Yeah, these big ruffly tops and tight pants are just not cool. And I'm really not just saying that because it's Christian. I will admit I like the blended-color chiffon looks though. It's kind of neat how they change colors.

I think I want Rami to win. Jillian would be my second pick.

Judgment time! Jillian is commended for her attention to detail, knitwear and innovation. Nina thinks it was a bit disjointed. Christian is "fierce" as usual (or "major" according to Victoria Beckham), but Michael and Nina thinks he had too much black and repetition. Heidi likes Rami's weaving too, as does Michael, though Michael's not a fan of the color choices. Nina commends him for having a strong point of view.

Ok, here we go... Jillian is out. And GAH!!!! I knew Christian was going to win, just because it would drive me crazy. If I hear that something is "fierce" for the next six months, when it doesn't involve, say, a wild tiger that's about ready to pounce, I think I'm going to scream.

Anyway, back to my project. Here's the mockup as it stands now, from the front....
...and the back....

...and the side. I'm going to be using twill tape for that one tab there. It really is laying better with the dart, so I'm not sure how they got it to work on the original without it. Once I'm satisfied with the fit, I'll have a couple more additions to make. I need to add a belt casing for the webbing belt built-in to the waist, as well as a belt loop for the end of it. And I want a zippered cargo pocket on the non-wrapped side. I know I'm not going to have time to sew tomorrow, but I can hopefully get enough to tweak the fit and maybe trim the seams and rip it apart to use as the pattern if I get home in time for Lost or something. At any rate, I will have Friday and Saturday nights, Sunday afternoon, and I'll have to wing it from there. But I got the basic skirt sewn together in less than an hour. Even with the extra details, surely I can get this done before next weekend's deadline!