Skirt Challenge: Designer Box Pleat Skirt

I wanted to make the Skirt Challenge a true "challenge" for myself. I like the look of a box pleat skirt, but I'm not sure it always looks great on me. As most women would say, they don't like drawing attention to their midsections. Box pleat skirts pretty much do just that. But I decided that I was still going to give it a try and with some tweaking and correct placement of the waistline, I could really achieve a good look.

I really didn't want to go out and buy a skirt pattern because I have so many patterns already! I knew I had to have something in my stash that would work. I found Simplicity 2588, a discontinued Project Runway dress pattern. The skirt portion looked like what I was going for. There wasn't a waistband piece, so I made my own and made it a few inches longer than where I wanted the skirt to sit on me. I tried it on in the place I wanted the skirt to sit and marked it. I added a 2" tab. Because I was adding an invisible zipper I had to add a tab so that I could securely close the waistband. 

Here is the finished waistband. I sewed the waistband to the top of the skirt, then hand stitched it in place.

I used a 100% silk twill from Thakoon. It was a small cut I found during a buying trip to NYC, so we never had it available. Sorry! I had never worked with silk twill before and quickly realized a few things. 

- Silk twill frays! I tried finishing the seams with my serger, but between something being wrong with my serger and the fabric, it didn't pan out so well. I plan on going back and finishing the seams with a hong kong seam. I guess I could have lined the skirt  to help with the fraying. I'll at least be wearing a slip with it.

- Silk twill snags! And when the fabric has a print you notice it even more. Make sure you have a sharp needle. I used a Microtex sharp needle 70/10.  You can see what I mean below:

Other than those two things, it's easier to work with than silk chiffon or other delicate silks. Yes it's still delicate, but the weight of a silk twill makes it easier to work with. It holds a great pleat which is really good too! 

You can see the pleats pretty well in these photos. I gave them a good press with the iron, on the silk setting and steam. I LOVE steam. I don't iron without it. 

I don't think the skirt is too boxy. If I placed the waistband lower, like a low-rise pant, it would have looked boxy. It is pretty much at the smallest part of my waist so that the rest of the skirt glides over my hips. 

A look at the back. 

I'm excited to wear it this summer! What type of skirts have you been sewing? Share them with us on Instagram or Facebook using #sewcoolskirts and tagging us. You could win a $50 to Fabric Mart and other fun prizes. The challenge will run through the end of May. 

Happy Sewing!

~Julie