Simplicity 2609 - Tiered Skirt

This skirt has been completed for awhile. After I finished it, I took a bit of time to decide if I liked it and then a bit more time to decide how to wear it. I haven't had a skirt this long or this full in years. It feels really different.

Even though this is a pretty simple project, I bought a pattern (Simplicity 2609) for it. The main fabric is pretty lightweight and sheer, so a lining was pretty important. I saw this pattern during a Simplicity sale and figured I could use View A for the skirt and View D for the lining.

I think I like the skirt now, but I almost abandoned it mid-project. I spent a long, frustrating time trying to find the straight grain of the fabric and then started cutting out the pieces when I thought I had it. Turns out that I didn't have it at all and the pieces were all off grain. But, I don't think anymore fussing would have helped. It was just one of those fabrics. (But, I can't complain - it was $1.50/meter).

The skirt required nearly five meters of fabric. The bottom tier is around 12 feet long. That's a lot of hemming. And gathering. If you have any aversion to gathering at all, I strongly advise you not to use this pattern. I started with the bottom tiers, to get the worst of it over with first. The thought of gathering threads breaking in the middle was not a pleasant one, so I zigzagged over a piece of fine yarn and then gathered it up by pulling on the yarn rather than doing the usual two rows of stitching.

Worn with heavy tights, thick socks and boots, this was a pretty warm outfit. But, I need a little more practice wearing a long skirt - I stepped on it a few times going up steps and rolled over the bottom tier a couple of times in an office chair. Whoops. And my daughters noted that I'm not quite as good at twirling as they are!