Yasmin Yoke Skirt

Back in January, I decided to try the keto diet. Although I hadn't been happy with my inability to take off the baby weight since Niko was born in 2015, I had begun to accept my shape, and had sewn enough clothes to wear 100% me-made every day.  Sewing really helped me accept the shape I was then, and I had put thoughts of weight loss on the back burner.


I wasn't super gung-ho about this diet, but a friend had convinced me to try it with her.  I'm really glad I did - I lost 25 pounds in three months and have been able to pull out some the clothes I made in 2013 and 2014.  I'm hoping to lose another 10 or 15 pounds.  I also learned that the chronic back pain I have been dealing with for years was greatly exacerbated by my sugar habit.  Cutting out sugar and most carbs (as is required by keto) also eliminated about 80 percent of my back pain.  This is huge, and may have cured me of my sweet tooth for good.  That piece of cake isn't so tempting when I know I'm going to wake up stiff and sore after eating it.

So, recently my weight loss got to the place where everything in my closet was just too big to wear.  I tried my hand at altering a few pieces, and learned that not everything can be altered.  Since I'd lost the weight, none of my TNT patterns fit anymore, so I couldn't even whip out an already drafted pattern and sew something up.

I wanted to make myself some new skirts and had a few hours on my hands. The Liesl and Co. Extra Sharp Pencil Skirt is on my Make Nine and I do plan to sew it, but I only have the digital version and hadn't printed it out yet. My kids had made off with the clear tape dispenser and forgotten where they had left it.  Just as I was about to give up hope on sewing a skirt that evening, I remembered that I had bought and assembled the Maria Denmark Yasmin Yoke Skirt pattern years ago (but never sewn it).  It was still with the rest of my PDF printouts.  Sold.

Sewing this skirt felt like getting back to my style and sewing roots.  This pattern is exactly the style of skirt I was always drawn to in RTW back in the day.  I love the wide waistband and slight a-line shape.

The fabric is a stretch twill leftover from my green Ginger jeans.  Since the fabric is pretty stretchy and since I know from making my Ginger Jeans that it will bag out, I decided to go down a size to the 42 (30.5-40 waist/hip), even though my measurements (31.5-41.5) put me in the 44.  It worked fine.  The pattern is drafted to sit at the belly button; mine sits just slightly above it.

I remembered to add seam allowances (necessary with this pattern), and added a 1.5" hem allowance.  It turned out that wasn't quite long enough, so I finished the hem with a 3" facing sewn on at 3/8" to preserve length.  The front skirt panel is meant to be one piece, but I cut it out in two pieces so that I could seam the middle and add some extra topstitching detail.

I didn't have an invisible zipper on hand, but I did have a khaki one that matched my topstitching thread, so I decided to sew it in as an exposed zipper.  I faced the pockets with the last scraps of a beloved gingham linen that I used here, here and here.

The skirt turned out just as I'd hoped (though I think I would rather have a metal zipper in the back).  I'm considering making another one in denim with an exposed metal zipper. I also have a couple more cuts of printed stretch bottom weight in the stash that are destined to become skirts, though I do want to try that pencil skirt pattern as well.  I think this pattern has potential to become the sort of wardrobe builder for 2019 Masha, that Simplicity 1887 was for 2016 Masha.

(Note: I'm wearing the skirt here with my favorite Traveler shirt, sewn back in 2014 and which only now just fits again.  Though I had to take out the back darts to get it to button, and the sleeves are still a bit tight.  A few more pounds and it should fit just right.  I'm so glad I didn't donate this shirt!)  

This is a fast and cute skirt pattern that doesn't take much time or fabric - the official fabric requirements are 110 cm (43"), though I think I used less fabric even after adding hem facings. 

And that's all I've got to say about that. Thanks for reading, and see you next time!