Butterick 3418 Skirt

As I mentioned in my last post, I am trying to make Susan Sto Helit's costume from the movie Hogfather. This pattern is a simple, straightforward way to make her gray skirt.

I've tried four different skirt patterns at this point, and so far this has been the best of the batch, and the closest to period imagery. I do hope to eventually get a more authentic pattern from Truly Victorian or the like, but for right now this is what I've got to work with.

My first go at this pattern was with a cheap and ugly brown cotton/poly blend. I really try to never waste my good fabric on the first go with patterns I'm unsure about. By following the pattern exactly, I ended up with a very slim skirt that fit into the waistband without pleats or gathers.

Even though I won't use it for the Susan outfit, I decided to sew another one with a turquoise linen I've been hoarding for a while. I bought it during the Alaskan winter when I was yearning for color, and then couldn't for the life of me figure out what to do with it. Now that the skirt is finished, I have just enough left to do a small matching jacket, but that will come later.

I love the effect of the black grosgrain ribbon at the bottom. I was planning on doing the pattern's design, but I ran out of ribbon. If I decide to do it again, I will use a thicker ribbon, because this 3/8" ribbon is a little too thin.

For this version, I used what I learned on the brown mock-up to make some more shape-flattering alterations. I didn't want to interfere with the smooth front, so when I cut the back pattern pieces I added 3-4" to their width.

Here in the back, you can see where I gathered the extra width. I don't really care for the small gathers, but fortunately I needed to take an inch off anyway. I accidentally made the waistband too long, so when I re-do the waistband I am planning on thicker pleats instead of these small gathers. If you want more information, you can to to PatternReview.com to see my review of this pattern.