A short while before my job fizzled out, I started sewing a pencil skirt and blouse to wear to the office. I thought the combo channeled the funky secretary look. Unfortunately, I was too short on time to finish it before the job ended. Now that I’m unemployed, I have plenty of time. It may not make an appearance in an office, but this outfit is ready for going out on the town: perhaps to my kids’ piano recital tomorrow?

The blouse is based on one of my favorite patterns, Simplicity 2501. I used it once before to make a cotton top with shorter puffy sleeves and sans peplum. I wear it all the time during the warmer months. I was curious to see how the peplum version with the shirred sleeves would look in a silky type fabric.

The answer: it looks pretty good. I wish the print didn’t obscure the shirring so much, but that’s a minor complaint.

This fabric is a nicer quality polyester. I really like how it turned out; however, it was a pain in the you-know-what to sew. It frayed like crazy. I kept the damage to a minimum by serging all the pieces before handling them much. In addition to that, it resisted taking a crease. That may be good news on the unwanted wrinkle front, but it was a pain when I was trying to create the waistband and make the narrow hems neat.

The skirt is based on Simplicity 2452. It’s a nice basic pencil skirt. There are absolutely no frills to this design, but it fits great (after my typical waist and hip alterations). The pattern did not include any instructions on lining the skirt and I’m not all that clear on how the waistband was supposed to be finished. You’re supposed to do something magical with twill tape. I didn’t bother looking at the instructions all that closely, because I decided to add a lining and made a facing at the waistband for greater stability.

I followed the tutorial on A Fashionable Stitch for lining a skirt with a back vent. It seems complicated at first, but after a little practice, it turns out great. If you decide to do this, I recommend stitch up a sample first to work out any kinks. I ruined a piece of lining or two when seam ripping.

Isn’t that a pretty button? One of the things I love the most about sewing my own clothes is being able to add special details like that. RTW clothes rarely have those little extras!

Last, but not least, which should I wear with this outfit? The shoes or the booties?

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I’ve sewn quite a bit in the past few months, but just haven’t blogged about it much. I’m going to try catching up, so bear with me. Let’s start with the Halloween costume I made for my daughter.

Claire LOVES penguins. Emperor penguins are her favorites, but she likes the Humboldts at the local zoo. Her favorite cartoon character is Pingu. Naturally, she wanted to dress up as a penguin for the holiday. Kwik Sew came to the rescue with a very cute pattern for a Penguin/chicken, No. 3630.

Pattern Description:

Penguin/Chicken Costume

Pattern Sizing:

XS(4-5) – S(6) – M(7-8) – L(10) – XL(12-14)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes, except I forgot the bow tie. Oops

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes, the instructions were clearly written and easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

It’s super cute and the size range is nice.

The only thing I did not like was how shallow the hood was. I suppose it was drafted that way to prevent to hood from falling forward and making it difficult for the wannabe penguin to see; however, it tended to fall backwards so the face wasn’t visible. If it were just a touch deeper, it would have been better.

Fabric Used:

Fleece. My kid was the warmest one in our trick-or-treating group. It was COLD outside.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

None.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Sure! It’s super cute and she got a lot of compliments. Plus, she discovered you can store extra candy in the wings when her bucket started to overflow. haha

Conclusion:

Great costume; easy to make; a real winner!

I didn’t sew a costume for my son. He took on that challenge himself.

He designed and created a Wolverine costume all by himself. Mama is so proud.

While I was working, I had little time left for sewing, but that didn’t mean I gave up on fashion altogether. I decided to take a different approach. Instead of focusing on the skill-building in clothing construction, I focused on styling clothes. I thought it would be an easier task, but it’s proved challenging to style outfits in a way that was both modern and interesting.

I’ve found a lot of guidance on a fashion forum called You Look Fab. One of the inspiring members there, Ornella, sets up weekly challenges for herself, which help her figure out how she can work with certain elements in her wardrobe. A few of the YLF members, including myself, decided to play along during jacket week. Here’s the series of outfits I came up with. Most of the clothes were commercially made, except for the denim jacket, the grey t-shirt, the lime t-shirt, the red shell and the full black skirt.

Day 1: Knit jacket with belt.

Day 2: Black wrap front jacket over my new satin dress.

Day 3: Military-esque jacket over bright lime t-shirt and wool plaid skirt with ruffles.

Day 4: Chanel-style boxy jacket. I intended to wear this with a pencil skirt, but I couldn’t finish sewing it in time. I’m not crazy about the fuller skirt with this, but thought it was worth a try.

Day 5: The plan was I would wear my home-sewn denim jacket with skinnies and a scarf; however, I wasn’t sold on this dark denim with black pants. Not to mention it was seriously cold and rainy outside, so I opted for a sweater.

And, oh yes, I chopped off all my hair. My husband isn’t exactly smitten with it, but I am enjoying the change.

More sewing will be forthcoming since I’ve unexpectedly found myself with more free time. For some time at least, I’ll keep posting “what I wore” type pieces as I explore new ways to style my garments. Suggestions are always welcome!