A man in a pencil skirt...

DRAWS lots of attention!  Get it?

Not something you see on too many other blogs, huh?  (Though Elizabeth just finished a lovely version complete with kick pleat here in a slightly nicer bedsheet.)  Honestly, after a kilt, I think a pencil skirt should be a staple in every fashion-forward man's wardrobe.

You'll b happy to l-arn that my "e" key is on its way to New York and should arrive any day now.  Just $4 with shipping -- a bargain for a major vowel.

What's that?  You'd like to see more of me in my pencil skirt?  Oh, OK....





Please forgive the orange zipper -- it was all I had (left over from my aborted 1953 dress project).

But wait -- there's more.  Yesterday I also drafted an A-line skirt (Lesson 2).





Perfectly respectable if nothing traffic-stopping.  I made this skirt two inches lower on top (just below my real waist); I think it looks more modern.

I used the opportunity to make my very first lapped zipper, which is much nicer than an invisible zipper if you ask me.  Invisible zippers tend to snag easily.  I picked up this technique from my vintage Singer sewing book and it's actually not hard.



My one criticism of Moore's pattern drafting book is that she doesn't get into clothing construction; she assumes you know how to do all that.

I think I need to go to the Salvation Army and pick up a well-constructed skirt with waistband to see how they're generally finished -- like should the zipper go up to the top of the skirt only and the waistband be closed with snaps or hooks (which is what I think) or should the zipper go to the top of the waistband?  Perhaps if there's some woman or skirt-wearing man out there who could illuminate me...

I don't really love the A-line skirt look but maybe Cathy might like it.  She generally shuns anything made out of a sheet and who can blame her.

There are about five more skirt varations -- circle, yoke, etc. -- in Lesson 2 and I'm thinking I'll probably do one or two more and then move on to Lesson 3: pants.  I'm feeling a little skirted out, frankly.

Oh, I received my zouave pants pattern yesterday!

I'd like to stitch up a pair and see what these things are all about.  Simplicity 4688 includes the pants, a shirt, a caftan, a jacket, a vest, a sash, a fez -- and they even show you how to make a turban!  It's out of print but it can be found.  I paid about $10 for mine, which was the best deal I could find online.

OK, time to get moving.

Happy sewing, everyone!

For your entertainment...