One of my goals in looking at all my “work worthy” fabrics was to sew up some nice lined skirts.  You know…ones that have zippers and darts and linings and hand-sewn hems.  The hard ones!  I finally took out an old pattern, and sewed it up.

This is from a gray suiting fabric with china silk lining.  I didn’t realize until I cut it out that it didn’t have a walking vent.   It works alright to walk in it, but not great.  Also…it is a little small.  I mean, throw on some Spanx and I can wear it, but it’s not the most comfortable for sitting at a desk for 9+ hours.

The zipper is just a regular zipper, as I didn’t have an invisible one in my stash.  As you can see in the picture below where I am wearing it…the zipper is pulling A LOT.  Yep, this bad boy is tight.  Luckily I wore a long sweater over the top, so it isn’t so noticeable.

Oh, and I didn’t do darts in the front, just the back.

Next version, I added a few inches everywhere and then a vent in the back.  This is a pretty gold and black brocade with black china silk lining.  I ended up having to cut off a good inch or so upon final fitting.  Basically, I just took off anything that looked like a curve off the hips.  As I have none.

This one has an invisible zipper, too.  That is really almost invisible!  I really like how this one fits, though the waist is still a little big.  It just ends up sitting lower that way.

Oh well.  It fits and is cute.

Then here are some easier items.  This skirt is my basic skirt pattern that I use for apparel fabrics with lycra in them.  I think I have 5 or 6 of these skirts.  The top part is double lined, so it sucks in the tummy.  No zipper, as it pulls on due to the lycra.

I love me some lycra.

Then here is a cross-front top.  I did the binding a bit different and made poofy, bishop-style sleeves.  I wanted the binding to have a bit of a flounce and some body to it.  It doesn’t lay the best, though.  Thusly…works great under a sweater!

Then here are some leggings.  Leggings are nice in that they are simple and comfy and don’t take much time to sew up.

Most of these fabrics have been curing in my stash, so it feels good to get some things sewn up!

I still need more room on my shelves, though!!