Houndstooth Pencil Skirt - Butterick 5566

I picked up this pattern because I love pencil skirts and because View D/E avoided pleating and View B/C avoided front pleats. This was my first “fitted” skirt from a pattern and I was still afraid of pleats then. I also liked that I could create two totally different looking skirts from one pattern. Actually you could do three but I knew I would never do the wrap front view. I already had the houndstooth suiting and instantly knew that is what I wanted to use.Again since this was (I believe) my second ever pattern I certainly learned some new things.

1. Facings! The previous skirt I made from a patter, S2314, had a waistband and lining, so facings were new to me.
2. Understitching: I had never understitched before this and was a little confused at first but with some help from my sew sistahs I figured it out.

Overall the fit could have been better, as you can tell from the pictures, I’m a little lacking in the hips area. So I had to make several attempts at taking in the hip area to make this fit. This pattern for definitely for more curvacious ladies. I still like the skirt and will probably attempt it again using this one as a slopper to adjust the pattern pieces.PATTERN REVIEWPattern Description: Semi-fitted, above mid-knee skirts A, B, C, D, E have contour waist and back. A: front overlay, outside stitched darts. B, C: front yokes (contrast B). D: contrast sides. D, E: princess seams. B, C, D, E: topstitching.Pattern Sizing: 6-12, 14-20Fabric Used: B&W houndstooth suiting from the flat fold table from HancockDifficulty: 2/BeginnerDid it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? YepWere the instructions easy to follow? Yes they were straightforward which was good because this was my first time with facing and understitching.What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love pencil skirts. I liked that it was fairly simple to construct but I did not like how much I had to alter it. Maybe that was my faultPattern alterations or any design changes you made: I had to take in quite a bit in the hip area. I not really hippy. I plant to make a sloper based on this finished garment.Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I want to make the same view with a faux leather and a wool for winter. I also plan to do View D with ponte knit.Conclusion: I like this skirt and hope now that I know how to adjust the fit that future attempts will come out better.Total Cost: $8.86Pattern                                                = $1.99Houndstooth Suiting      1yd @ $3.95 = $3.959" Invisible Zipper                     $1.67 = $1.67Midweight Interfacing    .5yd @ $2.49= $1.25