McCall’s 6706: Loudest Skirt in the Room

Okay, I admit: I am totally SWFing Margo from Creating in the Gap with this skirt. (Also, is SWF still a valid pop culture reference?)

I’ve had this fabric forever, but what do you actually do with taffeta? When I saw Margo’s gorgeous checked skirt, I knew I had to copy it!

This was a fun make. I used McCall’s 6706, which I made previously in ivory shantung. (I never wear that skirt, BTW. It just doesn’t really work in my wardrobe. I might shorten it and add horsehair braid for a full, flirty hem. Thoughts?)

This time, I cut the waistband down by half. While I love the look when I see it on Pinterest, in real life, a wide, thick waistband just cuts me in weird ways and makes it harder to find the right top to coordinate with. I’m much happier with the narrower waistband!

Not many comments on the sewing process: this skirt is pretty easy. It’s tedious, since there are a million pleats to baste (and by a million, I clearly mean 16), but that’s it. I mean, there are only two pattern pieces, and they’re both rectangles!

And, always, I ended up wanting the skirt to be longer than drafted, so I serged the edge to finish it and turned up the tiniest of half inches. I know a bigger hem makes things hang better, but I just can’t bring myself to lose that length.

Practicing my LBJ forward lean…

I’m not sure how often I’ll wear this. The taffeta, while adding amazing volume, is a grade too fancy for work. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll wear it to work and swan around like a princess anyway, but it’s not going to be a go-to.

That said, and I know I’ve talked about this already, I have too many clothes already. My current rule for sewing new clothes? Make whatever you want. Make fabulous things. Make ridiculous things. Make things that sound really, really loud every time you get up to go to the water cooler. Just keep making things, and enjoying the process.

If you make a fabulous skirt that inspires you to curtsy in the process, even better.