My Image Skirt- Maybe This Will Work After All

Thank you for all the great suggestions in the comments yesterday and today!  Most of the feedback echoed what I already thought about this skirt- it was sitting too low on the hips and it needed to be taken in a bit.

So I snugged up the waist another 3/4" on each side tapering to just about nothing at the point where the pocket joins the side seam, and then on down to the hem taking in another 1/2"  If I made this again, I would just start with the next smaller size, maybe 2 sizes smaller at the waist.

And here is the skirt now:

(Please excuse the wrinkles.  I literally left this thing wadded up on a chair last night.)  The waist band is still not finished, but it sits much closer to my natural waist now.  The skirt is heavy and it still wants to slip lower.  The fabric has some stretch to it, so that doesn't help matters.  I can imagine after wearing this for 8 or more hours, it would start to migrate south.  But I think using a stable fabric for the facing, such as cotton or broadcloth, would help prevent stretching and keep the skirt in place.  It would also reduce bulk in the seams, which would be nice since this fabric is rather beefy.

The side view hasn't changed much.  It's possibly a tiny bit better.  Ironically, the front pattern piece is quite pegged.  The back is almost perfectly straight.  If I made this again I might try angling just the back piece in slightly at the hem.  I took the skirt in about 1/2" from hem to hip, but I was afraid that any more "pegging" would make the side seam angle toward the front.

And finally, the back.  It doesn't look much different, except that the waistline is now in the correct place.

The hem length was another issue.  A lot of the comments suggested raising the hem.  Raising the waist helped somewhat with that little problem.  Unfortunately, I like the hem right where it is in the photos- mid knee- but that's the raw fabric edge!  I added 1.5" of hem allowance to the pattern pieces, but that's apparently not quite enough.  If I made this again, I would add a little length to compensate.  Oh, well.  I suppose I can get away with a narrow hem.

As for whether this skirt works for me, I'm still not sure.  I do find though, that with the waist fitted better and the whole skirt sitting higher on my hips, that I don't mind the unusual elephant ear pockets.  In fact, they feel kind of daring.  Hey, I have hips.  Why not exaggerate them?

So I think I might just go ahead and finish this.  Thank you for all the feedback in the comments section.  You all helped a lot and I appreciate it very much!

My Image Skirt- Wadder or Possibilities?

I just got skirt M1303 from the Spring/Summer issue of My Image to the point where I could try it on.  This is what it looks like on the model in the magazine.  You can also see the tiny tech drawing on the right hand side:

And here is what it looks like on me:

Now bear in mind, I'm probably half as tall and twice as wide as the model.  This is also a "muslin."  The waist band is not finished and neither is the hem.  You see, I'm just not sure this skirt is working, and I'm not going to bother with finishing it if I decide it's just not for me.

That's where you come in, tasteful readers.  Your opinions and suggestions are welcome.

This is really an ingenious little pattern.  It's very unique with it's draped front pockets that are cut all in one piece with the skirt front.  It's also surprisingly easy to put together- you just do a little bit of folding, and a little clip into the seam allowance on each side, and voila!  You have a skirt!

The back is a simple straight skirt with two darts and a vent.  I used an invisible zipper in the center back.

Ugh!  My interfacing has bubbled on my waistband!  But you can also see the two small pleats in the skirt front:

I cut a straight 46, going by the measurement chart in the magazine.  It should have been just right, but this skirt turned out a little bit big.  I have already nipped in about 1/2" on each side from the pocket edge to the top of the waist band and this thing is still hanging on my hips.  I really think I could stand to take it in from hem to waist, but I can't really do that because of the way the pocket is stitched into the side seam.

I used a beefy stretch poly crepe for this project.  It was left over from Burda 09-2011-131.  I thought it would have plenty of drape and show off the pockets well, but I think it might be a little bit too heavy for this.  My pockets tend to want to stick out like two big ears:

In this photo I've pushed the pockets down some.  Much better, don't you think:

The front of the skirt is also heavy- the weight of all that fabric is actually pulling the waist down in the front.  Going down a size might help.  If the waist band fit correctly, the skirt would hang better.

I'm really irritated.  I wanted this thing to fit.  And look cool.  And seeing the photos, I really like that bright pink with the black top.  But I just don't think it looks quite right.

So what say you?  Should I continue to tweak and see if I can make this work?  Should I scrap it and start over with a smaller size and different (lighter weight) fabric?  Or should I just stop now before I drive myself crazy with this?