the office staple::pencil skirt

Today I acquired several new office supplies.  One was the fabulous pencil skirt I'm about to show you how to make.  The other two are hair products.  The humidity this morning was 88%.  It wasn't raining.  It wasn't even foggy.  It was like a cow blowing hot sweaty breath all over me.  My hair reacted like anyone would if a cow were blowing all over them--it tried to run away in all directions.  I swam through the humidity to pick up a hair dryer and hairspray about twenty minutes after I got in the office.  Problem solved AND I have a beauty station in my office.

Back to the skirt.  Houndstooth heaven, old lady style.



Let's get to work!  First, I tried it on and made a guess about how much I needed to take it in.  Then I ripped the seams in the waistband over both my hips for about the two inches that I was planning to take it in on either side.

Try it on and pin yourself in to the outer layer.  I had to pull the lining up under my armpits.  Do yourself a favor--pin in a little extra around your knees because when you hack off the bottom, it'll be a little gappy around your knees.  And no one needs anyone paying extra attention to their knees.

With the lining still up over the top of the waistband, sew a seam down the pins you just put in.  Leave the waistband alone for now.  Repeat on the other side, obviously.  Well, I say obviously, but one time I took in a dress and for some reason, I only needed to take it in on one side.  And it really didn't look lopsided.  Don't ask me!

Try it on again, pull the lining out of your armpits, and pin yourself into the lining.  Don't attach it to the actual skirt.  Keep it separate.  That's why we're going through all the effort of ripping out the waistband.  I've tried taking in skirts and linings in together, but it probably does save time to do them separate, even though it takes more steps.  It will at least save you some tears.

Sew down the seam in your lining.  Both sides.  Then finish your edges with a zigzag stitch and cut off the extra fabric with pinking shears.  Do this for the actual skirt fabric too.

Now, in the middle of the piece of waistband you ripped apart--That sounds graphic, I can see you now, ripping the waistband off a skirt with your bare hands.  And a little teeth action too.  Creeps.--In the middle of the piece of waistband you ripped apart, cut it.

Topstitch down one of the pieces back onto the skirt, leaving one piece still flapping around in the breeze.

Cut off a little of the extra of the breeze-flapping piece and then pin it down over the skirt and lining.  Fold over the very edge where the two pieces attach in the middle (pink pin below) to cover up the frayed edge.  Topstitch it all down.

Then you're done, assuming you like the length of your skirt.  I didn't, so I hacked off (another very graphic image popping into my mind of someone using a hacksaw, hair looking crazy from the humidity, and a wild look in her eye) the bottom and gave it a blind stitch.  In the near future, I will show you how, but I had to do mine twice (and it still doesn't meet up in the back), so I consider myself no expert.

Does anyone know what my shirt means??  The score is definitely 7 for the woman and 21 for the rake.  Only thing I know is that it's from France, it cost 1€ , and it's ridiculously comfortable.  Hazard a guess in the comments for me!