Striped Maxi Skirt

I got this purple striped fabric in my very first KnitFix bag.  I thought I would try a maxi skirt.  I wasn't sure if I would look like I was trying to fit in with the 20 something crowd but I was starting to see many woman my age and older wearing them.  They looked great in their maxi skirts too.  One friend of mine had one made with navy and white stripes with three different panels of stripes cut on the diagonal.  So that was the inspiration for my skirt.   The pattern I had called for 3 1/2 yards of fabric and the KnitFix pieces are only 2 yards.  I am pretty short and I usually have to shorten most dress patterns by at least 4 inches.  But even with shortening the pattern pieces before cutting I was quite sure I could not squeeze it into a 2 yard piece especially with all the diagonal placement.  Bias cutting always uses more fabric.  But I noticed on the Facebook page that people were selling or trading some of the fabrics they didn't care for.  So I was able to buy another 2 yard piece so I would have enough for the skirt I wanted to make.

Even though this was an easy pattern the view I picked was not easy.  First of all it was very challenging to cut out because the pieces were quite large and they were cut on the bias.  I was trying to match up the stripes as best I could and my table was really to small for the task.  I was doing it at work so I had to use what I had.  The fabric kept stretching out of place.  I had to cut one layer at a time because the pieces were so wide and the front and back of the skirt are the same.  Even sewing it together was a bit frustrating.  My notches were not lining up right and I am not sure why.  It may be because I shortened each panel before cutting the fabric out because I didn't want the bottom panel to be disproportionately shorter than the rest. The bottom pattern piece was the only one that had lengthen or shorten lines on it.  I created my own shorten lines on the middle and top panels.  Then I had this crazy idea that I could match up all those stripes which is impossible.   I guess I have been reading to many Facebook sewing group post where people get all uptight about unmatched stripes.  I knew I wanted to post a picture of my skirt on there.  I realized it is impossible to match stripes when they are cut going in every direction. And even when I posted it on The Girl Charlee KnitFix group someone commented on how well my stripes matched.  So in the end it really doesn't matter.

I actually like this skirt once I finished it.  I don't have any purple clothes so I did not have any tops to wear with this skirt.  I did try it one with the white top I already had in the first picture and I think it looked OK.  But I wanted to wear it to a wedding on the beach so I thought it needed a bit of dressing up.  I bought the purple tank top and the purple sweater to wear with it.  I have three different shades of purple going on here but I think it works.  I needed a sweater because I though the reception was going to be inside and I always get cold with air conditioning.  I think I could have made the skirt a size smaller too, but I will leave it as is for now.  Next time I will just make the plain one.