linen estuary skirt

This is the Sew Liberated Estuary Skirt in Robert Kaufman Brussels Washer Yarn Dye, which is a linen/rayon blend. The color is called "Rain." The fabric had a lot of shrinkage during washing and ended up only about 48" wide, which meant I had to cut the back with a center seam instead of as one piece. I'm glad I bought lots of fabric (3yd) since I used most of it.

I made the version with in-seam pockets. I fully interfaced the pockets and the pocket edges on the skirt fronts and back with Pellon Ultraweft interfacing. I found a recommendation for this interfacing on Pattern Review as a good stabilizer that still maintains the drape of rayon. I'm interested to see how it holds up in the washing machine since it is listed as dry-clean only. I did pre-soak it in warm water and hang it to dry. My only complaint so far is that it seemed to leave a sandy grit (I'm assuming it's bits of dry adhesive coming loose) all over my cutting table!

I sewed a size 8 based on my waist measurement of 29" and cut the elastic about 1" longer than recommended. I'm not sure if the linen waistband stretched, the elastic stretched, or I just should have sized down, but the waist turned out quite a bit too large. I did some surgery on the waistband and center back seam, taking out 3" from both seams and 2.5" from the elastic. Much better! I did not sew functional button holes and just stitched the buttons through both plackets since the elastic back allows the skirt to pull on easily without opening the buttons. I sewed the buttons by machine for the first time. Game changer!! Usually I HATE sewing on buttons, but this was very quick and easy. I learned that almost all buttons, regardless of the diameter, have a hole spacing of 4mm! (** The More You Know **)

I shortened the original pattern by 3" and it hit me a couple inches below the knee. I tried to love it, but it's just a terrible length on me. I re-hemmed it, taking out an extra 2", and I like this length much better. Instead of just hemming the bottom of the plackets, I sewed them right-sides-together at the bottom edge of the finished hem and then turned them out to form a point (similar to my Camas blouse, Suki robe, and Jessica dress). I finished all the seams with a serger, since I was afraid flat-felled seams would look too "denim-y" (not a word, but also not the look I was going for.)

I wore the skirt to Oliver's birthday party this weekend. It was super comfortable. The fabric has enough weight that it doesn't blow scandalously in a breeze but is still very lightweight and cool. I was a little worried about the pocket shape, but my phone stayed securely in the pocket all afternoon. We had lots of fun at the dino-themed birthday party! This is the only photo I took, but it's a good one. Happy birthday, Oliver!