Work in progress - Simplicity pattern 2655

One of the patterns I bought in America was Simplicity pattern 2655, so I took the opportunity to get started on it at the end of August.  Unfortunately it's on pause at the moment - we've been getting some work done on our house so the sewing machine is put carefully out of the way.  In the meantime though, here's how it's going so far...

I decided to use the fabric that I bought from Fabricland months ago - I'd been considering making a circle skirt with it, but I thought it would look great in this pattern.

A bit of a worrying start - I cut out all my pattern bits, and put them all together, and started to panic because they seemed far too small!  It took quite a while for me to work out that I'd mistakenly only cut two side panels instead of four - so it was quite a relief to discover I wasn't as huge as I thought I was!  I think I was so focused on cutting and trying to work out the correct sizing that I forgot to actually read the instructions on the pattern pieces themselves - oops!

So far:

• I've put together the front and back of the skirt - once I worked out how many panels actually need to be cut and attached, this was an easy step!

• Hemming - the pattern suggests that you hem the flounce before attaching it to the rest of the skirt.  This was really a great idea because it meant that I didn't have the entire skirt getting in the way when I was hemming - these pattern makers really know what they're doing!

• Flounce - I then attached the flounce to the skirt.  I really like the whole flounce idea - something different than the normal skirts I've been making.  I pinned it before, but it would probably be worth basting it first as well, because as the pins were removed as I went round the curve, it was easy for the fabric to slip and the seams become uneven.  Something to remember for next time.

Things still to do:

• Waistband - this includes using twill tape to reinforce the waistband.
• Zip installation - let's hope I really get my head around it this time!

The work on the house is almost over, so hopefully I'll get these last bits and pieces done soon!