Bluegingerdoll Pencil Skirt Hack

Hi ladies, it's time for a little pattern hacking or as I like to think of it "pattern drafting light."  Cause why reinvent the wheel if you've already got a pattern with the fitting kinks worked out? I'm preaching to the choir, right? Right!

So the back story here is that I found myself with the burning desire for a denim pencil skirt, all because of a twitter conversation. (Those of you who are to blame know who you are.) I'd just finished the sheath version of the Billie Jean dress and the skirt part was the perfect starting point for my idea.

Basically I wanted to keep the same shape of the skirt, but give it a little visual interest by adding decorative seams with top-stitching.

This change couldn't be easier to do, you just convert the waist darts into princess line seams. Since it's your lower half you don't even have to worry about pesky bust points and what not.

So here's a quick how to on how to hack the Billie Jean dress.
1. Draw a straight line from the bottom of the skirt dart down the entire length of the skirt.

2. Cut the pattern apart on the line and along one leg of the dart.

3. Cut off the rest of the dart on the other side of the skirt.

4. Added seam allowance to both sides of the new seam line, give the pattern piece new names, and you're finished!

You'll need to cut out 1 center front panel on the fold and 2 side front panels for the front. For the back, same thing but of course 1 center back panel on fold and 2 side back panels.  Sew your side panels to the center panels, press the SA to the side and top-stitch the seam lines.  Sew up the side seams and then give it a try on.

After sewing up all the panels you might decided the waistline was a bit high for a skirt.  Personally I like my skirts to ride below my natural waistline, so I cut down the pattern  1 1/2" and then drafted a curved waistband. The skirt is closed in the back with an invisible zipper and hook and eye.

The vent and hem were finished with the same to-stitching as the princess line seams.

And there you have it, one stretch denim pencil skirt added to my/your wardrobe.  Now go out and be fabulous.