The pleated leather skirt is finally finished.
When I started this blog, I vowed to document all of my projects – my successes and my failures. This skirt certainly falls within the second category.
Where to start? Compliment before critique right? Ok, let’s start with what I actually liked about this project.
I LOVE the design! The pleats turned out beautifully and give the skirt a gorgeous shape. And let’s not forget that I learned a new pleating technique to produce those perfectly uniform little folds. (Checking off Sewing Goal #3 for the month!)
Another perk is that I’ve realized once I re-make the skirt in a better fabric, I will actually wear it! It sounds obvious, but I often become obsessed with fashion ideas that I’m never able to incorporate into my daily life. I assumed this would be one of those wasted efforts. But this skirt is fun, flirty, slightly edgy – just my style!
So, just what makes this such an epic failure? The fabric.
Everything that is wrong with this skirt comes down to the fact that I used a horrible fabric. To be fair, I knew that this material was a long shot, but I let the clearance price fool me into believing I could make it work. (Lesson learned – no matter how inexpensive, bad fabric will always be a waste of time!!)
Once I started pleating, I realized that the material was just too thick and stiff to work. The skirt literally stands on its own! While the rigidity makes for cute pictures, the first time I tried to sit down, it would probably stick straight up like an old-fashioned hoop skirt. Not exactly the look one wants to achieve in a mini!
Although the actual finished product was a bust, I appreciate the experience that I gained by making this skirt. Besides the new pleating technique, I improved on my waistband construction, and I have a great new skirt design that I can’t wait to use again!
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