Ultimate Pencil Skirt

If you like a vintage look, but a full skirt isn’t for you, the ultimate pencil skirt from Sew Over It might be the perfect alternative. A timeless classic, although trickier to fit than I first realised.

This is a classic Sew Over It pattern and a wardrobe staple. It has a high waist, finishing just below the knee with a kick pleat. It has an invisible zip in the centre back and long tapered darts. It is designed to be very fitted, so hardly has any ease in the finished garment. This does mean you need to get the fit right.

For this skirt I used a lovely navy suiting fabric. It has a very slight stretch and the weight works perfectly for this skirt. It is comfortable, but not too stretchy as that can look a bit cheap in this style. The fabric gave the final skirt a smart, tailored finish. The fabric allowance on the pattern is very generous and I had enough to get two skirts out of the 2 metres, although I did shorten the original pattern. I used a size 90 stretch needle.

Fit is crucial for this skirt. Due to the lack of ease, you really do need to make it to fit. I had to adjust the pattern as my waist and hip measurements did not fall neatly into one size. I also had to shorten the skirt to make sure it finished in the just the right place below my knee. I did this my taking 4.5cm off the skirt from the ‘shorten/lengthen here’ section of the skirt. I then taped the pattern pieces back together, before making the waist/hip adjustments. I had to taper the seam from a size 14 waist, to a 16 hip, and then back to a 14 for the lower part of the skirt. You need to be careful you gradually taper these seam adjustments or you will end up with a bumpy seam.

The actual sewing steps are quite simple:

• The skirt consists of just two main pieces - a front and back piece, plus the facings for the waistband.
• You start by sewing the darts in the front and back pieces.
• Then join the front and back pieces together.
• Then add the facings to the waistband before inserting the invisible zip.
• Once the zip is installed you join the rest of the back of the skirt together.
• The final step is to create the kick pleat at the bottom centre back (so you can walk!).
• Hem the skirt and you’re done!

Ta-dah! A super stylish vintage-inspired pencil skirt.