City Stroll Skirt in cashmere

With a cute blouse or sweater, skirts are great for my job, so the unusual shape and nice details (pockets!) of the City Stroll Skirt by Liesl & Co definitely caught my eye when the pattern was released.  

For this version, I used a "scrap" of fabric leftover from my self-drafted blazer project.  I couldn't let nearly a yard of cashmere wool tweed go to waste, and luckily, this pattern requires only a small amount of fabric.  (Sadly, I can't wear the two together...)

The fabric is a bit thicker than the suggested fabrics, and I realized I sewed 5/8" seams before reading the instructions (SA is 1/2" FYI!), so the skirt overlap is about 1/2" shy of the proper location (right at the dart).  Thankfully, it's a wrap skirt and while it doesn't look perfect, it's still wearable.

The flap allows for pretty reasonable movement without flashing any unmentionables, even with my less-than-ideal coverage (though I may still add a small snap inside).

Following the suggestion of Shelley from Bartacks and Singletracks (see two of her skirts here, and a little girl version here), I decided to underline (with Bemberg) the skirt and Hong Kong finish some strategic seams. (See my tutorial for details.)  

Here's the inside of one flap of the skirt.  For the underlining, I extended the lining fabric (for the Hong Kong finish) only at the side seams; since the rest are covered with a facing or waistband.  The non-HK finished sides of the lining/ self edges were just basted together with a 1/4" SA.  

I even underlined the pockets, and then finished all the raw edges with Hug Snug rayon seam binding. 

Waistband and "hem" facing

Hem facing with Hug Snug binding, and side seam with Hong Kong finish.

The underlining feels so nice and looks just gorgeous, so even if the fit isn't perfect, I know is that this skirt is well made!  

2015 Resewlution, September garment #2