The Sophia Pencil Skirt: a Tragedy in Three Acts

Prologue

These past few months I rediscovered my love for miniskirts, and since then I’ve been yearning for sewing shorter and shorter iterations of them. While drafting my own was an option, after days of looking I came across the Sophia Pencil Skirt by Patterns for Pirates. This pattern seemed to offer something for everyone, with four length options (micro mini, mini, above knee, and knee), waistband and no waistband, plain hem, slit hem, double slit hem…I purchased and printed the pattern and got down to work.

I wanted to make the micro mini version, and I was planning to make a size S. Even though my measurements put me squarely in the XS, I reasoned it was likely better to have slightly more ease in the hips and take in the waist. Having 30 cm of difference between waist and hips and a round butt means fitted skirts always tend to ride up, which would have been unfortunate with an already short micro mini.

Act I

As I opened the sewing instructions, my surprised and delight at the very detailed information on sizing and pattern assembly turned into shock at the sight of the actual sewing instructions. I mean, they are…, like, fine, I guess…but I feel like there are more elegant ways to approach skirt construction. For example, the main fabric pieces and the lining are almost the same length, the lining being slightly shorter, and the two pieces are simply attached to one another and bagged out. In this construction, you are hoping for the best: the main fabric is longer than the lining and should in principle make sure the lining doesn’t magically peek out, but ymmv. I personally prefer to cut my lining about 2 cm shorter than my main fabric, and also have a generous 4 cm hem allowance. Then, I attach the lining and main fabric at the hem allowance edge using a seam allowance of 1 cm. This makes the lining “blouse” on top of the hem allowance, which is more elegant, allows for better movement, while the generous hem allowance makes sure your lining will not peak out.

Additionally, I found the zipper insertion method completely undecipherable. The pattern has you refer to YouTube videos but honey, if I need to connect to the internet to sew your pattern, I’m not following your instructions. In the end, I used my own imho more logical instructions. I’m also a bit ambivalent about the fact that this would have been a perfect candidate for an invisible zipper but there is no allocation for that in the pattern itself. In my case, because the skirt is super simple, I went for a metal zipper with great scenic presence, but that’s not something which can work for all fabrics and variations of this skirt.

Act II

I had about 60 cm of a nice wool crepe I purchased locally for this project, and was planning to actually cut 2 skirts with it. First off, my head was clearly somewhere else: after cutting the front piece on the fold, I cut the front lining instead of the back pieces, so I ended up with 2 fronts and had to recut the backs. Then, I accidentally cut a dart out…there was enough fabric to recut the piece in question but I had to bid farewell to my dreams of a second skirt. I was quite mad at myself as I have never made cutting mistakes before, in the many years I’ve been sewing but I resigned myself to this reality (trying new thing am I right). Of course, after all these cutting issues the rest would surely all be smooth sailing…

Act III

As I was happily assembling the skirt, I was considering to myself how small it looked. This was not unexpected, as I was sewing a micro mini after all, but, in addition to the short length, the skirt was also…tiny. I measured the assembled main fabric and it dawned on me that it was several cm smaller than the finished garment measurements for size S. I could not believe what happened next: I looked at my cut out pattern, went back to my computer, and realized the size I cut was not the S but the XS. In shock, I was considering classifying this project as cursed, burning it in a small controlled fire, and moving on with my life nursing a slightly bruised ego. Then I realized XS was technically my size and I may have subconsciously fulfilled my true mini skirt desires. I therefore resolved to complete the skirt.

Epilogue

Once it was all set and done, hem secured, fabric pressed, I put on my thickest tights on and graced myself for disappointment and a good chuckle.

It just barely fits.

I cannot say I am surprised at the length, as I wanted a micro mini, though it ended up being so small it may have surpassed micro into nano mini territory. As you can see, there are some drag lines with movement, and I definitely cannot tuck anything in, especially if I wear it with tights less ethereal than fishnets. I can move, but it should definitely come with a warning *do not bend over*. I think it is…wearable, and it is in fact surprising how it looks constantly in danger of showing too much but never quite does. Given the right TPO, I am not mad about that.

Cheers,

E