If you know my preferred clothing style even a little bit, you know that throwing some trench / military details is the way to my heart.
So, when this sweet trench skirt came out in 2009 I immediately knew I was going to make it someday. I cut this out back in late summer 2015 from a beautiful gifted red wool left over from my Parisenne dress. It has a teeny bit of stretch and a nice flowy hand.
I am admittedly out of Burdastyle practice because the directions left me confounded. Oh how I hate when people complain about Burda directions. Yet here I was not making hide nor tail of the instructions in front of me. Luckily, YouSewGirl had photo details of her pockets and Handmade By Carolyn provided an interior shot of her skirt so I was able to muddle though.
It feels like I haven’t sewn a woven in AGES. It felt really good to work with a nice fabric and get those incredible sharp seams from a good pressing.
Sizing: I sewed a 42 grading out to a 46 at the lower thigh.
Pattern Changes:
I extended the front facing and waistline facing by 2.5 inches based on reviews.
I made my pockets way, way too big. I read a complaint on PR that the pockets were too small. So, I drew a new pocket based on my hand size. Well, that same pocket is now sewn into the front of the skirt due to the top stitching and extended facing. So, I have NO pocket.
Sewing randomness:
I utilized my blind hemmer rather than a visible hem with top stitching
I did use top stitching thread when topstitching called for — setting up my Singer Featherweight for main sewing and my Bernina 830 for topstitching because my edge stitching foot is the bomb. But, I’ll be the first to admit that this tone on tone red top stitching isn’t really popping.
I paired this skirt with a turtleneck I sewed up in 2013. Thank goodness for knits, eh? Buttonholes sewn with my Singer buttonholer. I have got to stop hoarding these. I made a step towards letting go by giving one to a friend last year. Baby steps. Buttons were sewn on using my buttonhole foot from Bernina. Built in shank, baby!
The pattern calls for sewing a belt and belt loops. I ended up leaving them off which takes away some of the trenchiness of said trench skirt. When I make this again in a nice khaki I’ll definitely add it back in.
Thanks to Liz for taking photos (she’s wearing an old RTW silk dress of mine I gave her). This mural is “Welcome to Baltimore” and shows different neighborhoods and attractions in the City. We illegally parked and whipped these out in 10 mins.
And since we were so rushed we totally forgot to take photos of the back 😂.
Miss Celie's Pants 
Love this! This is a great pattern. I never seem to be able to wear separates. I somehow can’t figure out two things that match in the morning. A dress is just easier. Though, I do love this on you.
Sister, me either. I’ve worn this skirt six times with the same top. I told myself this is the year I try and make more separates. This would of course require me making pants too
On Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 1:32 PM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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This is so cute, I really like the details. The mural is a great backdrop, too. A denim shirt would be really cute with the red skirt.
Oh! What a good idea. That wouldn’t have occurred to me all. Thanks, Lori!
On Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 3:37 PM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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My two cents: the skirt (which is amazing. I’ll have to pull out my 2009 Burda WOF magazinss) would also go with a gingham blouse in red or blue or black, 1/4 in, checks.p, shirt or long sleeved. Any printed fabric with a bright red in it, Knight ir woven.
I’m only (mildly) thinking about buttons. Would it be too many buttons to have on the skirt and the shirt?
On Fri, Mar 10, 2017 at 10:06 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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perfect for a March 8th outfit!!!!
Another vote for “THIS IS AWESOME”!
It would be glorious in khaki as well, with all the trench-yness added! 🙂
Yep I agree: cute in red but you should definitely make a khaki version.
Hahaha! Yeah. I had fabric ear marked for it in 2009. But, um, it got sewn. Allegedly my friend Trena and I are going to SR Harris for our 10 year Friendavesary. I’m sure I’ll find some there!
On Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 3:50 PM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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Lovely skirt! The customized pocket that turned out to be no pocket story made me smile.
It made me laugh too! I thought I was so slick, lol.
On Fri, Mar 10, 2017 at 12:24 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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Lovely skirt! Can’t wait to see it in khaki!
You achieved a great fit with this skirt! Love the color!
super cute.
Love the skirt. I am also glad to know I’m not the only one who is hoarding Singer buttonholers. Last count I had 6, two slant shank and 4 straight shank. It’s an illness.
Same, and I don’t even have a slant shank machine! It’s an illness for sure 😁
On Fri, Mar 10, 2017 at 5:57 PM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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I scored my first buttonholer late last year after reading about them on the Singer Featherweight Shop blog. They are so cool and work great (something to be said for mechanical machines and parts!). However mine didn’t come with the elusive eyelet hole cam and I just had to have one (to make the cute dresden spool pin plate also shown at SFS).
Being rare they are expensive alone but a chat thread clued me into the fact that Geist buttonholers use the exact same metal cams. I found a cheap one only planning to keep the cam but fell in love with the holer it came with! Of course I then had to find another one so both units had eyelet cams and fortunately lucked up on a set with an eyelet and a broken holer unit so perfect for my needs. Stop me before I buttonholer again!
LOL! I also have Griests. I love the vintage styling from them. The newer models of the Singer have plastic cams. I lucked out with my eyelet template. I definitely had two at one point but I think I lost the second one over the years. I don’t know why these buttonholers grow! I should at least unload the slant edge ones.
On Sat, Mar 11, 2017 at 9:35 PM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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This is so cute! I look forward to your next version. I bet you’ll have no problem getting the pockets to work out next time. Skirts with pockets are the best.