Simplicity 2516 (skirt) Day 1

In an effort to figure out when and why I'm more productive and perhaps to show myself that I am actually productive with my sewing, I thought I'd try blogging about the daily progress on this pattern.  I apologize in advance for any boredom you might experience.  It's really to help me understand how in the world I can be excited thinking about a project, but feel reluctant to do anything to begin the project...or finish the project.  I do actually finish a lot of projects, but it frequently seems that it takes me forever to do that.

The background on this particular project is that our local sewing guild is doing an ugly fabric challenge contest like last year.  People who wanted to participate brought 1 yard or more of usable fabric in a brown bag to our May meeting and we swapped them.  Our challenge was to sew it up into something more beautiful.  I got fabric I thought was pretty, but not something I would've bought to sew.  I think it's a polyester georgette and it said "skirt" to me.

So I chose Simplicity 2516--which was easy.  I enjoy perusing pattern books and looking online at the pattern companies.  It was a bit hard to choose just one, but since I had gotten almost 2 yards of this fabric, it gave me more options.  I wanted something kinda drapey and this pattern looks like it has it although it isn't cut on the bias but on the straight grain with flairs at the bottom.  I can't wait to see how this translates in real life with this fabric.

View B.  No second layer.

Of course, I have procrastinated about starting the project.  Here it is August, I got my fabric in early May, and the project is due on Thursday (today is Sunday).  I've had opportunities to work on it before, but haven't felt like it at all.  I have no idea why since I think it will make a cute skirt that I would wear.

On to the blog project:  What did I get done today?

First, I took my serger to my local sewing machine store to check it for the bottom of the needle that dd broke when she was "helping" serge her swimsuit.  They didn't find anything and I guess it was silly to worry about it.  In any event, I needed some new serger needles!

Then, I cut out the pattern tissue and compared it to my measurements.  The waist looks too small, but the hip should be fine.

I pressed the tissue flat.  My eyes fell on some giveaway fabric that is really, really thin but has reasonable drape and I thought aha!  Muslin!  So I cut it out as a muslin with extra fabric in the waist area tapering to below the hip (I wasn't feeling very scientific about it at all).  No pics on how this muslin fit because this fabric is totally see through!

 

Assessing the project, there are only 2 pattern pieces....and I'm not doing an overlay, just a lining.  So it should be relatively easy, right?  Not a lot of progress, but it's a start.