Modern Day Twist: Simplicity 4529

Upcycled Floral Pencil Skirt

Recently I reviewed Simplicity 4529, a pencil skirt from the 1960's. I praised this pattern before and after using it once more to create this floral pencil skirt, I'm praising it again! It is a super easy sewing project. In this case, I used material from a dress that I had purchased from Pacific Mall in Markham, ON. If you've never been to Pacific Mall it's a mall that deals specifically with Asian goods. If you're an anime fan or like Korean street fashion then this place would be your paradise! At the time I bought the dress I was making the transition into wearing more girly clothing. When I graduated high school I dropped a lot of weight but still struggled with being comfortable with my body. When I was shopping at the mall I had this cute little sales associate sucker me into buying a twenty dollar sun dress. I tried it on but felt it was somewhat on the smaller side. Well, as is the reality of shopping at Pacific Mall, their stuff is pretty much always on the XS side. I don't think I've ever seen anything for a large or plus sized person. I bought the dress hoping that it wasn't as short as I thought it was, but I never felt all that comfortable in it. Even when I was careful enough to crouch instead of bend over, I always felt like my butt was showing. 

I decided earlier in the year that I would make something else out of it so I threw it into my UFO bin. A few days ago the temperature was climbing and I realized just how badly I need more skirts, dresses and shorts. I decided that the old baby doll dress would be very easily converted into a skirt. I seam ripped the dress and laid the pieces flat. As I mentioned in my previous review, this pattern uses one main pattern piece for the skirt. Instead of side seams it uses darts to create shape. Well, this would not work on my dress due to the fact that the dress consisted of front and back pieces. I had to redraw the pattern so there would be two back pieces and one front (like most pencil skirt patterns). I cut them out and assembled them, I was very pleased that the skirt fit well and looked good. I didn't have enough material to create the waistband so I used some hot pink bias binding instead. I also made use of a pink metal zipper that I picked up for 10¢ at a thrift store, and it looks great (photo below). It's shorter than the original pattern which is much more comfortable for casual wear. Unfortunately the fabric wrinkles like nobody's business, but I don't think it shows in person as much as it does in photos. What's important is that I have a new skirt to wear in this humid thirty degree weather.

I'm very pleased with the final product. I love to upcycle old clothes! And with this pattern it's so easy. If you can find a copy of Simplicity 4529 I strongly recommend you purchase it. : )

Happy sewing! ♥