According to my sewing notebook, I completed my first Upton dress on December 2nd of 2017. Having fallen madly in love with how the skirt hangs, the length, and the incredibly deep pockets... I knew a hacked version into a skirt was in my future. The fabric that I had waiting in the wings was an adorable fabric received in October for my birthday waiting for the "perfect" skirt pattern. Match made.
Although I have had this ability for a while, I am still adjusting to being able to set a project down and having the ability to quickly come back to it later in the week allowing me to practice more thoughtful, less rushed techniques since I am not frantically trying to finish an object in the few hours I know I have guilt free to sew.
On to the skirt!
Jenny has a quick blog talking about the possibility of doing an Upton Skirt Hack on Cashmerette, and seems like she sends directions if you sign up to the newsletter. I disregarded all this due to my wild, laissez-faire nature, and a general knowledge on how skirts go together, and dove straight in.
The first thing I did was eyeball the pattern piece for the waistband of the dress and decided it would be suitable for a skirt waistband, no alterations beyond those I intended already for fit. Just interfacing added and a facing that is a duplicate of the skirt waist band.
I had exactly 2 yards of Chip N Dale fabric, nothing more, and while I contemplated doing contrasting color waistband, and maybe adding a wide stripe of fabric at the hem if I couldn't make it fit, I succeeded in getting all the pattern pieces on my fabric but for one pocket. With some intense staring I had to make the decision that the pattern of the fabric wasn't directional enough to be obvious, and one flipped panel wouldn't make a difference. I was thankfully correct because at this point I can't even tell which panel it was, nor can I remember!.
I knew based on my first Upton I needed to size down, more than likely everywhere, but due to me just making a skirt all I had to focus on was the waistband. Essentially free hips made that the only adjustment I needed to take care of. I cut a 26 rather than a 28 in the waist, still pinched a bit more out of the front band, and then had a perfect fit.
All said and done, I love it. I used the same technique that was mentioned to do the neckline to keep the liner from flipping out on the pockets, and they feel so much more sleek now. This is now officially in my repertoire, and I will always be seaming the lining to the seam allowance for pockets, waistbands, etc etc. It's an additional touch that makes the garment feel just a touch more ready to wear, but of course with all the tailored fitting that you can do when you make your own garments.
Once the weather gets consistently out of single ( or negative...) digits this will get it's first real wearing out, until then it will make me happy every time I see it hanging in my closet.