The Summer of No Pants! I’ve actually been doing this since I last posted about it. Everyday, a skirt or dress, no pants other than going running or to the gym, and to sleep. I did cheat once back in March when it was super cold. I wore pants out to dinner. But really, that wasn’t Summer so it doesn’t count, right?
As part of the Summer of No Pants, I have so far made 2 skirts!
The first was the brown, I have a love/hate relationship with it. Here’s a bad picture of me wearing this skirt:
I ended up cutting too big, and it was huge. Like, both myself and my husband could have fit inside together. The pattern is Simplicity 2184. There are many things I did not like about this pattern, and if I make it again, I would change it to be a true a-line, fix the stupid method of making the casing, and of course, cut an even smaller size. Even after I went down 2 sizes, it was still too big!
The second is my favorite. I absolutely love wearing this skirt. Another bad pic:
I used this tutorial to draft my own a-line pattern. It worked out very well! The cotton I used for the main skirt is much nicer, apparel cotton. The ruffle and casing are in a quilting cotton. I never really understood the difference, but now I do. The quilting cotton is stiff and thin; it’s not terrible, but not especially nice for an unlined garment. Great for things like trim, and probably fine if I were to make a lined piece.
I have tons of quilting cotton and plan to make much of it into fancy bias tape. I even bought two bias tape making guides.
The pattern drafting was fun and educational. I certainly learned quite a bit from this experience. I used packing paper. I have these huge, perfectly rectangular, pieces of packing paper that we have left over from our move. They worked just fine, although I’ve read that using wrapping paper is the way to go. Especially if the back has that very handy 1″ grid.
Next, I want to try another pattern, maybe a skirt with a zipper and pockets. Zippers are not very scary, I’ve certainly sewn them before, but the intimidating part is fitting. So far, both my skirts have had elastic waistbands. Super simple, and if the fit is off a little, no big deal.
As I’ve had trouble with sizing, I’m afraid that picking a pattern that requires a zipper will lead to some disasterously huge zip-up tent. We shall see 
I never wear skirts so perhaps I ought to join you. I’m impressed with the skirts you made. Made a skirt in a sewing class about 17 years ago and was relieved I was pregnant and too big to wear it when I finished it as it was awful. Curtain fabric with no drape at all. Sewing is not one of my talents.
Making skirts is fun! I have a question about the fabric – where do you get “clothing” fabric as opposed to “quilting” fabric, and how do you tell the difference?
There are many kinds of apparel fabrics. They will be named things like: apparel cotton, shirting cotton, etc. I have not explored sewing with knits or synthetic materials, but those are often great for apparel as well. Many quilting cottons will be ok too, depending on the application. Not all quilting cottons are equal in quality, softness, or durability. So far, I have only bought fabric at Joann’s, I know there are plenty of online retailers, but I’m not comfortable buying without seeing yet. My friends have mentioned taking a day trip into Philly to visit some real fabric shop; I’m quite excited about that!