A Skort for San Jose

Last week Prof. R. and I attended a friend's wedding in Cabo San Lucas.  During one of our wedding event free days, we drove to the town of San Jose del Cabo.  Unlike Cabo San Lucas, this is the less touristy of the "Los Cabos" or the two Cabos.  It's a bit sad because many of the buildings and business were destroyed by Hurricane Odile.  However, there were signs of businesses coming alive again, and I just hope this trend continues.

Even though we're in the dead of winter here in NYC, I made the skort I've been dying to make - one that I saw everywhere in Spain this past summer.

Me and my skort in the zocalo in San Jose del Cabo.

Rear view

Lucky for me, I found a pattern for this skort, Simplicity 1370, when I returned from Spain and was able to snap it up during one of the 99 cent Jo-Ann sales.

I sewed my usual size 12, and it fit practically perfect just out of the envelope.  I pulled it together in just an afternoon so it was one of those "instant gratification" types of projects.  Love those!

I used a black stretch denim from my stash, and it sewed very easily.  I love that the front has pockets and the drapey flaps are really nice.

Also, I learned a new technique while sewing this: inserting a lapped zipper.  In the past, I've never quite been able to master this.  Although I don't often find the instructions given in commercial patterns to be very enlightening, the directions for the insertion of the zipper that came with the pattern definitely helped me to achieve a good looking (to me, anyway) result.  I was also happy that the pattern called for a lapped zipper since I didn't have a black zipper on hand and had no time to go out and purchase one.  Instead, I used a navy blue zipper from my stash.  Because of the overlap covering the zipper, the blue zipper cannot be seen.

You'd never know there is a blue zipper under there.

My serger has been in the shop lately, so I was happy that I was able to sew this with a knit that didn't require finished seams.  I used a double stretch knit needle to sew the hem on the two over flaps, and this also worked well.  I don't believe all twin needles are equal, meaning that if you're sewing with a knit, it's important to find a stretch knit twin needle, as opposed to a twin needle intended for woven fabrics.  I found mine in the Berlin fabric market a few years ago.

All in all this was a quick, fun make.  Too bad I've had to store it away with my summer clothes, but I look forward to wearing it when the weather turns warm and to sewing another in white.

Now that my beloved serger is back from the shop, it's on to finishing some winter projects.  What's on your sewing table these days?  Are you sewing for winter or preparing for spring?

Hasta pronto!