Rebirth of a Leopard...

Who else out there enjoys Pinterest?  I could not begin to count the accumulated hours I've spent on this social media site.  But unlike some others, I feel this one to be quite useful in sparking new ideas and sharing best practices.  I've been on Pinterest for maybe 2 years now, and have created 62 virtual bulletin boards with over 1200 pins.  Trust me when I say that is light-weight compared to some other Pinners whose boards I follow.

One of the pins I saved on my Sewing Inspirations - Skirts board is the image below.  Something about the "casual chic" combination of the animal-print skirt, plain white tee and classic denim jacket really caught my attention.

Fast-forward several months later, I am leisurely browsing through the clothing racks at Encore Upscale Resale, a local non-profit resale shop in Southfield, when I spotted this leopard-print skirt.  I honestly cannot remember how much I paid for it, but I know it wasn't more than a few dollars - maybe $5 or $6...absolutely no more than $10!

skirt, front view

skirt, back view

As I began examining it, I found the skirt was unlined, 100% Polyester (machine washable...easy care) and was marked size 26, which meant extra width with which to experiment.

Upon closer examination, I found several distressed seams and evidence that someone made a rather messy seam alteration to take-in some of the skirt width.

back center seam showed considerable stress

inside skirt, front view

inside skirt, back view

side seam, altered with green thread

center back seam (inside view) and messy pinked seams

side seams and hem treatment - messy combo

Despite having been altered, the skirt was still quite large when I tried it on.  This was a good thing - more fabric with which to work.

The facing was stitched into the skirt side seam, which made taking it apart a little more work than I initially expected.

Once disassembled, I was able to layout the skirt pieces and assess which ones could be reused.  Given the width and condition of each piece, I was able to use everything, including the original facings.

I used the skirt pieces from Butterick 5566, view A, minus the front overlay piece.

Each pattern piece fit nicely over their corresponding skirt section, but I was concerned because it appeared there wasn't enough fabric length to accommodate the pattern front and back pieces.

As it turned out, the pattern pieces fit well on the skirt fabric and I had no issues with length or construction.  I added a rayon bemberg lining...

...and a care label to the back facing.

Here's the reconstructed skirt on my padded dress form...

...and here I am wearing it for the first time on one of my trips to Jackson, MS in March.  Not bad for a resale re-fashion, huh?

Oops...a reflective-selfie fail!

Be blessed!

Aisha