Sew The Look Plans

I've noticed recently on YouTube that we're now calling copying RTW "sew the look" and I've been doing this for years, just like many sewers I follow.  Even my now 22 year old daughter often sends me pins from Pinterest or tags me on IG for thins she wants me to make her.  She's a very petite 5'2" and most people think she's my youngest (who's only 17). Mom made is still best for her if she wants clothes that an adult graduating from college would wear!

Recently I had an idea in my head that I need to sew up.  As I've said on my blog many times before, I can't draw to save my life.  So I started scouring the internet to see if someone else had already designed what I was dreaming in my head. I knew exactly what I wanted - a white, knit pencil skirt with a black lace overlay.  There were a lot of various pencil skirts similar to what I was looking for, but then I found this inspiration:

 

I really like the contrast between the leather looking waistband and lace.  The scallops at the bottom are very pretty and feminine. I think the lace overlay is paired with a polka dot fabric.  Not super excited by that but I can look past that.  The price? $895.  Definitely not buying it anytime soon! And the sizing wouldn't work for me either.  

But I could make this.  Challenge decided.

I started with the skirt pattern and I knew right away I'd be using the Sybil Illusions skirt from Love Notions. 

 

As you can see, the lines on the pencil skirt are spot on for the RTW inspiration. I knew I wanted a solid white pencil skirt, no pattern, the overlay, and now a faux leather waistband. I started looking at my go-to online fabric stores.  I didn't want to pay a fortune for the lace overlay and I knew that would be tricky part.  When I saw this Telio Francoise Mesh Lace Embroidered Lace Black, I knew it would work well.  But it wasn't on sale and it was a little more than I wanted to spend.  I searched quite a few other places, including Etsy, but nothing else seemed quite right.  Well, today is their Friday sale and this fabric was in the clearance bin because there were only 5 yards left!  The Sybill Illusion skirt is fantastic because it only takes 3/4 yard for a basic pencil skirt.  This was a 2 yard minimum, but I'm good with having extra

They also have a scuba stretch knit that I thought would be perfect for the underlay. In the cart it went as well (along with some gorgeous red bubble crepe!!) I haven't found the faux leather knit for the waistband but I'm sure with a bit more searching I can!  I plan to start this project as soon as I can.  More to come on my construction choices.