Cheapest Skirt Ever (without flat-out stealing!)

The other day, I created this tweet in my head: 

“JoAnn’s is having a sale!  Pattern $1, Fabric $2, your new skirt = $3!” 

But could that really be done?  I purchased a pattern and the fabric to find out.

The pattern is Simplicity 2215, a Cynthia Rowley mini-wardrobe consisting of a blouse, a jumper and a skirt.  All pieces look really hip and wearable.  A solid design ‘A’.  I chose view C, the skirt.

Fabric choices at the lowest possible price point were so dismal I hesitated a moment to wonder if I could go forward with this project at all.  I could only find 2 boards marked at $4.  The bargain fabrics were discounted 50% for the Columbus Day weekend sale, so my primary goal was to get 1 yard @ $2.  

Choice #1 Magenta Poly Crepe - a nice lining for a jacket, but not skirt fodder in my book.  Choice #2: 100% cotton in medium-hued lavender printed with gold Easter eggs and baskets - a solid ‘F’ for ‘fug-ley’. Because of it’s cotton fiber, I seriously considered the Easter eggs.  I could dye it, after all, but that would add to the over-all cost of the skirt foiling my $3 plan.  My other option was to chop it into unrecognizable bits, quilt-style, and make a skirt that way.  I really don’t need a square-dancey type skirt as I’m not on my way to a hoe-down any time soon.

Polyester it is.  Yuck.  To make matters worse, at the cutting table I require 1.5 yards to cover my hips.  My total skirt cost has just jumped to $4!

Enter Glamour magazine.  The September 2011 issue featured Mad Men star Christina Hendricks wearing a Zac Posen dress to die for.  The cut is impossible, and I couldn’t find a similar pattern, but the color is identical to my skirt fabric.  Inspired, I forge on.

My next cost snag was notions.  That invisible $ipper will run you!  I decide to skip the $ipper and use these intriguing, vintage, heart-shaped hook n’ eyes, which miraculously declare that they are proud members of the National Rifle Association. (!) 

Whatever. I don’t count them in final cost because to be honest, I’ve had them for years and picked them up at a garage sale ages ago.

So, off to make my cheap-ass skirt.

I realized 2 things when cutting this pattern:

1. I didn’t really need a pattern for this skirt, as it is nearly identical to the one I made for Civil War reenactment this summer, sans pattern.

2. That this skirt has a couple of sweet pockets!  Excellent!

The next dilemma involved whether or not to underline the skirt.  The fabric itself is actually a decent-quality, skirt-weight poly crepe.  But it will still need to be worn with a slip.  Underlining will technically up the cost of the skirt, and I have black poly lining on hand.  But polyester + polyester doesn’t make a thing right.  For the sake of improving the drape, look and over-all wearability, I opted to line it with some pre-washed black 100% cotton muslin.  It brings up the final cost but keeps the skirt from just hanging in my closet or being instantly re-purposed.

In a fit of Fall 2011 color-blocking inspiration, I added a narrow black band to the hem-line from a piece of something left over from something.

Voila!  Done!

Final cost: $6.00

Pattern: $1

Fabric: $3

Notions: Muslin Underling - $2

Items on-hand: Vintage Hook n’ Eyes, Thread

Mods: Hook n’ Eyes, black hem band

Wore it to: Not so fast!  That smiling hemline needs to be un-done, trimmed properly and re-stitched!

                - J.