FO: Self drafted Jumbo corduroy skirt

I have been doing a pattern cutting course for some time. We have made bodice, skirt, dress, trouser and jacket blocks to fit ourselves and have drafted variations on each. Up until recently I have not actually made any of the patterns we had drafted, other than the toiles required to perfect the blocks.

A little while ago I thought it was high time I remedied this and made a pair of trousers (post to come). Spurred on by this I had a vision of a skirt that had an inverted pleat and pockets at the front.

And I had the perfect fabric - a lovely jumbo corduroy that I bought at my local market some time ago:

To make my skirt I used the pattern we had drawn up for an inverted pleat front skirt:

front to be cut as one piece

and the pocket front skirt:

I knew I didn't want it as long as the block we drafted or as flared. The pleat in the front was all wrong to start with - as drafted the pleat is wider at the bottom to help the fabric hang better when it is made up. This didn't work with the corduroy as it cut across the wale of the cord and looked terrible! I then folded the pleat so that it was equal all the way down and followed the lines of the cord which worked much better.

My teacher said to cut away the back of the pleat to minimise bulk at the waistband

I used some chambrey-like fabric for the pocket lining as the cord was too thick, and I also used it for a facing instead of a waistband. I have lost some weight since making my block, so I had to take in the sides quite a bit at the waist and hip.

I have worn this skirt loads since I made and really like it. I thought the pockets would be enormous, but they are perfect. It is pretty much exactly as I imagined it to be - that doesn't happen very often, so I am super chuffed!

worn with unblogged Bronte Top

the skirt sits at my waist

Also, a month or so after I finished it a Boden catalogue popped through the door with this skirt which I think looks pretty similar: