Penelope pencil skirt
About Penelope
Penelope is a pencil skirt with or without a vent in the back.
- 🤯🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵( difficulty = 3/5 )
- 🏷️bottomsskirts( 2 tags )
- 🪡hemcurvedSeamprecisionzipper( 4 techniques )
- 📐Wouter Van Wageningen( designer )
- 🧑💻Wouter Van Wageningen( developer )
- 💡Sewing Instructions for Penelope
- ✂️Generate a bespoke sewing pattern for Penelope
- ❤️#FreeSewingPenelope( Hashtag for social media )
- Linedrawing
- Measurements
- Design Options
- Design Parts
Required Measurements
Optional Measurements
- Conditional Options
- Back vent length
Length of the Back Vent as a percentage of the skirt length. - Waistband overlap
How much the waistband should overlap at the front. - Waistband width
The width of the waistband.
- Back vent length
- Fit
- Seat ease
Amount of ease at the seat level. - Waist ease
Amount of ease at the waist level.
- Seat ease
- Style
- Back vent
Add a vent in the back of the skirt. - Curved darts
Whether or not to used curved darts. - Size of the hem
The size of the hem. Measurement in absolute values. - Hem bonus
This option will reduce the circumference of the skirt at the hem. Percentage of the Seat measurement. - Length bonus
This sets the length of the skirt. Percentage of the Natural Waist to Knee measurement. - Number of darts
The number of darts used in the pattern. Maximum is 2. This option can be reduced by the pattern if the calculations create darts that are too small. - Waistband
Add a waistband to the pattern. - Zipper location
The location of the zipper.
- Back vent
- Advanced
- Back dart depth factor
How far down does the back dart go from the waistband. This is a factor of the Natural Waist To Seat measurement. - Dart to side seam factor
Percentage of how much of the hip to waist reduction has to be taken in by the darts versus the side seam. - Front dart depth factor
How far down does the front dart go from the waistband. This is a factor of the Natural Waist To Seat measurement.
- Back dart depth factor
| ID | Description |
|---|---|
penelope.back | Back |
penelope.front | Front |
penelope.waistband | Waistband |
Designer Notes
Penelope is the first garment I made for someone else. I just met my partner after figuring out that I like to sew. So obviously I wanted to sew something for her. A pencil skirt seemed like the appropriate thing to do. I found a drafting method online and made her a skirt. This fitted remarkably well.
So when it was time for me to try making another pattern for FreeSewing, this was the obvious choice. I used the same basis for the drafting, but changed everything to percentages, so it would scale from dolls to giants.
The design should not pose any issues for a sewist, although the hidden zipper may be a challenge, specially if you line the skirt (which I would recommend).
Wouter
What You Need
To make Penelope, you will need the following:
- Basic sewing supplies
- About 1 meter (1.1 yards) of a suitable main fabric (see Fabric Options)
- An invisible or regular closed end zipper
- Some interfacing for the waistband (if using) and maybe for the vent and hem
- Some sort of closure for the waistband (if using)
- (Optional) About 1 meter (1.1 yards) of suitable lining fabric (see Fabric Options)
Fabric Options
Main Fabric
A pencil skirt is a rather formal cut, and most commonly is made in a suiting material. In other words, a fine wool. More casual options among medium weight fabrics include cotton or denim.
Using a fabric with some stretch will make it easier to get a comfortable fit and give you some more room to move about as pencil skirts fit rather tight. Scuba is often seen in pencil skirts as it is firm, has body but also stretches.
Lining Fabric
The lining fabric needs to be light, and allow the body to slide over it easily. You also don't want something to thick as this will be constricting. Silky fabrics are the go to choice as they are lightweight and slippery.
Cutting Instructions
The number of back parts depends on whether you want a vent, or have moved the zipper to the back seam. Either one of these options will require you to cut out two individual back parts. Otherwise the back is cut on the fold.
Due to this, the cutting list does not specify how many back parts to cut as the pattern options determine this.
Main Fabric
- Cut 1 front part on fold.
- Cut back part(s).
- (Optional) Cut 1 waistband parts on the fold.
Lining Fabric (Optional)
- Cut 1 front part on fold.
- Cut back part(s).
See Penelope Instructions to understand alterations to the front and back parts required for the lining.
Interfacing
- Cut 1 waistband part on the fold.
When you cut out a piece on the fold, remember that the fold does not need to be in the middle of the fabric. Choosing the placement of your pieces wisely can greatly reduce the amount of fabric you need for your skirt.