My Sew Sew Life-Vogue 1567; a Paco Peralta Skirt-Making & Styling

The minute I saw this pattern four years ago, by the late Paco Peralta, I knew I would have to make this skirt and top. The pattern came out it late 2017. It just took me a few years to get to it! I’m not going to discuss the top because I’ve already written about that and you can read my thoughts HERE.

Although this pattern is only three pieces, I consider it to be for advanced beginners. It’s important that you make all the notches and marks that the pattern calls for, especially in the waistline area. Also, all seam are bound which takes time and patience but the effect is a very high quality finished garment.

The Fabric and the Pattern

Vogue’s description of this skirt is exceptionally simple, “skirt has waistband with side draping that forms pockets.” Truthfully, this is one of the most skillful cut and ingenious patterns I’ve seen. I’ll explain more later.

The recommended fabrics for this skirt are; Silk Satin, Cotton Poplin, Linen and Taffeta. I didn’t listen to that and instead picked a grey cotton chambrey shirting that I found at Mood Fabrics. The fabric has to be 60″ wide because the pattern pieces are very large and they need to be cut on the cross-grain. I feel the lighter fabric works and makes the skirt wearable for spring and summer, which was what I wanted. I want to wear more skirts and dresses this year!

The line drawing very clearly show how this skirt is put together. The pockets are cut as one piece with the front skirt pattern. They are then doubled back on themselves during construction. Although the side seam is cut at an angle, it lies perfectly perpendicular with the hip line.

The front and back hems are different lengths, fitting together as an angle. The angle of the front hem is also noticeable in this view. From the front, there are no visible seams. There is a very deep hem on this skirt. This gives it some gravity to hang correctly and move when you walk in it. And you feel very elegant walking in this skirt! There is also top-stitching, which needs to be marked first with tailors chalk to keep it even or at least, that’s what I had to do.

I hope that with the line drawing, this all makes sense.

The model is very tall and I did not change the length of this skirt so it is a bit longer on me. That length does not bother me. If I make it again, I might shorten it a small bit. However, how the pattern is cut, sewing lines would have to be redrawn.

Views From All Sides

When the skirt is pulled out, it does resemble a square. The angle of the front hem is also noticeable in this view. From the front, there are no visible seams.

Having Fun With the Pockets which are cut in one piece with the skirt front.

The side seams sit behind the pockets.

The back has an invisible zipper.

All inside seams are bound. I guess you could serge but bound seams just gives the skirt more of a couture feeling. As there were no curves in this skirt, I cut my binding with the grain rather than as bias tape. There was not problem applying them.

My handy dandy bias tape maker makes it very easy to make my own bias tape.

This ends the sewing play by play and now it’s time for some more styling.

Using a White Linen Top

For those warmer summer days, I think this white linen top would be perfect. I also pulled out a bag that I crocheted in the 80’s. I remember not having a pattern, just crocheting until I got what I liked. It’s been stuck away and I forgot how much fun it looks and may have to carry it a bit this summer. I think it fits in nicely with the vibe of this skirt. My white heeled sandals are Adrienne Vittadini, which I’ve had for about a couple of years.

With the Dolmen Sleeve Knit Top from the Pattern

Lastly, here is the whole outfit as shown on the pattern front. Another view of this has already been on Instagram for #memademay21. I love the addition of a belt (from Target) when wearing it with the top.

My shoes for this shot are my Marc Fisher and the wristlet is by Coach. I am also using this top for my featured image but have on a different pair of shoes (old Modas from DSW) and a different belt (a patent leather that I thrifted).

My Final Thought about this Pattern

I had looked forward to making this skirt for such a long time and the experience was not a disappointment. The biggest challenge for me was finding a cotton wide enough that I liked.

I would recommend that all markings are dead on because, although the sewing is basically easy, precision is important. Also, if I make this skirt another time, I might shorten it by two inches (like the view on the pattern front). The next one would be for winter in some type of wool flannel and I think shorter should work better with boots.

When reading a few reviews, I found that a few had made this skirt a second time because they loved it so much. I’m not alone in wanting to make this one again.

As far as Vogue patterns, I realize how lucky I am to be in the USA. We have have been able to purchase them over the years for prices from $3.99 to $5.99 and know this is not the case everywhere.

I give this design and pattern thumbs up if you want to make a statement with an incredibly unique skirt.

Also, I have reviewed this pattern for Pattern Review HERE.

That’s it for this sewing story. I hope you enjoyed it.

Take Care,