Karl Lagerfeld Skirt Reveal!

Here it is! My Karl Lagerfeld (Burda 10-2010-136) skirt in black wool.

I wore it styled like this last night for a pre-holiday dinner with some friends. 

And here it is styled for work.

While I think it looks just like the Burda version, I did make a number of changes to the pattern. Also, I used my preferred methods and order of sewing and finishing, rather than relying on Burda's instructions.  Here are a few details:

• First, this skirt is short as drafted: a mere 13". This is not nearly enough skirt for me, Herr Lagerfeld! So I added 6-7" to the length. It's still a few inches above my knee.
• I omitted the side seam pockets.
• I lined the skirt with black bemberger because the wool I used was a little scratchy and has a loose (slightly transparent) weave. I used the skirt pattern pieces for the lining, sewing tucks instead of pleats.
• I interfaced the waistband and the cuff with Pro-Sheer Elegance fusible from Fashion Sewing Supply. I considered using the Pro-Woven, but decided on the sheer interfacing because both the waist and cuff would be folded over, so there would be two layers of fabric and interfacing. I didn't want it to be too thick or bulky, and the sheer did the job just fine.  
• Instead of making the back waistband elasticized, I shortened it to my waist length. I took most of the extra ease out of the back of the skirt by adding 2 darts. Then (because I hadn't taken quite enough out with the darts) I used basting stitches to gather the back just a scooch so it fit smoothly into the smaller waist. 
• I finished all the seams with my serger since I think this fabric would be ravel-prone if I didn't

I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself about this skirt, despite all my self-created mishaps and discontents. It has the best looking insides of anything I've made. Usually, I'm not too picky about the insides, but I've had a lot more practice with linings and my hand sewing has come a long way in the last year. So, I think this skirt looks good inside and out.

Anyway, tomorrow I'm off from work for this year's version of "Santa's Kitchen", when Phin and I make candy and sweets for our near and dear for Christmas. And I've got a lot of backlogged posts, so stay tuned as I try to catch up by the end of 2011!