 I have been working through a lot of my works in progress projects lately and I've been able to add so many new things to my closet. This wool mini skirt notwithstanding. But before I get into the details of the pattern, I have to show the journey that this fabric has been on. To help me get through my unfinished projects, I decided to let fate help pick which patterns I would be working on. I have something called decision fatigue. If the decision is too difficult or overwhelming for me, then I just give up on making a decision at all. So I wrote down all the projects on note cards and have been randomly drawing one every day and documenting the progress on my TikTok. Here's the video that I made for this wool skirt. Hi, you guys. Welcome back. It's day eight of the unfinished project challenge. Day eight of a lot. So let's get into it. Let's draw randomly which unfinished project I'm going to be working on today. Uh oh, I got two. I'll always wonder what that one was. This is work in progress two, which means it's one of the ones from the bin. Let me go grab it. Okay, this is going to be a good one. From what I remember, this is like a little cape jacket. Uh, I think the fabric is so pretty, right? I love like an unconventional plaid situation. I think it's wool. And it looks like the pattern is McCall's 7051. I do not have the pattern here. I do not have the instructions here. So I've got to go find that somewhere before I can do anything. We have a serious problem. Okay, so this is very clearly like a wool fabric. It has no stretch, no give. And this is the pattern. What was I thinking? There's no way I wanted to make a wool top. That makes no sense. And what's even more weird is that the sleeves are cut to be short sleeves. Like what? I don't know what to do. This is all scrap. So that gives me a little bit of hope that I can like salvage this and turn it into like a little coat. But I genuinely cannot figure out what I was planning on doing with this. I've been on quite a journey today, but what I ended up doing was cutting it all up into a completely different pattern. I ended up making McCall's 7438, which is this little mini skirt pattern. And guys, it is mini. It is very, very short. Like I can't bend over. This is a stand up only outfit. But I think given what I had to work with, it's going to be fine. Right? So as you can see, it was initially cut to be some sort of top, which is still so confusing to me. So the fact that I was able to turn that into this skirt makes me really happy. I'm going to be showing you all sorts of angles of the skirt and talking a lot about fit, the fabric I use, the pattern instructions, hacks and alterations I made and anything I'll do differently when I make another one in this video. Be sure to like it though, so other people will see it. Subscribe and click the bell if you want to be notified every time I post a video. Videos highlighting my makes and sewing pattern reviews go up every Monday. I already have dozens for you to watch if you need a little binge sesh. Check out the playlist in the top right corner of your screen. It opens in a new tab, so you won't lose your place here, I promise. If you're new here, I'm Lindsay. I sew all my own clothes and basically just come on here and talk about it, so I don't annoy the heck out of my friends and family. I am so glad you found me. Please be sure to introduce yourself in the comments so I can give you a formal welcome. The pattern is McCalls 7438 and it is described as a semi-fitted below waist skirt that has a contour waistband, back zipper and stitched hem. View A features an overlay, View B has front pleats with decorative buttons, View C has a center front pleat and View D has self-fringe. This pattern is out of print now, but there are some available on Etsy and if you haven't seen, fringe is everything right now. This skirt is $350 and made from faux leather, which you know isn't super expensive, so I see a View D in my future. This version though is View C with the center front pleat. Because I was just trying to salvage this work in progress and also trying to do it within a day, I did take some creative liberties. First, I cut the largest size of the pattern, which is a 22. That is one to two sizes bigger than my hips and four sizes bigger than my waist, but I did not want to fit around with getting that waistband to fit perfectly and doing the zipper on wool, especially considering I wasn't even sure that this make would work out. Consider it an extreme wearable muslin. So to get the waistband to fit, I just added two channels to the back waistband and inserted two pieces of elastic in them. It's definitely an interesting choice considering the fabric, but I don't hate it. It kind of adds to the casual nature of this skirt and fabric. I did though have the wear with all to not add elastic to the front of the waistband. I did not want any bulk in that area. My body does a good enough job of that on its own, so I get all the benefits of an elastic waist skirt, but a clean look of a flat front best of both worlds. The fabric is a wool or more likely a wool blend that I got several years ago. I can't remember where I got it from online somewhere, but I remember loving the fact that it was clearly a cool weather fabric, but with unconventional colors. I love plaids. They give a nod to a few different seasons in one. It means I can wear this skirt multiple months and it not seem out of place. If I wear it during the fall, the colors seem fall like. If I wear it during the winter, the substrate seems winter like, and so the timing is always right to wear this skirt. The pattern did not call for a lining, but since it was wool, I knew I would be uncomfortable if I did not line the whole thing. I also used a lining fabric for the waistband facing so as to not add a ton of extra bulk to that area. The waistband facing is sewn as instructed, but the skirt lining is actually attached at the waist and the hem. I just sewed it to the hem first, understitched that seam, pressed it inside the skirt, and then sandwiched that raw edge into the waistband seams. So the skirt is pretty short, which I acknowledge in the TikTok. Wearing it with tights definitely helps, but if I want to make other versions to wear without tights, I will need to adjust that. I think that adding a little bit of length all around will help, but so would a full seat adjustment in the back, so I will do that too. Also, with a little more time on my hands, I'll be able to use my fast fit system to find the perfect size for the waistband and be able to make a fitted one without an elastic casing. If you don't know, my fast fit system is a little guide that I created and I use all the time to figure out which size of a pattern to cut, factoring in design and wearing ease. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of picking a size. You can download it from my website and I have linked it in the description box for you. I've also linked my most recent pattern review that was for McCall's 8218. If you want to see what else I've been sewing lately and if you want to keep up with my unfinished project challenge, be sure to follow me on TikTok. But that is going to do it for me today. Thank you so much for watching and I will see you all very soon. Bye!