After putting this together, I found out why the pattern calls for lightweight fabrics: significant gathering is required, and the (admittedly) thick cotton sateen made the skirt blousy to the extreme. I spent an evening ripping the skirt apart, took 6 inches (3 inches each side) off the back, and stiched it back together. The result is still craziness:
At first I thought (more likely, tried to convince myself) that the front was cute, but it is nuts, too:
I wanted it to be this Louis Vuitton:
But it turned out this Louis Vuitton...:
Images from style.com
Not good.
I would really like a full skirt for summer, and I adore the shape of this skirt. While the pattern is very easy to work with, I think it has an inherent flaw: it would require a really lightweight fabric, but it doesn't call for a lining, so the skirt would be see-through. Lining the skirt might make it too thick for the gathers.
I have Simplicity 2413 in my pattern stash, and I may sew the full skirt in that pattern. But for now, the poor navy sateen is in a pile on the sewing room/guest room floor....
