I finished my Mabel

Whoo Hoo! Okay, it's not perfect, but I learned a lot. And the skirt is unbelievably comfortable.  Here's the skirt in action. (Yes, I'm wearing tights in June - summer in San Francisco - what ya gonna do?)

I also enjoyed using up a leftover scrap of fabric to make a cute waistband lining.

So this was fun. To be honest, at first I didn't see what was the big deal with this pattern. Why were people raving about a tube skirt? But now that I've worn it, I love it. Here's why:

• It has no elastic or closures but it stays put. 
• It's neither tight nor loose. 
• Like I said, it's not perfect, but to me it looks finished enough to wear outside the house. 

Here's what I learned and enjoyed about sewing knits:

• Easy to fit
• Cute knits are cheaper than most wovens, AND you don't need as much fabric. 
• The overlock stich is kind of cool. It was exciting to see something that almost looked professional. However, it's soooo slow. I totally want a serger now. 
• The double needle stitch is pretty easy and straightforward. I was kind of nervous about that part. 
• The stitches started making more sense to me when I adjusted the stitch width. Super narrow (0.5)for zigzag, 2.5 for the double needle, and 4 for the overlock. Once I made these changes, the stitches start looking how I imagined they would.

I used a very soft but stable ponte knit and I love the way it feels. I know I'm not being very daring with my color choice, but I thought my mistakes wouldn't show up as much in a dark color. For my next one, I'm making navy blue. That's me, living on the edge.  :)