Sunday Sew-Day: Blazers, Part VIII

This blazer was... interesting. I spotted it at the end of the night at last fall's clothes swap. No one had taken it yet, and it's obvious why. My husband's first comment upon seeing it was "It's never too late to begin a career in clowning."

But the colors are beautiful, and the fabric is a lovely silk/linen blend.

So I decided to bring it home with me and ask it what it wanted to be when it grew up. The answer it eventually gave, after much quiet contemplation and staring at one another, was "a skirt". The bright, bold pattern has a bit of a 60s mod vibe, so let's run with that.

First, I removed the sleeves and shoulder pads.

Then I cut straight across the yoke, at the top of the lapels but below the collar.

I cut the pieces apart at the side seams and trimmed them into trapezoidal shapes.

I carefully (and awkwardly) joined the two fronts by flipping one inside out and inserting the other inside it, aligning the edges, and sewing down to where they start to curve outward. A quick press and I've got the front panel of my skirt.

I cut more trapezoids from each sleeve and their linings.

I stitched each sleeve to its lining along the bottom edge with right sides facing.

Then I flipped it right-side-out and gave it a good press.

I spread open the former sleeves and the former back, all connected to their lining along the bottom edge, and I attached them to one another on the sides.

I attached the front panels in a similar fashion (but more awkwardly since their lining is also attached along the center seam, not just the bottom edge). After pressing all my seams, it's starting to look like a skirt!

I grabbed a zipper from my stash, salvaged from another refashion. And I picked out about 6 inches of the front right seam of both the outer fabric and the lining.

I pinned my zipper in place, between the outer fabric and lining...

....and top-stitched around it.

I had this dress hanging in my refashion closet (thrifted for $5 with the original JCP tags on it). I plan to do something with the floral print portion, but the black border will come in handy right now. I snipped off the bottom hem, enough of it to go around my waist. It's a cotton blend with a bit of stretch to it - perfect for a waistband.

It's already doubled over lengthwise, so I flipped it inside-out, and sewed the ends closed. Then right-side-out and ironed the ends flat again.

I pinned the raw edge to the inside of my skirt, slightly stretching the waistband as I sewed around it.

Then I folded the waistband downward, toward the right side, making it four layers thick, and I top-stitched along the edge.

I even managed the save and reattach the laundering tag, like I like to do.

The wild print is still wild, sure, but I think it works much better as a skirt than it did as a blazer. Now should I leave my shirt untucked?

Or should I tuck it in?

Should I leave the pocket flaps out or tuck them in too?

I'm leaning toward both shirt and flaps tucked. What do you think?

And how about a little close up?