Ikat Maxi Skirt

I love my new maxi skirt I made for Skirt Week 2013 and the Summer of No Pants series!  This was the first time I've made one and it didn't end in disaster (though there were some hiccups).   I found this wonderful fabric in the Red-Tag isle at Jo-Ann, marked Rayon Challis Ethnic.  I wish I bought the rest of the bolt!  I used a knit maxi skirt tutorial from MadMim and just added a little extra to the side seam allowances because I've never worked with rayon challis before.  It appeared to have a little stretch, but I didn't want to end up with a super tight tube skirt.

Another minor change from Mad Mim's tutorial was I used some wide elastic for the waist.  I just measured the amount I needed, sewed the elastic together, then clipped it to the skirt that already had the side seams together. Notice in the above picture my hiccup?  I didn't either...until I had sewn all around the waist to attach the elastic.  I had the skirt inside out, rather than matching the right side of the skirt fabric to the right side of the elastic.

I had a great date with the seam ripper.  She bought me some wine.  The second try went fine and then I finished the hem.  I really wanted to make the skirt able to be convertible to a hi-low maxi.  I tried and tried different ways to bustle the front and it just wasn't working with the A-line shape of the skirt.  But making a side gather looked really cute!  

I attached an eye to the side seam around my mid thigh, and a hook near my knee on the inside of the same side seam.   The print completely hides the eye on the outside.

I think it looks kinda beachy and flirty.  Here's a view of the back with the side gather.

And here is the maxi skirt styled with and without a belt, and without the optional gather.  Don't mind my foot sneaking out or my "Did you get it?" look.

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