Not quite New Look 6103 - Lace Pencil Skirt

Hey peoples :-) It's been SUPER rainy and gloomy around here these days so I've been holding this skirt hostage until I got some better weather to take pics. Not real hostage though because I wore it the same day I finished it... 3 weeks ago lol I just haven't been able to get the pics.

My aunt's birthday was on the last weekend of September. I had this elaborate plan of making this linen shift dress with a full lining and and and invisible zipper with some other trims and pattern modifications. As life went on, I only had 2 out of 7 days to start and finish the dress so that did NOT happen. What I knew I'd be able to accomplish, though, was a basic pencil skirt.

Or maybe not so basic. This is New Look 6103.
....Kinda.

I was going through my stash looking for a WOVEN pencil skirt that had a waistband. I new I was going to be making quite a few modifications made quite a few modifications. I had this inspiration photo that I was working off of.

close, no?

So I went in my stash and tried to dig up some lace with a selvage design and some fabric underline it with. I used some remnants that I found from JoAnn's. Seriously, don't sleep on the remnant bin. The underlining is 1yd of stretch black satin for $6.50. I had 2 remnants of the lace (0.417 yd & .625 yd) respectively $1.65 and $2.50 respectively. To keep up the calculations, the exposed zipper cost 80 cents and the invisible zipper cost $1.25.  From 3 remnants and some zips from Panama I have a skirt for $12.70. Probably would cost a bit more in a boutique lol

The modifications I made:

cut the skirt back on the fold

put a seam in the skirt front with an exposed zipper

peg the skirt front and back

added a side seam invisible zipper

cut an arc on the skirt front.

I didn't make the arch as high as the inspiration pic. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how she sits in hers because when I sat down, the skirt was PRETTY mini lol It's kind of hard to see the texture from the pictures so I added some flat pics of the skirt.

ETA: I learned how to install the exposed zipper from this link.

I have some questions to the more advanced sewers.  This is the second garment where I've tried to install an invisible zipper in a four way intersection (vertical and horizontal seam). It's been pretty difficult for me to to install it cleanly with all of the bulk. I was starting to think that maybe I was only supposed to do a lapped zipper but then I saw an invisible one on a RTW skirt that I have. Same thing with a waistband. If you have any advice to offer, please do :-)

Anyway, that's all I've got going on with this skirt.  Haven't really been sewing much lately unfortunately but I will be doing some binge pattern cutting tomorrow so that I can be ready when my sewing space is available again.

Be back 'round here soon!
xoxo, Tasha