Not-so-reversible Barcelona Wrap Skirt

This is a typical I-need-to-make-something-NOW project. Translation: it was fun to make and I learned some things along the way, but the end result is far from how I imagined it. The story begins with my desire for a wrap skirt. I've seen lots of draft-your-own pattern equations online and in mags but that requires math. Math is not a friend of mine. So I thought, Amy Butler's Barcelona skirt pattern fits beautifully and is easy so why not use that? The next day, both of my kids end up out of the house so I start on it. I cut three front panels from each fabric. The goal was a chambray/gingham reversible skirt. I have tons of this light chambray so cutting was fine, but then when I got to the blue gingham (had only 2 yds), things got sketchy. I won't belabor the details here, but lets just say I had to piece together one panel and ended up funking up so badly that the gingham is now only really a sweet lining. I had to kiss truly "reversible" goodbye.





I tried to make it up to myself by making matching covered buttons (instead of a lumpy waist-tie). The buttons seemed like a good idea; why tie a bow around my worst feature?

They I decided to trim with rickrack. Nothing screams "homemade" like rickrack, I know, but it's black. And it's already done. I was pleased with how it sandwiched in between the two layers. I had not tried this before. I stopped myself from using it around the entire hem. It just runs up the front edge.
After wearing this skirt for a few hours now, I wish I had made the waist tighter. Also, because the Barcelona fairs out at the bottom, it hangs a little funny at the bottom corners. Next time, I'll cut the sides straighter (like every single wrap skirt pattern I've ever seen). I'll probably also go with the traditional tie. Maybe I'll get to it tomorrow.

Conclusion: for less time and money than a movie, it's not a bad project.