Back in the Studio

While on vacation, I picked up this beautiful piece of red cotton. You can see the width of the fabric here while Kashi is cutting it.

Because the print is so large - both Carolyn and I decided it needed to be a full skirt. I am loving the look of the skirt in Simplicity 4045. What do I like about it? Well I like that it a tiny waistband, rather than having the skirt hang from a yoke. On me, having all those pleats hang from a yoke does 2 things - it places a horizontal line in a very unflattering place and then it also releases the pleats in the most unattractive place. The pleats I can deal with by just changing where they release - but a yoke? I don't know how to deal with that.

I'm not sure that this pattern is a good choice for this fabric due to all the pleats - I think it might break the pattern up too much.

My other option is Kwik Sew 3337. I have at 5 skirts from this pattern. The first version was a lined amy butler cotton print. this pattern has 2 front pieces, 2 sides and 2 back pieces with an invisible zipper in the center back. That first Amy Butler skirt was made exactly according to the pattern. After that, I modified the skirt by placing the front piece on the fold and taking out the tinest bit of flare at the bottom. I like the later versions better - but I love this pattern. I have made it both with and without the border band.

An advantage to using this pattern is that the pieces are basically unobstructed - so while there are 5 pieces to the skirt, the large print of the fabric would still be intact. However, I'm not sure it's full enough! Maybe I need to look for a circle skirt pattern.

So, ideas, opinions? Should I go for broke with the new Simplicity, stick to the tried and true Kwik Sew, or look for a fuller skirt?