McCall's 5431 Skirt - Epic Fail

Dear Lord. How could I not have thought of all of this BEFORE I started cutting into my beautiful Denyse Schmidt 80's retro pink and grey plaid??

I should back up. I love wearing skirts in the summer. I wear A-line skirts the way lots of women wear khaki shorts. They are my every day staple. Of course, as a sewist, I love the idea of making skirts for myself with precious pieces from my stash. I buy TONS of skirt patterns...alas, I have not yet found the right pattern for me. Here's why.

I'm 5'4". I CANNOT carry a lot of fabric. That means flowy-ness OR length. I bought this McCall's pattern #5431 for $1 at Joann, so at least THAT didn't kill me. I was going to make version C, the shortest one, with no pockets. Looks to hit a hair below the knee....Perfect. 5'4" also means NO pockets for me. Too much fabric. I liked the fact that it said "quick". I liked that there was a zipper, this tends to mean the skirt will fit better. I should have known when I couldn't cut the front of the skirt without turning the fabric sideways that it would be TOO MUCH SKIRT.

But I neglected to look at the drawing closely...all of the versions are flowy. All of the women have stupid long legs. Unlike me. So I dove in, and took my precious 90 minutes of sewing time and made this...

Sweet Baby Jesus, where do I begin??? First of all, I ALWAYS get screwed up by the sizing. I made it a full size and half too big (yes, that's even MORE fabric). But it's a plaid, going crosswise, too. I put on the skirt, and I looked like the broad side of a barn. Much cursing and foot stomping ensued.

There is one saving grace to this mishap. The skirt has SO much fabric, I will easily be able to cut it up and use it in a quilt. That is only a little bit of solace. I am seriously, like 0-4 on my last few garment projects. What's a girl to do???

Would one of you be kind enough to recommend a good A-line skirt pattern for me??? This trial and error stinks.

On a cheerier note...my daughter walked with her Brownie troop last Monday in our local town's Memorial Day parade.

She is pretty tiny compared with a the other girls. They put her in the middle to even out the height on either side. But she makes up for it in spirit.

I may not be grateful for my sewing epic fail today, but I am most certainly grateful for my wonderful family, and yet another gorgeous New England weekend.