Dang It.

One of the drawbacks of biking in skirts that are relatively narrow is that sometimes you get this:

This is the back. Look at the bottom, and you'll see the hole, where apparently it's gotten caught on the front of the saddle. Or, if  you don't see it, scroll down. I just wanted to include this photo as well, for scale.

And, as you may or may not be able to see, in addition to the big tear, there are a bunch of smaller holes and weak areas. Kind of beyond mending, unfortunately..

I wasn't as upset as I thought I'd be. Does that make sense? I saw it, and I was just like, oh, yeah, I guess that was inevitable, and it's not like it was anything special or something I spent a lot of time on--but at the same time, I was thinking, I should be horrified! This is my favorite dress!

Okay, it may not actually be my favorite dress. (I don't know that I really have one.) And when I first made it, I didn't like it much at all. But since then--it's been about a year and a half--it's become probably my number one wardrobe staple. With the sole exception of a jacket that I wear nearly every day, I've worn this dress more than any other thing I've made. It's very versatile; I was thinking just this morning, as I paired it with yet another odd assortment of other garments, that I think I've worn it at least once with every pair of tights I own. Which is saying something.

I am sad. If I could think of a way to patch it, I would (have done). But it didn't really seem doable. So now I've cut off the damaged part, which wound up being four and a half inches, to see if I'd still wear it at that length. I haven't bothered to hem it yet, because I've determined that I most probably will not.

Realistically, I know that this is a lot closer to the length of skirts most women my age actually wear (and it's a lot better for freedom of movement, too) but it's still a bit short for me. Here's what it looked like at the original length. Now--I just don't know.

It was really the top part I liked, though--the skirt was always kind of meh--and I still like that enough to keep, so I guess now I'll be on the lookout for some navy blue fabric of a certain consistency, and try to redo the skirt. (Unless anyone has any other suggestions?) It probably won't be the same, but maybe it'll be good enough...