Tulip skirt (a stash buster)

Looking through my fabric stash (which although gets used in bits and pieces, never seems to get smaller) I lingered on some grey check fabric that I have owned for way too long.  So long, that I can not remember when I bought it (about 10 years ago, me thinks) or what I bought it for.  I have used this fabric in the past, but I still had loads of it left.  I needed to make a decision: use it, or get rid of it.

In a moment of inspiration I flicked through the Burdastyle website and found the Marie 'Tulip' skirt, and immediately set to work.  As always, Snorky was very helpful with the cutting out and piecing together of the pattern...

'What? You want me to get off the paper?  But I just got comfy!'

This is actually a pretty easy pattern to put together, but as always, I somehow managed to make it more complicated for myself.  I am renowned for jumping in to sewing projects with great gusto, thinking "instructions... bah! I know how to sew a skirt!"  As such, I then spent as much time unpicking as I did sewing.  After a few hours of fiddling with a bumpy zip, I put the project down, and didn't come back to it until the following weekend.

When I did come back to it, calmer, and having actually read the instructions, it only took another hour to complete.  And now having stitched it once, I reckon I could whip up another quite quickly.  It's a very versatile skirt and has a flattering shape (I did cut the side curves down a bit) so it's highly likely that I will make another.

Stitchers - do you do this too?  Jump in, make a mess of it, then spend half your time unpicking?  Or are you better behaved, carefully reading the instructions before the cotton is even threaded?