Tag Archives: Skirt

do you Art?

02/10/2015 12:47 pm \ 27 Comments \

Imagine that said in an vehhy posh accent along the lines of “are you being served modom?”…  
Little anecdote; many years ago I took part in a group craft project, and another lady in the group had clear and firm ideas about what we were to produce, and how.  At our first meeting she approached one lady and as a first spoken utterance to her, enquired “do you appliqué?”  

Hehe, that’s neither here nor there obviously, but it’s stuck with me for years and years and still gives me a laugh.  
Man I need to get out more…
Anyway…
skirt!

We bought this novelty print cotton drill from Spotlight a few years ago, and Cassie was supposed to make the skirt herself, but you know.. time goes on, you get busy, life takes over, whatevs, and it eventually falls to your mother who is sick to blinking death of looking at this blasted fabric hanging around, gathering dust and generally taking up precious stash space that could be given over to her own fabrics … gathering dust ahem…
Anyway! time for some interventive action.
I used no pattern but just made it up to fit what she wanted.  She wanted high-waisted, close-fitting at the waist and this length, and for the paintbrushes to be situated exactly so high and for not a single skerrick of print to be hidden or broken up in any darts or shaping.  I cut two rectangles with no shaping, to maintain the print, put in an invisible zip at centre back, and pinned tapered box pleats to fit her waist, each one going straight at first then tapering narrower for the last third to accommodate her hips.  There are four such pleats both front and back.

Pretty easy, once I got going on it!  I added a shaped, interfaced facing, and hand-hemmed.
Done!
The one difficulty; inserting the zip centre back was a teeny bit angsty, because I discovered that the paintbrushes are printed just slightly slanty and off-grain… OF COURSE THEY ARE.

I chose that shortest pencil on the fold to be the “sacrificial” pencil through which to cut the centre back seam, and sewed the seam with as narrow seam allowances as practically possible and as close to the pencil/brush on either side as I could get.  It passes right on each one, touching the very tippy top of the one at left and scraping the very bottom of the one at right.  Phew!

Answer? Yaaas dahhling, we do most certainly Art.

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mustard Issey Miyake skirt

18/09/2015 3:28 am \ 55 Comments \

I’m scratching a long-standing itch by making something from this 1986 Issey Miyake pattern; Vogue 1693 …  see, I’ve used it once before, when it very first came out! to make a skirt and the top for myself.   I wore that outfit to a number of 21st birthday parties with my then brand new fiancé, now my husband  🙂  There’s probably a picture lobbing around somewhere of me wearing it, just don’t know where! perhaps in a few of our old schoolmates’ dusty old photo albums shoved in the back of a cupboard somewhere.   My first skirt and top from this pattern was in a sateen with a rather psychedelic splotchy print of bright yellow, purple, a bit of bright orange and I think, splashes of black thrown in there.    I remember being extremely proud of it, haha! I used to wear it with hydrangea purple court shoes, or pumps.  We used to call them court shoes back then.
So, I think maybe it’s ok for me to claim this as a vintage pattern! and item number three going towards fulfilling my vintage pattern pledge… to make five items from my vintage patterns.
Fabric; a loose woven, slubby wool blend from Tessuti’s, Melbourne bought during a holiday over there with my Mum and Cassie.  A bit rough in feel, but in a beautiful, high quality way, if that makes any sense at all; quite thick, probably too thick for the design in retrospect and it was a little difficult to make it work with the pattern,  Almost cried a few times when I thought I’d ruined it, but managed to wrangle it into submission eventually.  Major relief when it all worked out.  I used the hammer a few times to flatten some of the more bulky layers down thinner, so they would fit under my sewing machine foot.

Perfectly matching buttons from Calico and Ivy.
Technical notes; all seams flat felled as per the pattern.

To avoid bulk in the waistband, the inside edge was cut along the selvedge, and this is not folded inside the waistband but left out inside the skirt and topstitched down from the right side, stitching in-the-ditch.  I also cut the overlay against the selvedge and left the selvedge edge out along the edge of the turned in facing.  Same reason as the waistband treatment; to reduce the bulk of having a raw edge turned under.

Also HongKong bounds edges for an inside side edge and the hem, again to avoid as much unnecessary bulk as possible.  For this, I used a beige/light honey coloured poplin voile to make bias binding.  I bought about 2m of this a few years ago and have almost used all of it in HongKong binding for various things… need to get some more, asap!
Happiness scale; 9/10 at having another of these skirts, since the pattern is a sentimental favourite of all time for me.  It lost a point due to my struggles with the fabric, but if I had to do it all over again I would probably still want the skirt in this same fabric.  Feels great on, and like skirt and pattern were meant for each other, like star crossed lovers or something like that, go figure.  Next time I will choose something with a little less bulk though.

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 1693, slubby mustard wool blend
Tshirt; self-drafted, white/grey stripe cotton jersey, details here
Shoes; Diavolina, from Zomp shoes

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a bit of re-colouration

11/08/2015 7:20 am \ 27 Comments \

I’ve just been updating a few bits and bobs in my wardrobe…
when I get bored or dissatisfied with a particular item but it’s still in perfectly good nick or I still kinda like it because of a good shape/style or I put a dangload of effort into finishing it off particularly well or whatever; I will not toss it out.  Instead I ‘avvago at re-vamping it somehow. 
And this often includes dragging out ye olde dyepot and potions, aka dyes, eeeeeeeEEE heheheheheheheeeeee!!  That was an evil witch’s cackle there, just in case my written word did not adequately translate to the spoken word, ahem.

So, revamp-eroonie; DONE. 

Exhibit A; my little yellow cotton corduroy skirt.  Absolutely nothing wrong with it, but I was just getting meh about it.  Plus the clear yellow colour was a bit sharp and not one of “mine”.  Since my khaki dress I have been thinking more about “my” colours and having more of them in my wardrobe.  Sorta de-wintering my wardrobe and autumn-ifying it some more, if you will.
I used iDye in Brown and a tiny touch of the True Red, and got this rather wonderful deep caramel colour, in the top picture.  Hehe, it’s funny; because actually I was aiming for mustard! important moral of the story; you should never ever never dye something that you are so much in love with that you couldn’t bear an unexpected outcome.  Potential dyers, engrave that on your dye pots as it is one of the Commandments of Dyeing.
Anyway, I could not be happier with this super yummy, albeit unexpected, colour.  
Unsurprisingly, the poly satin I used for the lining and bias binding did not take up the dye one tiny little bit.

woa, crack out the sunnies!

Exhibit B; while in the mood for dyeing, I also got out my pale blue, supposedly silk shirt (all original construction details here) and gave it a facelift.  Supposedly? well it was sold as silk, but its mild lack of enthusiasm for taking up the dye speaks to some synthetic content, ahem.  Not that I mind! it’s been a wonderful blouse and I love the shape unconditionally.  Just that it has faded drastically and its colour was now palling on me; or should that more accurately read, appalling on me?  Yeah, probably.
Anyway, it got treated to iDye in True Red.  

Much better!
Now; compare the new colour of the previously same coloured cotton bias binding … that strong red was what I was aiming for, although I like this warm tangerine colour just fine.  I’m just going to enjoy it as this colour for a while; and if I still want the deep true red colour I’ll pick up some red dye suitable for synthetics and give another whirl.  See how we go.

Exhibit C; not a biggie, but I switched the yellow buttons on my forest green Miette cardigan for new deep green ones.  

I think it’s going to be a tonne more mix ‘n’ matchable like this, since previously it pretty much went ONLY with my mustard dress below, or with all-white ensembles.  The yellow buttons were a distraction, I can see that now.  My mistake.  Also, I think the lacework shines a little more than it did before.

So, that’s it!  
In my current sewing news; I’m still struggling away with embroidering my felted wool, for my 1 year 1 outfit ensemble.  Every now and again I have to lay it aside and do something else.  It’s wearing me down a bit but I am certain I am going to love the finished piece and am quite excited to see it all come together.  Ever onward and upwards!

my tutorial on basic dyeing here

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the difficulty of black lace…

27/07/2015 8:51 am \ 28 Comments \

… is in getting it to show up in a picture.  My new skirt looks completely boringly plain in these pictures, which just proves it; the camera does lie!  Actually it has a rather beautiful lace appliquéd tulle overlay.  I guess I just fail at photography.

The appliquéd tulle came from the remnants table at Fabulous Fabrics and is so lovely that I was helpless to resist it when I saw it there.  Then again, I rarely do.  My relationship with the remnants table is somewhat akin to that of a vulture to a carcass, ahem.
Anyway, there’s not much else to say about the skirt except that it is fulfilling a desire for a black lace skirt that I have had for a loooooong time! so it’s kind of funny to me that it’s taken me this long to realise that desire.  I think I’m generally more of a whimsical seamster than a methodical or practical one, although I try very hard to be the latter.
It’s actually a very comfortable skirt.  The appliqued tulle is underlined with a black rayon crepe, a quite heavy and substantial fabric; both fabrics are quite crease-resistant too which also makes it almost… practical? dare I claim that for a lace thing!  🙂  and I lined the skirt with black polyacetate lining fabric.  All fabrics are from Fabulous Fabrics.

I used Vogue 8363, one of my favourite skirt patterns.  I say; “one of the favourites” meaning like top five material, easily.  I’ve just counted and I’ve made eight skirts from it!  not too shabby if I say so myself, not too shabby.  This pattern is a terrific one; with lots of variations and different views.  This skirt is a version that isn’t any one particular view, but I used the pattern pieces that gave me those lovely and very deep, front slanted pockets, an un-pleated one piece front and a back with CB zip.

I aligned the lace motifs to match each other up around the skirt and at the CB seam as best as I could, and used up all of my remnant bar a couple of scraps.  Yay!
I cut the lining using spliced together Vogue 1247, cut longer so it sits just 2.5cm shorter than the skirt.

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 8363 lined, black lace and black rayon crepe, my review of this pattern here
Shirt; Burda 7767 modified, of dk olive linen, details here and my review of this pattern here

Also I have been doing a tiny amount of unselfish sewing… I made a caramel-coloured merino wool top for Cassie, using fabric we bought in Melbourne’s the Fabric Store during our last girly trip away.  I used a pattern that I have custom-fit to Cassie; based upon my own custom-fit Tshirt pattern; itself originally based upon a Burdastyle Tshirt top, the details of my “custom-fitting saga” here.  I thought I had lost my own pattern, which was a pretty heartbreaking state of affairs, but I recently found it again.  I had just stuffed it into the wrong pattern envelope, seems so obvious now but still I could have wept for joy when I discovered it.   I’d been thinking hmmm, really should get onto properly fitting that Tshirt pattern again, but it just seemed insurmountably difficult so I’d kept putting it off.  Plus it’s winter, and too cold for all that, too.
Anyway, I found it!

The Tshirt does look a whole tonne better on an actual person with arms, however its intended person had to suddenly hurry away for an important social engagement and I was too impatient to wait for her to return to perform modelling duties.  It has long sleeves, a scooped neckline finished with a folded band as described in my tutorial here, and with sleeve and hems finished with my twin needle.  There was an awkwardly small piece of merino left over which was too small for anything on its own but too big and too nice a fabric to throw away.  So I cut the ends square and straight and now it is a scarf.
I might borrow the scarf occasionally  😉

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that 70’s show

19/07/2015 5:09 am \ 48 Comments \

I dragged this dusty, cobwebby ol’ 70’s skirt from outta some trunk in the attic… hehe, just kidding.
It’s new 🙂
A chocolate pleather, A-line, midi skirt was high on my mental list of things to make for myself this winter and I’d bought all the fabric etc… then I somehow got chooffing along happily, oh yeah went away a coupla times too, then got bogged down in several other, quite involved, longer term projects, and just suddenly realised we are halfway through winter and I still hadn’t made it, ha!  So yesterday I got cracking and whipped it up quick sticks.  Done!
Technically speaking; this is the second thing to go towards fulfilling my vintage pattern pledge to sew up five of my vintage patterns this year.  The pattern is Simplicity 7308, hailing from 1976.  I say “technically”, because this is like the very plainest of plain, classical of classic patterns you could possibly imagine; so… Am I cheating on my vintage pattern pledge by using this?  I feel like maybe the purpose of the pledge is to get you acknowledging some the more obvious and recognisably vintage styles, in which case this one is a cop-out!  eeeep sorry!  I promise that some of my other vintage pattern plans are definitely of the more dated variety!  Maybe I’ll make up an extra vintage pattern, to make up for it  🙂

Back in its day, this could likely have been made up in beige, or tan suede, maybe pale blue denim or possibly a large scale plaid on the bias.  In my memories my Mum had a blue denim skirt just like those… Can you just imagine?  Instead I’ve used a very NOW fabric; a deep chocolate fake leather.   At the first stirrings of winter this year, the fashion column in our local paper advised all who cared that leather and leather details were the absolute dernier cri for Perth fashionistas.  My brain seems to have latched on the idea, since several of my newer wardrobe additions have gone this route; my moto jacket, my cow skirt, and another skirt I’ve ig’ed but is still in the works.
Clearly I’m a lemming.

failed twirl.  gawd knows why I even attempt this nonsense.  at least it shows the skirt in motion…

Nuts and Bolts: a plain A-line, midi-length skirt, side seams and a CB zip, pretty timeless and possibly very boring.  I eliminated the CF seam since I have an irrational grudge against them in a skirt, placing the CF on a fold.  The width of my fabric also allowed me to widen the flare by just a touch, both front and back.
Fake leather is from Spotlight, all other materials from Fabulous Fabrics.  Lined with chocolate polyacetate lining fabric and with a waistband of black silk dupion leftover from my cow skirt.

Details:
Skirt; Simplicity 7308 from 1976, chocolate pleather
Bodysuit; the Nettie by Closet Case patterns, black stretch, details here
Tights (not seen); own pattern, orange stretch, details here
Scarf; own pattern ivory wool, details here
Boots; Sempre di, from Zomp shoes

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adding lining to a skirt; some tips

07/07/2015 4:52 am \ 18 Comments \

Plenty of skirt patterns do not come with separate pieces nor instructions for adding a lining to the skirt.  And often you want a lining; particularly in a winter skirt that you wish to wear with tights.
In a nutshell: my own method for adding this is now to generally to cut a skirt lining using the same pattern pieces as the skirt, and — critical difference — sew them together using narrower seams.  So your lining has a wider girth than the skirt itself, i.e. a nice dose of extra wearing ease… this is a small thing but makes a big difference for slimline or pencil skirts particularly!  Why? well, a few ripped linings later…! haha! I jest! but seriously; in my experience sometimes I would find that linings would habitually start to pull away from the zip tape right at hip level.  I re-stitch them back on, only for them to pull away yet again.  

old skirt

When I did start making my linings just a touch roomier than the skirt itself, this pesky little problem has not recurred!

I just sew the side seams using the narrowest possible seam allowance, around 6mm(1/4″).  For a plain skirt pattern with a standard 1.5cm (5/8″) seam allowance, this alone gives around 3.5cm (1 1/4″) extra wearing ease in there.
Another, equally viable option would be to cut the lining just one size bigger instead.  

The CB seam of the lining; stitch with the regular 1.5cm (5/8″) seam allowance up to the bottom edge of the zip opening, then re-enforce the stitching line at the lower edge of the zip opening with stay stitching; stitching each side separately and keeping the seam allowance free of the stitching.  Snip into the corners, fold the seam allowances under and press.

With wrong sides together, pin the lining to the skirt at the side seams.  Pin the zip opening of the lining skirt to the zip tape of the skirt.

Also; do not stitch waist darts but merely fold the excess width of the lining at the waist dart point into a pleat and pin.  As expected, thanks to those narrower seams, these will be slightly deeper pleats than the skirt darts.  Pleating the wait darts rather than stitching them down also builds just a touch more ease into the lining.

Hand-stitch the skirt lining to the zip tape around the zip opening.

Attach the waistband as normal, and hem.  I generally hem a lining to 2.5cm (1″) shorter than the skirt, but this is a matter of personal taste.

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I’m a cow

02/07/2015 5:23 am \ 46 Comments \

… a Friesian cow!
And here I am, out standing in the field.
Ha! whenever I hear about someone, some highly accomplished person gaining recognition for being outstanding in the field of whatever, I cannot help it but that old joke just pops into my head; you know the one… 
How did the cow win a Nobel prize?  Because it was out standing in its field.
And I will have a little inner laugh.  With cavalier lack of regard for the importance or gravity of the accomplishment.   I know, it’s not even that funny.  Clearly, I am very easily amused.
So, yes, I am wearing a new skirt, while I’m out standing in my field, here.
*muffled giggle*.  

The fabric is a ivory/black fake fur from Spotlight, plush but with a low pile and not very thick.  I used black silk dupion for the waistband, as the plush was too thick to make a nice clean flat waistband, and I lined my skirt with ivory polyacetate lining fabric.

I used Vogue 1247 with the pieces spliced together so as to make a plain little skirt with no pockets.  I know, Vogue 1247 again! sorry to be boring! it’s just that the silhouette of Vogue 1247 suits my current winter wardrobe right down to the ground so it’s very much the golden child of my pattern family.  It may or may not fall out of my favour at some point but y’know, when you’re enamoured of a pattern and it seems perfect for every occasion so you keep reaching for it over and over and over again.  To the exclusion of all the other, perfectly good, skirt patterns.
Probably all my other patterns hate it, and when the cupboard door is shut and the light goes out and I leave the room, they studiously ignore it and exclude it from their whispered conversations with a disdainful curl to their lips.
She’s so full of herself.
Oh, like totally.
(I’m telling you, it’s like high school in there…)
Hey guys!  I just got made up; again!  In cow fabric!!
Did she just say what I thought she did?
Mmmm.  Just pretend you didn’t hear…
Guys, look!
Omigod, seriously. 
And she lined me!  I’m not even supposed to be lined!
Oh please.  Like half of us don’t have lining already.  You don’t hear us bragging.
I know right?  Just keep walking.

Vogue 1247 sadly walks away, to eat her lunch.  Alone.
Trying to bravely rise above it.  
Their turn will come.  Oh, their turn will come.

Hmmm, goodness knows how that happened, but somehow I seem to have segued right into the screenplay for a new high school soapie, starring a cast of dressmaking patterns.
Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!  Will Vogue 1247 be forgiven her teacher’s pet status?  Or will a new pattern topple her from her pedestal?  Will there be hair-pulling?  Or will someone steal someone else’s boyfriend?!

Hehe, thought about deleting all that nonsense, but nah; left it.

Adios! or should I say; MOOOOOO!

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 1247 modified and lined; plush faux fur, my review of this pattern here
Top; the twist top from Pattern Magic, ivory stretch, details here
Tights; black poly stretch, from my own custom-fit pattern, details here
Boots; Roberto del Carlo, from Zomp shoes

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pale pink Issey Miyake skirt

23/05/2015 4:22 am \ 58 Comments \

Why a pale pink skirt,
I hear you cry?
why not a pale pink skirt,
is my reply.

Poetry.  Nailed it.
Sorry.  I’m in a silly mood and obviously having trouble thinking of intelligent-sounding stuff to write…
Ok.  So, at the beginning of the year I pledged to sew five items from my vintage patterns… this latest effort is my first; woot!
The pattern is Vogue 1384, a 1984 Issey Miyake design.  30 years old is pretty “vintage” yeah?  yup I reckon so.
I’m slightly amused at myself that I signed up actually since a few years ago I was so allergic to the very word “vintage” and could not hear it without an involuntary eye roll.  I was like, o gawd, so done-to-death!!  I should say I wasn’t against any thing vintage, in itself, in fact I love antiques, and old things.  It was just the word “vintage”.  Hehehe.  I must be mellowing somewhat.

Anyhoo, back to The Thing: my cool new skirt.  Or should I say, my skirt of a very very cool design.  As we can usually expect from Issey Miyake, it a quite unique, intriguing and interesting approach to a skirt; being a few oddly shaped rectangles cut, spliced and resewn together at seemingly random places, and boom; you end up with an asymmetric skirt.  Fabulousity!

I know, and I agree; creations made from “vintage” patterns can be a little annoying to read about on blogs, thanks to the patterns being so rare and hard to come by.  Not very helpful; and sorta inspirational rather than aspirational.  I’m sorry!
I used a heavenly soft pink poly crepe from Fabulous Fabrics, the same fabric I used for my other Sea Change top.  So the two make another matching skirt/top set, should I desire to wear them together.  But I think it will go with lots of other tops in my wardrobe too.
The pink poly crepe is on the sheer side, so I lined my skirt with ivory polyacetate fabric.  I managed to cut the lining as just one piece: I worked out how to do this after sewing the skirt pieces together and could see how the skirt “worked”, so to speak.  I spliced the skirt pieces together at the relevent joining points and marked and sewed in the waist shaping darts at the top.  It ended up looking kinda like a big quarter-doughnut shape.  Then I just included it in with the skirt when sewing on the waistband at the top.   Simple dimple.

The waistband is of matching, pale pink silk dupion, also from Fabulous Fabrics.  I chose this because it is nicely stiff, inflexible and very stable, which is really good in a waistband for a skirt like this.  While the floaty, ripply, slithery poly crepe is really lovely for the skirt part of the skirt, it is not the slightest bit stable.  And this is very much a waist-defining skirt design, for which a structurally sound waistband is imperative.
Some skirts are loose and flowy all over and are ok sitting low on the hips in a casual bohemian way; others need support, and the waistband is it.  This design is firmly in the latter category.
Summary:
What do I love: the asymmetric shape, and the random waterfall-y ruffle-y thing falling down into a handkerchief like hem at the front.  Divinely floaty fabric in the heavenliest soft pale pink.
What don’t I love; it’s nearly winter here and I’m going to have to put it away for a few months.  Boooo!
OK, I have nothing else remotely intelligent to add; so, until next time, amigos!

Details:
Top; the loose drape top, modified, from drape drape by Hisako Sato, linen cotton jersey.  I discovered a little hole while I was putting this on this morning, aaagh! Immediate emergency darning ensued!  I love this top!
Skirt; Vogue 1384, pale pink poly-crepe
Cardigan; I also wore my calico cotton cardigan today…
Sandals; Zomp, from Zomp shoe boutique

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