Tag Archives: Skirt

Thoughts on hem lengths; linings and slips

18/09/2013 6:54 am \ 28 Comments \
One of my wardrobe renovations performed lately was to shorten this skirt by a good several inches; a super quickie reno, but one that nevertheless completely transformed this skirt for me from something that almost caused me to shudder whenever I happened to catch sight of myself in a shop window reflection, to something that I have been wearing with a lot more pleasure and more confidence in how it fits nicely in with my style now.  Although I made it to wear this winter, it didn’t really “go” stylistically with any of the tops and cardigans, heck not even any of the shoes and boots that are the mainstays of my current winter wardrobe.  When I trialled pinning it up a few inches; hey presto, problem instantly solved.
I do have this theory that when it comes to skirts we all have a personal Ideal Hem Length; that is good for YOU, and it could be a bad idea to mess around with it too much.  For me, I think I prefer winter skirts to be EITHER about 10cm (4″) above the knee, OR quite long at midi-length, like roughly 20cm (8″) above the ankle.  These are lengths that just look better with all my tops, all my shoes and that suit my personal style.  Obviously I reserve the right to change my mind about that one, at any moment, according to any and all fleeting fashion whims.
Good thing I can sew for myself, hmmm?  ðŸ˜‰

I had already finished the lower raw edge with violet bias binding, so to unpick and re-stitch it up a coupla inches higher was an ultra quick renovation…  and the extra length is still there, should my wardrobe tastes migrate to embrace the aesthetics of different hem length.

now that’s a nice deep hem!

And now to another topic, slightly related…

Kathleen wrote a comment bringing up the topic of skirts; specifically, to line or not to line? That is the question! which I thought worthy of further exposition.

In the photo above I am actually wearing a full slip underneath my outfit, not that you can see it, which is the point really!

I line the majority of my skirts but not all of them, and it is always something to consider, how do you choose which gets lined and which does not?
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the horrible experience of your unlined skirt slowly and inexorably riding up your stockinged legs, as if driven by some strange evil impulse of its own… which is why a lining is a good idea.  But for many of us in hot climates a lining can be a pesky thing that clings hideously to your sweaty legs for most of the year.  So what do you do if you want a bit more versatility, for your skirts to see more active duty, to be an all-seasons item as it were?

The answer is of course, a separate slip or petticoat.

I chose to make this skirt without a lining because I wanted it to be transitional thing, to wear on both winter-y days and warmer bare-legged days too.  And on cold days when tights are on, as above, I have a few slips, or petticoats that I can wear underneath, that do the same duty as a lining.  In the outfit above, I am wearing a pale blue silk petticoat, chosen because the colour went with the rest of my outfit, not that you are supposed to see it! but still, just in case  ðŸ™‚ I like my colours to “go”.  So when re-hemming the skirt I was careful to hem it to a length that I could still wear my petticoats underneath it.

It’s always really good to have several petticoats or slips on hand from which to choose.  I have eight full slips or petticoats in total, half of which could pass as little summer dresses if worn with extras: this pale blue one, a pale pink one, a beige one (easily my most useful one), a cream broderie anglaise one and a black one, shown long here but I have since re-hemmed it quite a bit shorter, and also three long and full-skirted ones, in yellow, pink and a white Metalicus one.  I don’t have any half-slips… but then until I started listing them for this post I didn’t realise just how many petticoats I actually had and maybe I have an abundance already!
So, in summary: To Line, or to Slip? that is the (paraphrased) question…

Later edit: for those looking for a pattern; the lovely and clever Sherry of pattern scissors cloth (I miss her!) designed and uploaded the Ruby slip, a pattern for a simple bias cut slip with the option for a lace bodice, and also generously provided extensive and super helpful instructions.  Available for free download here  

Details:
Top; Vogue 1115, blue denim details and my review of this pattern here
Skirt; Vogue 8363 heavily modified, green cotton corduroy, more details here and my review of this pattern here
Petticoat; Burda 8071, pale blue silk, details here
Tights; self-drafted, blue denim-look jersey, details here
Shoes, Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes
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Fluttery grey-green skirt

30/08/2013 1:27 am \ 37 Comments \

New skirt, yeah  ðŸ™‚
I
bought this lightweight blotchy grey-green cotton from Tessuti’s in Melbourne,
during my girly trip away with my Mum and Cassie last year… and always intended
to make just exactly this skirt.  The pattern is an old favourite Vogue 7880, a flatteringly longline skirt with beautifully staggered asymmetrical layers, and the option for a feminine handkerchief hemline.  It’s an interesting as well as lovely design because it looks different from every angle.  There was a stiff breeze on the beach when I
took these pictures, which is normally a pain for the sort of weirdo who tries to photograph their sewing creations out in the great outdoors… I mean who does that anyway?!  but actually turned out to be a good thing I think, because the wind
has assisted in showing off the different layers fluttering against each other, how
they actually appear when in motion, so to speak.  Thanks, wind, for blasting me to bits!  Very much appreciated!
The
fabric is a very lightweight cotton, a little crinkly, even slightly seersucker-y.  It has the shadows of the classic seersucker check
appearing in its background, overlaid with cloudy, watercolour like swirls of
grey, khaki, sage, olive… all my favourite sludgey colours in other words.   The bolt was clutched to my chest pretty early in the shopping expedition, if I recall correctly.  Mwahahaha.
This skirt pattern has three views and I’ve made lots of them over the years.  This newest version is sorta halfway
between views B and C, which have always been my two favourite
views.  I’m so glad I’ve hung on to
the pattern because it is interesting and lovely, and imo there’s just
nothing ticking either of those boxes in currently available skirt patterns at the moment.  Is it just me or are skirt patterns
pretty boring and unimaginative right now?  Obviously I have absolutely nothing against basic skirt
patterns, since after all I’ve made my own fair share of very plain little
skirts!… but we need some of the more pretty and/or out-there ones too, don’t
we?  And sadly there are just very
few interesting, exciting, gorgeous and/or challenging designs around.  If there are, then please tell me, where
are they?!
This
pattern has inner stay pieces, to which you attach the lower skirt pieces.  For several of my versions of this
skirt I’ve chosen sheer fabrics, because the floaty layers are really crying out to be
made in very light fabrics like chiffon; and so I generally lengthen the
stay to hit just above knee length, to make it more like a real proper
lining.  It’s pretty easy to mark
the old stitching line on the stay, to which you add the lower skirt pieces as
normal, and then you just hem the stay just like you would a lining.  The longer length hangs inside the
skirt, providing modesty when you have chosen sheer fabrics, or in case you do happen to be wearing
the skirt on a very windy day, ahem.
you can just barely make out the line of stitching halfway up the inner stay/lining, where the lower skirt pieces are attached…
It
has an invisible zip closure, and I finished the raw edges using the rolled hem
stitch on my overlocker.
Details:
Skirt; Vogue 7880, lightweight cotton with polyacetate stay/lining
Shirt; Burda 8497, white cotton, details here
Shoes, bensimon, from seed
btw, if you like playing “spot the dog”she just squeaked into two of the pictures here  ðŸ˜‰
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Wedgwood blue damask, reworked

19/08/2013 1:30 am \ 33 Comments \

With the fingers of spring tickling at the edges of our days, I’ve been renovating my wardrobe.  And came across this dress…

Although the dress had a sorta sporty feel to it and I think my style is vaguely sorta sporty? maybe? whatever the heck is my style anyway…. seriously I have no idea!  anyhow, somehow the dress felt wrong on me.  I wore it a few times, gave it a shot, but no.
But you know I’m not one to let lovely fabric go to waste and this fabric had been a gift from Sam.  So I unpicked the panels, saving all those zips.  And managed to patch together enough fabric for a new little skirt.  Which is great because a few skirts were jettisoned in the clean-out so it is only fitting that some new skirts could come in, yes?  Just keeping the balance!  ðŸ™‚
I used Vogue 1247 and lengthened it… surprise!  I know I have a few of these in my wardrobe already but what can I say? it’s just an absolute winner.  It’s so quick and easy to make, is exactly to my style tastes and you cn put it together with small bitsy pieces of fabric.  How many times have I made this pattern already?  I’m not sure, but lots.

Ok I’ve just counted.  Eight times I have made this pattern.  Eight.  That’s not even counting the two times I’ve spliced the pieces and made it up plain, without those distinctive waitress-y pockets.
Some of the beige double topstitched seaming of the original dress is still intact in the skirt, which is fine by me.  I like weird little quirks in my clothes, didn’t you know?

The pockets are lined with blue sprigged cotton, leftovers from my sew bossy dress in its pre-dyed colour, and the lining is the original pale latte coloured acetate lining of the dress, simply cut to the right length from the bottom and keeping the hemline intact.  Instead of sewing the darts in the lining I folded them in pleats instead, as is my wont.  This is not laziness, honest! the idea is that there is some wearing ease in pleats whereas as there is no wearing ease in sewn down darts.

Does this happen to you when snapping a picture of your sewing details?

I know you can’t see them in the photo… but I am totally wearing matching socks too.  Ha!  I love matching details, even those you can’t see!

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 1247 lined, blue damask, my review of this pattern here
Blouse; a mixture of different patterns, powder blue silk, details here
Socks; hand-knit by me to a 60’s pattern, details here
Boots; Enrico Antinori, from Zomp shoes

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I dye…

17/06/2013 6:02 am \ 30 Comments \

…  literally.  I’m dyeing heaps of stuff lately.
My ultramarine corduroy skirt.  I was bored with it, and didn’t wear it at all during me-made May even though it was season appropriate.  That is A Sign.  I dunno, I’d gone off the colour; the brightness of it felt a bit passe, a bit garish, not serious enough for winter.
So…. to the dye pot!   Plunging your clothes into a pot of dye feels so adventurous, and a little bit dangerous.  Like a thrilling, reckless and risky thing to do.  Yeah?  Man, I need to get out more.
This was dyed with iDye in Chestnut.
It did come out a lot less brown than I thought it would.  I thought, bright blue mixed with orange-y brown would maybe beget a chocolate-y offspring, or a deeper version of the corduroy in my hoodie jacket I am wearing above.  The new colour reads like deep dark petrol, a dirty midnight blue and I like it all over again now.  I’m super happy with the nuovo neutral-ness of it.  Feels like an actual new skirt, yay.

Then I turned to my ombre-d red velveteen skirt.  I did this only last week, but when I compared it to my original version, I realised that my re-ombre-ing efforts had been pretty darn pathetic.  So I re-ombred the re-ombred skirt in iDye in Brown.  So now it has been re-re-ombred.  Ha!
And my sludgy little skirt had lost some of its sludge, so it got a fresh dunking and a soaking in the leftovers.
Re-sludge-ing, accomplished.

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 1170, blue corduroy dyed chestnut, original details here and my review of this pattern here
Top (under); the loose drape top from drape drape, white cotton, details here
Hoodie; self-drafted, made from a pair of old corduroy jeans and long sleeved Tshirt, details here
Tights; self-drafted, black merino wool fabric, details here
Boots; nylon, from Zomp shoes

Red skirt; Vogue 1247, red cotton velveteen ombre dyed brown at the top, details here

Brown skirt; Vogue 1247, purple denim dyed brown, details and my review of this pattern here.

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Navy bloo-p

21/04/2013 9:10 am \ 37 Comments \

Hello  ðŸ™‚
So, it turns out that navy blue is just as difficult to photograph as black… oh well!
I have made a skirt.   This used to be a pair of extra-huge, navy blue, corduroy jeans, that I bought from the op shop yonks and yonks ago for a fancy dress party.  They’ve been sitting in my refashioning pile, awaiting a new life.  The fabric is perfectly good but they haven’t been worn ever since the aforementioned fancy dress party, because they did not fit anyone in my family.

My new skirt is based upon a firm favourite skirt pattern, Vogue 1247.  I unpicked and re-used the sturdy silver jeans zip from the old jeans in the centre back, as well I took off and re-sized the waistband with its attached belt loops, and managed to retain the silver jeans button and its corresponding buttonhole, both in situ from the original jeans.
The pockets are lined with blue-and-white stripe fabric, leftover from Sam’s Christmas shirt.

Due to the fabric limitations, I had to cut the skirt to have a centre front seam, as well as the standard centre back seam.

Now you might be thinking; if the jeans were so big to start with, how could you possibly have “fabric limitations” in making a rather small skirt out of them?  Well, when it comes to re-fashioning a new garment from an old, even if your old garment has plenty of fabric it still can be quite a trick to get even a smaller new garment out of it.  This can be due to several factors, such as awkwardly placed seams, or if your fabric has a nap.  In the case of this old jeans to new skirt refashion, there were both of these factors to contend with.  Even though I was starting with satisfactorily extra-big trousers, they were cut in an old-fashioned, late 80’s, early 90’s style, with wide hips tapering down into narrower ankles.  This is the exact opposite of what I wanted in my little skirt; which is narrowest at the waist and gets wider going down to the lower hem; plus there was the nap of the corduroy which you always want to be running down the garment, never ever up the garment.  Plus there were big slanted hip pockets in the jeans, getting in the way of cutting anything out from the top of the jeans.  Plus, a lot of the old bar-stitching was done with an incredibly strong thread, almost like fair dinkum fishing wire or something, making unpicking a sheer joy.  That was heavy sarcasm just there, by the way.  So in the end, it took quite some careful measuring and giving and taking a few centimetres here and a few centimetres there from different pieces, to get out the pieces I wanted.  This is a lengthy justification for why my skirt has a centre front seam, as well as a centre back seam.  So not ideal, I know, but it was the only way the skirt could be!

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 1247 modified, refashioned from a pair of old navy blue jeans/trousers… my review of this pattern here
Top; the hoodie from Pattern Magic 3, blue knit, details here
Thongs; Havaianas

D’ya want to hear/see something funny?  This will give everyone a laugh…. I actually made this skirt back in January of this year, specifically for my high school reunion! and wore it, and photographed it on that day for the blog, but I never put the photo up here…  I decided I just looked silly.  Now I’ve decided that it’s not toooo bad, so here it is!  I made the skirt because I got this whacky idea in my head to kinda reproduce my old school uniform for the reunion.  I found my old school tie, which is tiny! and wore it.  The other pieces are from my regular handmade wardrobe, but it was such a hot night that I left that blazer in the car…
Yes, it was silly… but it was fun!
So, this outfit below is a pretty close representation of what I used to wear to school, every day  ðŸ˜€

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 1247, as above
Top; the bamboo shoot top from Pattern Magic, white linen, details here
Tie; my old school tie
Blazer; Simplicity 4698, navy blue silk, seen first here, and also worn in 6 different ways here
Sandals; Vincenza, from Soletta shoes

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Leatherette A-line skirt; 6 different ways

07/04/2013 5:30 am \ 39 Comments \


I don’t wear this faux leather skirt nearly enough, given that it is actually a pretty cool skirt.  I think maybe that is the problem…  maybe it is too cool for me!  I’m not really used to wearing much leather or faux leather, except in shoe, boot or bag form.  But, using my imagination I can discern that the weather seems to be making a very veeery gradual descent into overall cooler temperatures, so I’m thinking about those parts of my wardrobe again.  And about giving all those little sundresses a break.  I think this skirt deserves to make a few more appearances and get worn, dammit.
I made it using Vogue 1170, and it first appeared along with my review of the pattern, here.

Below left; worn with a matching, wool and faux leather military style jacket with knitted sleeves.  Haha, of course this skirt and jacket wasn’t ever intended to become a matching set, just that I had some of the leatherette leftover, enough to squeeze out some of the pattern pieces of the jacket.  Bonus outcome, a sorta suit!  Random observation, I am fair dinkum sweltering in this photo here! so this will be a very good ensemble for winter; some day when I get the fashion urge to channel Star Trek or something.
Below right; peeping out from one of my most recent creations, the bell sleeved denim top.  I have to admit; this is my favourite of the bunch.  I’m kinda head over heels in love with it.  I like the contrast of the unpretentious honesty of blue cotton denim against more sophisticated smooth and glossy leather; and the casual, easy-fitting and very un-body-con vibe of the shapes here reminds me of those lovely Japanese pattern book looks.

skirt1
Below left; with a plain white Tshirt and black snakeskin cardigan; hmm another of the faux leather components of my collection!  This might even be an office appropriate outfit; not that my office requires one.  I have a friend who does the very same job I do, and we often joke about our “work wardrobe”, haha.  Which generally features shorts and thongs, or a dressing gown and slippers, depending on the season, and a dog under the desk at your feet.  I would need an outfit that fitted smartly into a real office for about 2% of my actual working week, tops.  But I would wear this for such occasions.
Below right; the colours blend in nicely, and the vertical lines of the folds in the skirt are nicely visual juxtaposition against the random diagonal folds of this painted silk, Issey Miyake top.  I was pretty pleased to discover this skirt and top look great together.
skirt2
Below left; I like unexpected things and what could be more unexpected than a leather petticoat?  Skirts underneath a dress or dresses over a skirt, take your pick; is a terrific combination for a cooler day.  I’m wearing here my trusty eggplant dress; add a big drapey berry coloured scarf over the top, and I think this is a nicely layered autumnal ensemble.  Below right, maybe a bit smarter or more preppy whatever that means; I’m wearing a little triple-collared shirt with a net cardigan over, all in visually peaceful gentle shades of grey, coffee and white.  I’ve always loved these subtle pale neutrals here.  When I started my blog my aim was to branch out and incorporate new and more interesting colours into my wardrobe.  So I do enjoy flirtatious adventures with real colours sometimes, but only tempered with plenty of safe retreats to my ol’ pale and drab faithfuls.  I think I enjoy colours like a holiday, playing with them for a few exciting funfilled days at a time, and getting back to my neutrals is like coming back home into your own comfy familiar space again.
skirt3
Hmmm.  Waxing lyrical about colours as a metaphor for life again, for heaven’s sake.  Somebody stop me.  Anyhoo, whatever; I think I’ve ignited a fresh love for my comfortably, blessedly colourless faux leather skirt.  Now I just need the weather to co-operate so I can wear it!
Oh, what am I wearing today?? today I am wearing the eggplant dress just above, but sans the extras.  Like I said, it still feels like summer here, no joke.
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Just a spot of emerald

17/03/2013 12:04 pm \ 48 Comments \

Top o’ the mornin’ evenin’ to you!!
St Patricks day seemed an appropriate occasion to pull out this length of emerald green corduroy from the stash and make it up into something.  Anything.  I bought this fabric from Spotlight, last year.  Of course it’s kinda ludicrous for me to be wearing a corduroy skirt today since it is a warm 31C here in Perth! but here ’tis, all the same.  A corduroy skirt is not so much weather-appropriate right now as it is weather-anticipatory… but I’m sure I’ll be grateful for it when more winter-y temperatures kick in.  And hey, isn’t Emerald the Colour of the Year, or something??  Woa!  Definitely a good day to be adding a little emerald green to my wardrobe!
I wanted a skirt that was a little boxy, blocky and oversized, rather than the usual, streamlined little A-line/pencil hybrid silhouette that I usually go for… so I started with a favourite basic pattern Vogue 8363 and played with the proportions.  I cut the skirt pieces a lot wider; probably roughly equivalent to a size 18 front/20 back; and  a waistband to be my usual size 10, and folded the excess width in pleats into the waistband; two single pleats at the front and two box pleats at the back.

I put in those fabulously deep, slanted front pockets in the pattern and left off a lining, since I think the oversize factor, or looseness of the skirt will help stave off any tights/skirt static electricity problem.  I’m thinking of making a separate petticoat if the tights adhesion issue does rear its ugly head.
Perusing the zips; usually an invisible zip would be my first choice but all the available colour options looked terrible with this rich emerald green; either too dark or too bright.  Nothing looked right.  The best colour match was this bright green dress zip, and I finally decided I could live with a dress zip in a skirt; sure, it is a casual choice but so is corduroy a casual fabric.  It’s been ages since I’ve put a dress zip in a straight seam without a fly, and I had to stop for a second and think it through again!
I got creative with the insides.  Do brightly contrasting “fun” interior details bother you?  Then look away now!  I’m afraid, without going out and buying new fabric, and I am trying to shop my stash as much as possible this year; the least offensive option was this violet/mauve shot cotton, leftovers from this top that I made for Mum.  I finished all the raw edges with HongKong seaming, and the waistband facing and pocket linings are also cut from this fabric.  The ultra good news: I have barely any scraps at all leftover from these two lengths of fabric now!

I’m very very happy with my boxy new skirt: I think it looks stylish and smart and it feels very easy wearing and comfortable. I think it will look terrific in winter; with my fitted cardigans, with button-up shirts tucked in, and tights and boots underneath.

Details:
Top; top “a” from shape shape (fornerly known as Unique Clothes Any Way You Like) by Natsuno Hiraiwa, white cotton, details here
Skirt; Vogue 8363 modified, emerald green cotton corduroy, my review of this pattern here
Shoes; c/o Misano

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Pisces II

26/02/2013 3:30 am \ 63 Comments \

… the other fish!  Because we all know Pisces has two fish, right?  ðŸ™‚  although I’m afraid the best I could eke out was one and a half fish from the length I had!

I made a skirt for myself from the remains of the sparkly silver sequinned fabric.   I do think that when it comes to the problem of wearing a
fabric of a colour and/or texture that you don’t really feel suits you: then having it in the form of a skirt, thus away from your face, is a terrific solution!

Although I am not sure as yet as to the wisdom of drawing attention to my hips, the widest part of my body by dressing them to closely resemble a disco ball, but we shall see…
I used Vogue 8363, and made the skirt to be a single
pieced, double darted front, with deep, front slanted pockets, and a two piece,
double darted back with a central invisible zip closure.  It is fully lined.  Basically the same as the little black skirt I made for Cassie, except that I made the silhouette a tad more A-line,
rather than pencil.
I have another piece of … er, dressmaking advice? a thought? for this sequinned fabric: I didn’t want to blunt my good dressmaking shears on those sequins so I tried using my ordinary, cheap household scissors, that I use for paper, sticky tape, cutting open plastic food packaging and just about anything and everything household-y.  They worked like a charm! And I saved my good scissors 🙂
The pewter/silver silk dupion I used for the
pockets, pocket lining and waistband was a scrap from the bundle of fabrics,
given to me by my friend C from her late mother’s stash, and the grey polyacetate
lining fabric was a small leftover piece from this maxi skirt; made years ago
and long since passed to charity.  btw, I switched back to my good dressmaking shears again for the “proper” fabric  ðŸ™‚
The darts in the lining are not stitched but simply folded at the top, and the fold sewed down in the waistband stitching line.  This is a good idea when sewing skirt linings, it reduces wearing strain on the thin lining fabric.
I even had the right shade and length grey zip and hook and eye closure
in my stash too.  So this is a
terrific little stash buster skirt, using up a three smallish, different but
nicely co-ordinating pieces of fabric which were individually awkward but whose
joining together created a harmonious whole arguably more useful than if they
had remained a pile of nicely co-ordinating scraps. 
And barely a skerrick of
fabric is leftover.
Well, maybe just a skerrick…. 😉

Details:
Shirt; Burda 8497, white cotton, details here
Skirt Vogue 8363 fully lined, silver sequined
stretch fabric, with pewter silk dupion pockets, pocket lining and waistband,
my review of this pattern here.
Sandals; Misano

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