Monday, November 25, 2013

Skirt Snippets

I have been really busy sewing (5 skirts, 6 pillowcases and 2 cardigans) but have not had chance to model as yet - blame it on busy weekends, lack of natural light etc., so I have resorted to taking photos of details - mostly for me as a reminder of what I sewed, when, and what finishes I used - but also to keep you up to date!

So, first off are the skirts based on Butterick 4877.  I have found that I do not need any front darts on fitted skirts, but that 4 darts (two either side of the centre back seam) at the back as well as wide side seams that can be adjusted as required, makes a very good skirt for me.  So that is what I have done!

I made one in brown cotton corduroy (Fabricland Sale 2012, $6/m) that has a bit of stretch to it.  Actually, I have to confess, this was cut out ages ago, and I found the pieces whilst looking for some lining . . . . so I finished it off!  Gotta love UFO's that you have totally forgotten about (and then found) that fit into your current sewing blitz!



I trimmed the waistband with some cheery red rayon tape.  The hand sewn hem was trimmed with brown nylon lace and the rayon (Bemberg Ambience) lining was trimmed with black lace.  It looks a little chaotic here, but it really does work well.  And it fits a dream!  A great addition to my Birch Tree Collection.

Next is another cord skirt (I love me some corduroy!!)  This is a really thin wale, also with stretch, bought last Christmas from fabric.com to make a winter skirt with.  I's only taken me a year to do it!!



I used a pretty quilting cotton offcut to trim the waistband, cheap nylon lining (couldn't find any suitable rayon lining), and white lace to finish it off.  This fabric was featured in my Birch Tree Collection.

I then made a skirt from some gorgeous rayon/poly blend from Fabricland.  Other than the fact that it unravels like nobodies business, it is perfect in every other way - washes well, hangs beautifully - great drape and weight.  Lovely, lovely fabric, and another that was 70% off.  Wish I had bought more.





Same finishes as before, including an invisible zip.  I lurve invisible zips!!

The inspiration for the next skirt was a blog post by Funnygrrl and it uses Butterick 5687 - a 'wardrobe' pattern that includes a straight skirt with ruffles on the back.  As I do not have a mind of my own - OK, because her skirt was sooo lovely, I totally copied the color as well, using a great red crepe that has a wonderful drape.





And guess what - I learned to use the rolled hem feature on my serger and it is FABULOUS - how did I manage without it?  Feeling pretty good with myself, I even sewed the hem of the skirt with my double needle - pretty fancy smancy right???  This is such a great pattern - I used my Butterick 4877 sandwiched with this pattern, and it worked out perfectly.  I will do a proper PatternReview on this at some time on the future, as I love how it turned out.  I was able to use the back pieces of '4877 to make the lining (Ambience again) and it looks/works great.  The skirt feels lovely on - and it makes me feel very sassy!!!

Finally, I got around to making a quick and easy skirt with some ruffle fabric that I bought from Vogue about a year ago.  The fabric itself dictates that hand sewing really does not look good, so I interfaced the pieces with a tricot knit.  I serged the tricot to the fashion fabric and treated it as one.  This skirt has an elasticated waistband, but in actual fact there is very little gathering due to the stretch.  To finish off the hem I sewed some nylon 'petersham' type tape to the bottom of the skirt, then hand sewed it to the tricot lining.  The tape gives the hem a really good, stable edge that hangs well.   I love this skirt - it is soooo cute!



Phew, there are lots of photos here, so I think I will write up a separate post for the pillowcases and cardigans that I have made - hopefully with some 'action' shots!  I am hoping to get a new camera pretty soon that I can operate via my iPhone, so I can then take pics with my tripod and not be so reliant on photographers!

All-in-all it has been a pretty productive week, and yet again  have been 'production' sewing (after all, if you can make one item, why not make four?!) and this works really well for me.

I have to ask - what technique does your serger or sewing machine perform that has been quite revolutionary for you?

13 comments :

  1. Those details are looking mighty fine. Very nice. Everything my machines do are revolutionary to me. Looking forward to making lace with my overlocker (serger) though.

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    1. Thank-you! Lace sounds fun - I look forward to seeing that!

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  2. What lovely details.

    Revolutionary techniques? I love the embroidery feature although I don't use it very often. g

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    1. Embroidery sounds fun - I challenge you to make something and use this feature :)

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  3. Lovely skirts and finishing! Look forward to seeing them modeled :) what brand of serger to you have, if I may ask? (having rolled hem envy here)

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    1. My serger is a Janome MyLock 644d. I bought it when we moved from the UK to Canada nearly 10 years ago, and it is a great little machine. I really ought to take another look at the manual and see what other clever things it can do!!

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  4. I love the way you finish the waists on your skirts, and it would be wonderful if you would post a little tutorial sometime.

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    1. Ooh. That sounds fun. I have two other skirts cut out, so I will take lots of photos when I make them up, and cobble them together in a tutorial. I am touched that you are interested! Thank-you!

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    2. Excellent! Thanks :)

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  5. These are really nice, I too love corduroy, love all the details and finishes very nice.

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  6. Very pretty skirts...You have been super busy..Look forward to seeing them modeled..
    I love all the pretty waistbands on them too. I agree with Seamedstraightforward-- please do a tutorial on the way you line and do the waistband.Your skirts all look so nice on the inside too.. Happy sewing.

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  7. Perfect detailing on your wardrobe of skirts. Corduroy is so perfect for cold days.

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  8. You sure have been super productive and I'm loving your skirts! The red one is so pretty and I love the detail on the back. Your zippers look perfectly sewn. Love the rolled hem feature on my serger too... sure does make life easy and adds such a nice detail to the hem. My hubby has a great camera and I'm so going to have to learn to use it.. he bought me a remote and a tripod so I didn't have to rely on him every time I want to take some pics of the things I've made. I should just take some time out and learn how to use it lol

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