I worked on the green wool skirt this weekend. I suppose I should have taken a before picture but I didn’t really feel you guys needed to see my skirt on the floor around my ankles.
 
I started by picking apart the top seam between the skirt and the lining. This is when I discovered that the fabric was actually a knit and that was why it was so stretchy. The waist band had been finished with nothing more than a line of stitching so there was nothing to stop it from growing as you wore the skirt. For some reason - because the designer didn’t think the waist would stretch or something - there was also a short section of elastic across the centre back. I also picked the zipper out of the side seam.
 
I sewed twill tape across the top of the skirt to halt the stretching and tried it on to figure out how much to take off each side. It was about two inches at the waist, for it to sit where I wanted, and an inch at the hip. I probably took about half an inch off each side of the rest of the skirt just to keep the lines smooth. The next steps were to reinstall the zipper - my most successful machine installed invisible zipper to date! - and then do the side seams. The fabric was really nice sew though I had to be careful not to stretch it as I fed it into the machine.
 
I did the lining after I was finished the skirt. I just sized them up against one another and trimmed the lining to match the skirt. I started out sewing the lining in so that it would be turned to the inside - no topstitching - but realized that the waistband would be too thick and wouldn’t turn easily. I picked out my stitches and redid the waistband the way it was originally with raw edges (this fabric doesn’t fray anyway) and a line of topstitching. My topstitching is a different colour than the rest and if you look really closely you can see the twill tape showing in a few spots but my shirt usually covers my waist band so I’m not really worried about it.
 
I wore my new skirt to work today. It was warm and comfy. Here is the full length picture so you can see it a little better. Photo credits go to Rob.

 

 

I got a new book today. I even had a full stamp card so it didn’t cost as much as it said it would. I’ve looked at this book a few times but never got it because most of the stuff in it I can find somewhere else or do myself with some work.I finally decided to buy it because (a) it’s really handy to have a whole bunch of useful knowledge in one spot and not have to hunt around for it and (b) it’s kind of handy to have had someone else do all the hard work and just hand you what you need. I’ve also discovered that this book is full of little bits and pieces that really flesh out my sewing knowledge. It’s also very down to earth and enjoyable to read.
 
The idea behind it is that the author (a designer) has made up three basic patterns - a skirt, blouse and trousers - that can be used as a jumping off point for creating whatever you want. What’s really great for me is that she goes into just enough detail about how patterns fit together and how different fabrics behave for the book to be useful without me having to slog through a lot of text. I learned a lot of my basic sewing skills from my Mum but I’ve just sort of picked up pattern making skills here and there a long the way. Some things are starting to make sense but frankly altering armscyes still scares me.
 
My Regency gown is my best fitting project to date and I love how well it fits (though it will only fit over my Regency underpinnings). I’m determined to take a little more time with my sewing and make things that really look and feel the way I want them to. I’m starting with a couple of skirts.
 
The brown and dark green chunks of fabric above are going to become skirts for fall and winter respectively. The brown is a linen blend (going by feel) that I got a few years ago but never decided what to do with. I think there is just enough for a nice tea length skirt if I use something else for the facings. I think I might give it a lining for a nicer drape. The green is actually a skirt already; it’s just to big. I got it last year knowing I would have to alter it but because it was just the sort of thing I wanted for a winter skirt and as it’s A-line it wouldn’t be difficult to alter... Except that I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ve found some kind of strange things in the construction that I think I need to fix (the facings have been sewn in without any reinforcement and the whole waist band is stretching) so it is no longer just a matter of taking in the side seams.

This is my first project out of Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter. It’s supposed to be a chequebook cover but doesn’t actually fit my chequebook and instead will be fabulous for holding my little jewellery pouches when we are travelling. It has two pockets on the inside and closes with an elastic and button.The colours are kind of retro looking but they just went together so well when they were piled up on the table that I had to use them.

I made a few alterations to the pattern instructions - mostly to accommodate the materials I had available. Since I was using quilting weight cotton (which seemed a bit lighter than what was called for) I added a muslin backing to all the pieces to give them a little more body. I made my own binding tape (using this handy-dandy gadget without the fusible strip) which ended up being 1/4” instead of 1/2” so I had to trim a quarter inch off each side to get the seams to fall in the right places (note: I measured after I discovered the chequebook wouldn’t fit and this didn’t make a difference - chequebooks must be slightly smaller in Europe). The binding would be easier to do with half inch binding - my basting stitches showed in a few places and I had to do some tidying up on the inside where I had missed the edge of the binding when I was topstitching.

My favourite part of this is the button. I love covered buttons right now (this book has some really nifty examples). I just like the way you can create the perfect button to finish off a project. This button matches the fabric for the pouches inside the case. I think it picks up the brown in the cherry blosum print on the outside and gives the case an earthy feel.