Tag Archives: skirt

Red Fall Skirt

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This was my first clothing project for someone besides myself! The same friend who I made the bird backpack for asked me to make a swishy, flowy skirt for her. We went to Joann’s together and picked out the main fabric and the accent fabric.

Since she wanted it to be swishy, I decided I’d make a pleated circle skirt, including even more fabric than a regular circle skirt. And including the waistband and pockets, I used up almost all of the main fabric we purchased, which was cool.

I used the accent fabric for a panel about 1/4 to 1/3 of the total skirt, and included a stripe of it in the waistband.

I know that pockets make any skirt at least 10 times better, so I included two huge pockets 🙂 I used a long zipper for the closure and did a double turn hem. I considered doing a lining, but I used so much of the main fabric that it was already a heavy and warm skirt, so any lining would make it a little leg-oven. This way, it can be worn by itself in the fall and with tights in winter. 🙂 I did include a lining in the waistband for additional structure and making sure the seams and raw edges weren’t itchy.

We did a first fitting where we found out the waist was almost perfect… without the seam allowances for the zipper. I inserted a small triangular panel and at the second fitting we got the waistband circumference right and added some small darts so the waistband is flat to her body. Then she graciously made me dinner and I sewed the last seam up afterwards.

Overall it was a bit unnerving to make a piece of clothing without being able to make sure it fit continuously along the way. But it was a good challenge and it turned out great! As usual I used the machine for most of the construction, with hand sewing for the zipper and the last seam. I like having a bit of hand sewing in each of my projects for a bit of an imperfect element.

Project completed October 5, 2020.

Black Skirt

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This is a make from a while ago! The fabric is a poly chiffon/crepe de chine from Colorado Fabrics, a wonderful (but overwhelmingly large) store. I wanted to make a circle+ skirt, this is close to a circle and a half. It’s sheer, so I usually wear a long black, gray, or short black skirt underneath. I really love the way it moves, it’s so light and flowy. It is a ton of fabric though – I used about 4 yards and picking it up to go up stairs can be a hassle!

The ever important twirl!
Just walking about 🙂

Project completed March 2019.

Purple Geode Dress Set

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I made this top + skirt for a friend’s wedding. I got the fabric from Spoonflower, a site that takes designs and can print them on many different fabrics. I chose a polyester satin that turned out to be a bit slippery. I used tissue paper to stabilize the fabric and ensure it didn’t fall down the hole in the machine where the needle goes through or stretch out. It worked super well, but was kind of annoying since I had to sandwich each seam in tissue paper, sew, then rip the tissue paper off.

I modified the Lekala #5446 Classical Blouse pattern again, and sewed 3 circle skirts together to get the full volume of the skirt. With the blouse, I constructed the entire thing save for the collar, since I wasn’t sure I wanted to go down that road and have it turn out weird (again). I used buttons that I was able to cover with the same fabric as the shirt (they have a separate back and front, you wrap the fabric around the front, stuff it into the “bowl” of the button, and click the back into place, securing the fabric).

  • Shirt in progress
  • Trying to decide on the collar
  • Decided to fold the top in to make a V-neck
  • Custom / improv fitting with darts

I used improv fitting while the shirt was on my body to create darts that (a) flattered me and (b) ensured there wouldn’t be wrinkles when I tucked the shirt into the skirt. I pin inside out so that I can sew the darts directly, which assumes my body is symmetrical, and no one’s body is, but it’s close enough.

The skirt used about 5 yards of fabric. A basic circle skirt is just that – a circle of fabric with a circle cut out for the waist (more of a doughnut, really). I cut out three doughnuts by folding the fabric in half, and in half again, so I only had to cut out a quarter circle. Then I had three doughnuts, and I cut each one on one side so I could have 3 vertical seams on the finished big doughnut. Now, I had planned to have the inner radius be my waist radius, but I forgot to divide by 3 before I cut out the doughnuts… But it just so happens that knife pleats divide the length by 3, so I added pleats all along the waist to bring it back to the right measurement. This also gave it a bit of poof and volume, which was great!

A hopefully effective way to explain pleats – the red-green-purple section turns out to be the length of just the red section aka 1/3 the length

Originally, this project was supposed to be a dress, but I realized that I wanted to wear the skirt separate from the shirt, so I decided to not attach the shirt to the waistband. I installed a zipper with the waistband, and included some elastic after learning from the Skirt of Projects Past. I wore a tulle petticoat underneath to fluff it out even more than the 3 circles and pleats were fluffing it.

The ever important “twirl”

Project completed July 6, 2019.

Of Projects Past

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It’s impossible to buy exactly the amount of fabric you need for a project. There will always be scraps, unless you’re making a perfectly rectangular item that uses up all the fabric straight off the bolt. For every other project though, there are bits and pieces of various sizes that aren’t used in the item itself. Or just leftovers because I bought more fabric than necessary.

I decided to use some of these old scraps to make two different projects – the Skirt of Projects Past and the Shirt of Projects Past.

I liked (a) not buying new fabric and just recycling and (b) making something super colorful with weird, wonderful patterns. Most of this fabric I bought a year ago to make ties and neck warmers, and they generally have the same size print. And it was all cotton from Joann, so I wasn’t worried about weird shrinkage or anything.

The skirt is made with strips sewn together, alternating print and black (from the Trapper Keeper). Then I cut out approximate semicircles, which created a front and back. I sewed one side together and installed a zipper on the other side. The waistband isn’t as sturdy as I’d like, in projects after this I used elastic inside the waistband just to hold it closer to the body.

I used a modified Lekala #5446 Classical Blouse pattern for the top. I added a pocket using foundation piecing, adding layer after layer to get a pocket sized piece of fabric. I love the overall look of this top, but the collar opening leaves something to be desired, it’s a bit stiff and falls open strangely when buttoned.

Shirt completed March 30, 2019. Skirt completed Jan 10, 2019.