The Skirt Continues

albeit at a slower pace than I anticipated. With Christmas, New Years and everybody home for the holidays (including DH), progress has been.

But that's ok, we've been having a good time!

Yesterday I got the waistband in place, pressed over and pinned, ready to hand sew on the inside. I must say, it looks quite good. The zipper, however, had to be ripped out. I placed it incorrectly, too high not allowing for the seam allowance where the waistband is sewn on. So thinking that I was being clever, trying to avoid ripping the zipper out, I decided to cut it from the top, then sew tacks on the teeth to act as the stops (that were snipped off).

Of course, after the project sat for a couple of days, I forgot that I did this. I didn't get around to making those tacks. After the waistband was on, I was marvelling in what a nice job I did and pulled the zipper up... and the pulled the pull RIGHT OFF. Gahhhh!

I tried to get it back on but to no avail. In the end, I ripped the zipper out and have to go and get another one. Thankfully, this was not the type of mistake that causes any damage. It's a time waster!

Here are a couple of pictures showing the inside of the pleat. The first one shows how the inset is sewn in. The second one shows how the pleat folds and lays in place.

Happy New Year to all and Happy Sewing!

A Classic and Sassy Skirt

OK, for the last month or so, I've struggled to find the right project to get back into the swing of sewing.

Finally, inspiration struck. I scapped ideas for several other projects, including the silk slip (I didn't have the right size needles to get going...).

So, yesterday I STARTED sewing a skirt. Note, I said started, not: conceptualized, dreamed of, prepped fabric then proceeded to do nothing.... Yesiree, I actually washed, pressed, cut and started to sew a skirt!

It is one of Marcie's patterns, a McCall from 1958... a cute straight skirt with an inset pleat, back band and bow. The band and bow make this classic skirt a little bit sassy. I'm using a wool blend with a dark brown velvet floral-scrolly pattern. Last year, I made a dress out of a similar fabric: the wool was the same but the velvet was black and of a slightly different floral pattern... The back band and bow are a dark brown microsuede. (The skirt floral velvet photographed darker than it actually it - it is a rich brown, like the microsuede.)


As of an hour ago, I got the skirt front and back sewn together. The pleat is done via an inset, seamed to extensions on the center, lower back pieces. Then the top edge of the pleat is topstitched. I just love pleats and bows. For me, it is very satisfying to shape, press and form them.


This is just the project to get me going: vintage, quick and simple but with enough vintagy flair and detail to be interesting. Tomorrow I should be able to get the zipper and waistband on, then hem it!

Where Did November Go?

Has it really been a whole month since I last posted here????

November turned out to be busy. I never even started the wool crepe dress for the PR "Sewing with Wool" contest, which was a real disappointment. BUT, life was taken over by other things: my husband was in a (minor) car accident (nobody hurt, but it wrote off his car), I was called to jury duty, I made two capes for a friend (paid) out of velvet and FUR for a Christmas parade. The capes were the source of great anxiety and stress because I had all kinds of problems and made mistakes (thank goodness my friends are wonderful and they liked the final products)...

...And I hosted some of my family on Thanksgiving/the weekend. It was fun, it's just that the whole month was busy and there wasn't a lot of time for sewing with one exception. The highlight, was that my sewing friends, Michelle and Elaine, came around on November 21 and we had a fabulous time with the usual chatting and eating!

So I'm ready to pick up a project again! After the cape debacle, I decided to work on a fun project that I've been wanting to do for a while: a vintage slip made from habotai silk. I bought an ivory/champagne colored habotai from Thai Silks several months ago specifically for this project. Yesterday, I washed and ironed the silk. It came out beautifully!

I'm going to make it so that I can wear it under the silk damask Hollywood Dress that I made for my anniversary dinner (and won the PR Vintage sewing contest). Friday is my husband's work Christmas party at a local Golf Club; the attire is "Dressy" and since I don't have time to make a new dress, I thought this dress would be perfect. I still love the luxurious silk damask and the red is perfect for the holidays. It's dressy, feminine and perfectly respectable for a work event.
I love the vintage slip pattern. Didn't anybody tell the girl that you're not supposed to wear shoes when weighing yourself????