BANG! The Pop Art Pencil Skirt

I've had this fantastic fabric burning a hole in my stash for some time, and the other night I finally got round doing something with it. It was a very generous gift from my friend Catherine, who spotted it in a window in a fabric shop in Bath (I think...):

I'd toyed with the idea of a full skirt, but I thought it would obscure the print, then I thought maybe a jacket, but I knew I'd hardly ever wear it. I settled on a pencil skirt. Here it is:

 

I used Sew Vera Venus' skirt drafting tutorial, which is really easy to follow - go check it out! And in order not to interrupt that fab pattern, I overlapped the side seams and treated the top curve as a dart, so there was only one seam at the back:

I also added a lapped split at the back:

Note to self: be more careful when placing the patterns in the future so as to avoid phrases like 'Look at me!!' appearing in the middle of your bottom.

The top of the split is finished off with a red arrowhead:

I was so pleased with the way the exposed zip turned out on my Kwik Sew Jacket that I decided to use that technique again on the zip for this skirt to show off the red zip I used:

And to finish it all, I added a light poly lining attached at the waist and hand sewn around the split:

Now I just have to find a suitable event to wear this skirt to - maybe cocktails with the Spoolettes?

See you soon!

Beautiful Buttons Dress - Complete (At Last)

 
This dress would have been completed a long time ago, if only I hadn't been slowed down by belt buckle problems. I just couldn't find one I liked. I wasn't asking for much - 1" wide, black plastic, it didn't have to be particularly special, as long as it had a metal pin so it stayed buckled. Could I find it? It was like trying to find rocking horse poo. 

 I settled on the one you see above, though I think it's a bit big. I can always change it later......

Here are some highlights from making it - 

No zip! I've never made a dress with a placket at the front, but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. And it shows the buttons off beautifully:

Close up of button placket

I reinforced the split at the back with a little arrowhead. I should use these more......

Close up of Arrowhead being worked

Over the years, I've become fussy about the inside of everything I make. I find it hard to just 'run something up'; I can't leave the insides alone! I try to line everything; on skirts I usually bind the hems; on dresses I also bind the waist seam; and I use French seams wherever possible, just so it's neat and tidy on the inside. (Maybe I'm a bit OCD......) The result is this:

Skirt lining with bound waist seam

Bound hem, catch stitched to dress

Lining at back split, hand sewn to seam allowances

Though I'm happy with the way it looks, and it feels lovely to wear, it means that a dress which was meant to be something I could just 'throw on' is now a bit too special. Don't get me wrong - I'll wear it as much as I want - but I need to stop being so meticulous because it's slowing my output down!

Here are some close-ups of the belt:

I've never made one before, so really I just made it up as I went along. A stiff interfacing gave it some substance, then after it was stitched and turned right side out, I bound the holes for the pin with buttonhole stitch.

Finally, the dress has shoulderpads, which I thought was bit unusual for a dress of the 1950's. Wasn't the New Look all about round, natural shoulders, a departure from the square shouldered 1940's? I toyed with leaving them out, but decided to follow the pattern faithfully, so put some lightweight, rounded ones in. I didn't think they'd work, but they actually create a nice line. 

Shoulder pad (it was really hard to photograph)

I planned to wear it tomorrow to the Stitch Crawl, but rain is predicted, so I'm in 2 minds about attending. If I do, pictures will follow!

 It's not my car - I can't even drive!