Tale of a Skirt

I finally finished the skirt from well below the earth's crust.

If I hadn't still loved it, right up to the last stitch, it might have been a wadder.

Let's also admit that every problem was really operator error.

I've made this skirt before so I really knew what I was up against. I got the idea from a Thread's article many moons ago, but didn't like the way they approached it. Still don't. My way is better, I just don't listen to myself either, at times.

The idea is to feature a fabric you don't want to cut into. My first skirt was a silk plaid. This time it was a Bali batik with border prints. I wanted to keep the border intact.

So you make a skirt yoke to fit you and then attach the skirt fabric to it. I took a strip of base fabric and measured out my hips and drew in a waist line, about 5" apart (as they are on me). I cut lines from the waist down to the hip line, about 5" apart. Its not an exact science. Then you overlap at these cuts to form dart like structures that create a waist to your measurements. You end up with a curved skirt yoke that fits you.

Of course you may also have a skirt pattern that fits and does this for you. I needed to spend needless time on a fool's errand, apparently.

Then you cut the darts so the dart fold is gone and use a fusible interfacing to hold the whole thing together. It's flat that way. Now you have a base to attach the fabric to. I also added a second layer of fusible (not shown here) to give more strength.

Important! Now sew in the back seam, up to where the zipper will be. If you don't you will spend a HUGE amount of time draping, sewing, ripping and resewing that seam until it lies flat. I knew that from last time. There is no excuse. I refuse to discuss this further. No point.




So roughly divide the skirt fabric into nice units. Divide the waist into the same number of units. Maybe 14? Mark these units with something removable.  Pin the skirt to the skirt yoke, matching the units. You will have more skirt fabric than yoke. Now relax, and start smooching that excess fabric to the skirt, making little or big pleats that flatten the excess out. Don't be too particular. You are looking for a bit of a gypsy flair.

Baste these folds down. Leave the seam allowance for the zipper alone and don't send any folds in that direction. Get out your threads and fancy sewing machine feet and maybe some trims and start stitching that yoke down. Again, go for a gypsy look and keep your lines wandering. I enjoyed that part muchly. You really can't overdo it. The yoke will give you stabilization. Stick in a zipper. Add a waistband or waist facing. Wear!

Do you know batiks? Quilters use them a lot. They are lightweight, smooth and gorgeous! They also don't seem to fray and are quite stable and on grain. The selvedge is smooth and I could use it for the hem without any wrinkles or pulling.