I got it a while ago and have no idea how my measurements now compare to my measurements then, but I still have a very protuberant abdomen (see: diastasis recti) so thought, enh, why not give it a try. I added seam allowance by setting a drawing compass to a 5/8" width and dragging the point around on the pattern lines to draw a parallel seam allowance line, as well as assembled and cut everything out, not long after getting the pattern, so it was ready to go
Of course, my actual waist measurement meant the resulting skirt didn't really look like my rough sketch
I very much ignored the instructions, starting with pressing the waist band in half, then pressing up the inside seam allowance, long before the rest of the skirt was assembled
It seems like instructions generally tell you to do all the pressing after the waistband is attached to the rest of the garment, but this way is lazier, so here we are.
Also being lazy, but in an experimental way, I tried machine sewing the lining to the zipper before even thinking about sewing the side seams
Things probably would have gone better if I weren't also installing the zipper in a lapped configuration
But. As proof of concept? It worked nicely. And I'm sure this (sewing the lining to the zipper tape seam allowance) isn't an original idea, but I couldn't find it with the few searches I did.
An aside: what I did find were loads of cheerful sewing blogs that think the purpose of lining is to make the inside of a garment pretty. It's actually not! Lining is to make the insides of a garment smooth, so it glides over whatever is under it, whether that's more clothes or, like...legs. That's why lining fabric is smooth and slippery (and often infuriating to work with.) That's also why lining something in cotton is going to make a garment that grabs everything under it. Quilting cotton? Is going to have enough weight that it changes the way the whole garment drapes, too, which is why lining fabric is also super lightweight (and infuriating.) But it's worth it to deal with the infuriating lightweight stuff and end up with a garment that doesn't cling to whatever is under it! That it makes the inside look more ~finished~ is a bonus, as is protecting from contact with the potentially itchy wool blend of this fabric. /end aside
After dealing with the zipper, side seams
Lining side seams were sewn first, with the idea being that it would be easier to keep the lightweight lining out of the way when sewing the shell side seams next. Due to my shape, the front of the skirt is noticeably wider than the back.
View of side seam from the back:
And when I sewed the waistband, I completely forgot about paying attention to which side the tab ended up on, sooooo we got this
I serged the bottom edge and thought about adding hem tape, but this whole project is mostly proof of concept, so I left it just serged and pressed it up 1½" and blind stitched it in place
Now...my machine needs some work (that I can probably do myself but...haven't) on the controls for the cam stack and, as it is, the built-in blind stitch works fine, but, getting the machine out of that and back to normal stitching requires considerable finagling.
But!
My machine also has a zigzag control with two locks--for regular zigzag stitching, both locks are moved along with the lever that does control the zigzag width. Initially, I couldn't figure out why anyone would ever possibly want to move the zigzag lever without moving both of the locks along with it, but now I've figured out that I can move the right lock all the way over, leave the left lock in the default position, and manually move the needle to zig over every few stitches, recreating a blind stitch. It's really not so bad!
I just pressed and top stitched around the vent. You're not getting me to hand stitch that easily.
Lining was pressed up 1" and then 1" again, then sewn in place.
And the back
Nope, it's not a micro mini--it's 18½" long, but I myself am short and bulgy, so it looks like a smaller skirt than it really is. (And that's a big part of why I've only been wearing dresses for the last few years...)
No comments:
Post a Comment