Tag Archives: Skirt

My Denim Moss Skirt

After the success of making a denim moss skirt for my sister for Christmas (though it was a little late!), I decided to make myself one, especially because there was enough fabric left from my sister’s one!

I do love it, but it’s not perfect!

I think the way it sits around my waist isn’t helped by my posture – I have quite hunched shoulders and my back is a bit curved so my belly sticks out. This is when I’m not thinking about it, which I usually do when taking blog pictures – I stand artificially straight! But even with the compensation it does look a bit odd.

I think the main problem is that it’s a little too big on the waistband. This is the first Moss Skirt I’ve made for myself and so I guess it’s a wearable toile. I made the straight size 2, with the extra hem band. Marie from Sewn Bristol talked about angling in the waistband on the Moss Skirt in a vlog, so if I make it again, I’ll try that. I do fancy making it again, possibly without the hem band in a more work-appropriate fabric as it is a nice skirt. With pockets!

You can see from the back view that I probably do need a sway-back adjustment as it sits oddly above my bum – my bum seems to make a shelf on which fabric is pooling. I know I sound like a broken record, but I really do need to start working on my makes fitting better. I also have a Burda Academy course which I signed up for ages ago (but it’s a take any time one so I didn’t miss it!) which will teach me how to draft my own blocks/slopers. I think this will really help me when tackling new patterns as I’ll be able to compare them to my blocks and see what adjustments I’m likely to have to make.

Something went a little awry when I was sewing the fly. The one on my sister’s skirt was perfect, but something happened where it’s a little twisted at the bottom of the curve of the fly. It’s not super noticeable, but I notice it! But I did use a proper jeans button, like I did on my sister’s one, which pleases me probably more than it should!
Pockets! That is all.

I used some lovely sewing-themed cotton for the waistband facing and the pocket linings. It seemed apt. And it was given to me by one of my very best friends, so it adds a lovely meaning to the skirt.

Here’s a close-up of it – it has pins, pin cushions, buttons, safety pins and lots of other crafty things on it. Also you can see here that I overlocked most of the seams. I’m just about getting to grips with my overlocker, though I haven’t been brave enough to actually sew anything on it yet; I’m currently sewing seams on my sewing machine and then neatening the edges on the overlocker. I make too many mistakes to be trying to unpick overlocker thread – or to have shaved off the seam allowance on the first go, then realising I’ve messed up again!

I really like how the topstitching shows off the seams lines – especially on the back yoke pieces. But my god was my sewing machine not enjoying sewing the top stitching! I didn’t have anywhere near as many problems on my sister’s one, but it was just spewing out so much thread and it was really, really loopy. I fiddled with the tension loads but it still wasn’t having it. I did my best, but the topstitching doesn’t look great on the inside! It also seemed to slightly stretch out the hem, as the fabric has a slight stretch to it. This does not bode well for making my first pair of jeans……

I thought I’d leave you with this photo of my helper for my photoshoot!

Having finally had weather warm enough to venture outside in, I went out to take these pictures and was immediately set upon by our neighbour’s cat who we call Julian (but his real name is Mr Pickles). He’s very friendly, but often outstays his welcome, especially when he comes into our flat and I’m trying to cut out fabric and he jumps on the table and won’t get down/jumps back up as soon as I put him on the floor! That’s what cats should be like, though, so I can’t be too annoyed 🙂 He does make me want cats, having grown up with them my whole life!

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Twin Mabels for Twin Sisters

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You know how I was making those skirts for my sister for Christmas? Well one of the 3 I made in time for Christmas was a Mabel made out of this cool quilted jersey from Fabricland (though we got it in grey and it seems to be only available in khaki now).

This is mine:

And this is my sister’s:

Like us the skirts are more fraternal (non-identical) twins than identical twins. They are both a size small – I traced off a size bigger in this pattern after the too-tight original Mabel I made a couple of years ago. Phoebe’s is 3 inches longer than mine, which was the length she requested. I made mine in the standard length for the pattern, which hits me just on the knee.

I’m pretty pleased with my pattern matching skillz on both, if I do say so myself! This is Phoebe’s:

And this is mine:

Mine isn’t quite as good as the pattern isn’t uninterrupted – I’ve got two poofy bits and 2 flats bits (technical terms, obviously!) next to each other, when they should alternate. But at least the lines match up.

I managed to mostly match them on the waistband too, at least in terms of the vertical lines, if not the horizontal zigzags perfectly.

Mine was a bit better matched across the back – sorry Phoebe! One of the back panels of hers ended up slightly on the wonk – I guess the fabric wasn’t perfectly folded in half. I haven’t done a huge amount of pattern matching, so I’m pretty pleased with how these turned out 🙂

I love the little kick pleat at the back!

These are definitely really quick skirts to sew up. At least they are when you don’t sew the waistband on upside down, without realising until you’ve finished the skirt and topstitched the top edge to stop it rolling. Though I’m just guessing that this would be really annoying and time-consuming to fix……… I actually didn’t topstitch the top edge of mine because I was feeling lazy!

I used a twin needle (heh!) for the hem and stitching in the ditch of the bottom of the waistband, and topstitching the top edge of Phoebe’s skirt, but for mine I just used a normal zigzag for the hem and stitching in the ditch. You actually really can’t see the stitching on this fabric, so it didn’t matter to me too much on my own whether it looked all professional like a twin needle makes it look.

I modelled the skirt with a tight rtw top tucked in, so you could see it, but I’ll really wear it with this black jumper in the Winter, and maybe my Astoria when the weather gets a bit warmer. I actually wore it exactly as in the above photo to work on Monday and I got quite a few compliments. And I love saying ‘thank you, I made it’ when I get complimented on something I’ve made. #sorrynotsorry.

Who would you like to wear matching clothes with?

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Selfless Sewing: Denim Moss Skirt for my Sister

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I finally made the final skirt my sister asked for for Christmas a couple of weeks ago, yay! (Though I’ve got another one yet to blog) I decided to model it myself for some photos before sending it in the post. It is, of course, the Grainline Studio Moss Skirt.

I have to say, I’m really quite pleased with this make. I like a simple skirt that has a front, a back and a waistband, but it was nice to make something a bit more complicated. And it has pockets!

This was my first time sewing a fly, and I have to say it wasn’t as scary or as difficult as I thought it would be! The instructions for this pattern were really clear and easy to follow for the fly front. The only thing I found, though, was that the fly shield on the inside (which covers the zip on the inside) seems to be on backwards as the zig-zagged/ overlocked edge is the edge that shows then the zip is undone and the folded side is hidden, but I feel like it should be the flipped over. I know Jen from Gingerella also found this problem – which made me more convinced it wasn’t my mistake! She talks about it in this video, in case you don’t understand what I’m talking about!

One of the things I really like about this pattern is the yoke on the back. I decided to use jeans-type top-stitching to make the skirt look like a proper denim skirt, and to show up the design lines that wouldn’t otherwise be obvious, like the yoke.

I made the skirt in a size 6, and as eagle-eyed readers may spot, it’s a long version but without the band that is on the pattern for the long version. Phoebe didn’t really like the way that looked, so I extended the length of the mini skirt version instead, but 6.25 inches, to make it hit just below the knee.

I was actually quite sad to have to give this skirt away to be honest, but luckily there was enough left of the denim for me to cut out a version for myself! You can tell I like it, by how many photos I’ve taken! I particularly like it with this striped top which my old boss gave to me! You can’t beat breton-style tops and denim!

For the topstitching I used gutterman topstitching thread, in that goldy colour which I associate with jeans. I lengthened the stitch length to 4 (instead of my standard 2.5) and used blue thread in the bobbin, as there isn’t much topstitching thread on each roll because it’s so thick. I did have to play around with the tension a bit, because of having 2 different thicknesses of thread.

If you follow me on instagram, you’ll already have seen that I used a jeans button for the first time on this skirt – sorry for the blurry photo, though! I was a bit scared to put the button on, because you can’t really move them once they’re on! I made the button-hole first and then made sure it all sat flat and straight and then marked where the button should go. And it all worked out okay!

Here are some closer shots showing the topstitching. There is supposed to be a bar tack at the bottom of the fly shape, which sort of worked, but not really. If anyone has any tips of how to do that, I’m all ears!

I did double rows of stitching on the centre seams and on the yoke, because it seemed right. Because the waistband is quite narrow, though, I thought one row of stitching would look best. I ummed and ahhed about the hem, and whether to sew it in matching or topstitching thread, and I’m glad I went for topstitching thread as it looks right.

I used some thinner fabric for the waistband facing and the pocket linings. I think this might be the first time I’ve used contrasting fabric in this way, and I love it! This fabric is actually from a dress which my friend gave me in a big pile of things before I left London. The little dark flowers might look black from afar, but they are actually navy blue, which nicely matches the shade of blue of the denim.

The pattern is really well drafted, so there’s absolutely no way the pocket linings will poke out to the right side, but it’s nice to get a flash of the lining when you look inside the pockets!

My sister very obligingly took a photo of herself wearing the skirt – unfortunately it’s kind of teeny! The skirt looks a little big on me, because it’s a size bigger than I will make for myself, but it looks pretty perfect on her! Phew!

Once I make my own denim version of this, it might become my favourite skirt pattern! Made in a smarter fabric, without the topstitching, and with a normal button, I think it will look smart enough for work.

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Selfless Sewing: 2 Delphines for my sister

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As I mentioned in my December planning post, my main task for that month was to make some skirts for my sister as she couldn’t really find any in shops that she liked, but she can’t wear a lot of the trousers she has because of her prosthetic leg. I managed to make 3 in time for Christmas and 2 of those were Tilly and the Buttons Delphines, from her book Love At First Stitch. I’ve made one of these for myself and was glad to have another go at the pattern.

The first one I made was from some lovely, soft red corduroy from Fabric Land – it’s so soft that it’s called buttersoft! I was worried the skirt might not hold its shape in such a drapey fabric, but it does, which is excellent. I made the skirts in a size 3 and lengthened them by 3 1/4 inches so it would hit just below her knee and cover the place where the prosthetic attaches onto her leg.

As well as lengthening them, I sewed the side seams with a 1cm seam allowance instead of a 1.5cm seam allowance as Phoebe’s waist measurement is 28 in which is exactly the finished measurement of the size 3 but I wanted to give her a little ease. You probably don’t know this unless you know someone who has had a leg amputated, but initially, although you get your permanent leg fairly early on, the way it attaches at first is around the waist, so Phoebe’s waist is a little bigger than it otherwise would be. I can always take in the waists if they end up too big once the leg is attached with suction – the reason for this change is that it can take up to 8-9 months for the residual limb to shrink down to its permanent shape and size – there is swelling and fluid retention to being with – and this shrinking happens faster once you have your prosthetic. So there’s a little lesson for you!

The navy blue drill was also from Fabric Land. It was really hard to photograph, so I apologise for the blurriness of these photos! I think this fabric is a little more on the petrol end of navy blue – I guess navy blue isn’t a colour that’s always just one colour, it’s not black or white! Phoebe’s not so keen on this one, but I think it might be easier to wear it when the weather gets a little warmer as she will hopefully have things that go better with it. Otherwise, it’s not the end of the world! It’s a quick pattern to make.

The other change I made to the pattern was to use non-invisible zips because my sewing machine will not sew invisible zips. I think the bobbin is out of sync or something because when I put the invisible zip foot on, the needle always jams inside the bobbin case. Grrr. I should get it serviced really….. I can’t remember the last time I sewed a non-invisible zip (I kept persevering with the invisible zips, but sewing them with a normal zip foot) and I’d forgotten you need to sew the bottom part of the seam first and then put in the zip, and not the other way around as with invisible zips. So I had to unpick the first one a couple of times because I twigged!

When I was home for Christmas, I got Phoebe to model the red skirt. It fitted really well and was the length she was after – win! It looks good with her apt Christmas jumper too! She wore it the whole of Christmas day (after she had opened the present) so hopefully that means it has the seal of approval!

I quite enjoyed doing some selfless sewing – maybe this is the solution for when I feel like I have too many clothes but still want to sew things? I could make clothes for other people!

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#SewDots Delphine Skirt

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We’re nearly at the end of November and I’ve still not posted all of my October makes! This is my second entry for Rosie Martin‘s #sewdots initiative – it has a surprise spotty lining!

The pattern is the Delphine Skirt from Tilly and the Buttons’s book Love At First Stitch. I’ve made one other pattern from the book – the Mimi Blouse – but it’s a little small now, especially as it shrunk in the wash. I made the size 2 of the blouse but it was always a little snug, especially around my arms, so I looked again at the measurements of skirt and I came out as a size 3, with a little ease around the waist, which I wanted as I always make the mistake of fitting things standing up, then I sit down and it cuts me in half!

As you can probably see in the above photo, though, there ended up being a little too much ease. But actually I think the fix would be to angle the waistband in a little instead of taking length off it. Marie from Sewn Bristol talked about doing this in one of her youtube videos, so when I make this again I’ll definitely use her tutorial. She is talking about the Grainline Moss Skirt, but the theory should be the same. You can see how it sits away from my waist in the below picture even more – sad face for dramatic effect!

Having said all of that, I’m pretty pleased with this skirt – I don’t plan to wear it like this so it will be less obvious the fit is a little off! Though I might take it up just a little. I expected it to come out quite short as most of Tilly’s patterns seems to, but on me this is knee length. I maybe should leave it as it is, though, so it’s more demure for work!

It actually looks a bit better from the back weirdly. Though it seems to have a couple of drag lines in the photo – I don’t think they’re there in real life. I always seem to get this step thing with zips in skirts, though, and I don’t know how to stop it – any tips? I put a pin into the zip on the second side to mark the waistband seam so they would line up – and the waistband seam seems to. Maybe I just sewed the top seam inaccurately?

I do love this fabric. And I love the shape of the skirt, it’s very cute! I used Tilly’s tutorial for adding a lining to a skirt and I can definitely recommend it, it was very simple and didn’t involve any hand sewing!

I’ve started wearing skirt and dresses more this Winter – I was cycling last Winter so it was a lot easier to wear trousers all the time – so I think I will make this again. Not sure what fabric to make it in though…..any suggestions? I think it would have to be something with body so it holds its shape.