Self-Drafted Gemma skirt

I was on the train platform waiting for the 9:11 to Manchester when I saw a girl totally dressed for autumn in lovely shades of muted orange. As luck would have it I was just about to hop on the train to visit Abakhan, and in the bargain bins downstairs I found this lovely jersey in the exact same shade! I bought the lot without really knowing what it was I was going to make. I knew a full dress in orange was going to be a bit too much for me no matter how muted the shade, so decided instead on a circle skirt for swishing around in the leaves.


Without a pattern in mind I decided to draft one from an old shop bought skirt. The skirt is made from four equal panels, cut with straight grain down the centre of each and a simple waistband reinforced with elastic.



To make the panel pattern I drew around half of one of my skirt's panels onto pattern paper then cut it out on the fold so I could be sure it was symmetrical. I made sure the length was the same as my skirt and also importantly, that the width of the panel at the waist was the same. I then added a 1.5cm seam allowance around the top and sides as well at 1.5cm for the hem.

For the waistband I simply measured my waist where I wanted to wear the skirt and drew a rectangle that long plus 3cm seam allowance x (the depth x2 plus seam allowance x2). So, my depth was 4cm plus a 1.5cm seam allowance making 5.5cm x2 for the inside and out.


Once everything was cut out of my fabric the first step was stitching together all 4 panels then testing the fit. It feels a bit loose at this point but obviously it's all brought together when the waistband is attached. If it had been much too loose it would have been easy to increase the seam allowance on the panels to make for better fit.

I cut a length of 4cm wide elastic to match the length of my waistband. I stitched together the waistband ends, making sure the elastic ends matched the raw edges and also each other. Next step was to turn the waistband right side out and fold it over the elastic, encasing it inside. To attach to the skirt I matched up centre front and centre back points and stretched the waistband out a little as I overlocked the two together.

A quick hem to finish stitched down with a twin needle.

Easy! Will definitely be making another Gemma!

x

Location: Hawkstone Park and Follies, Shrewsbury
Currently listening to: Satellite, Sultan Bathery