Clothes Clone, Spotty Skort (Instructions)

One of the great things about literally picking apart a garment step by step, was that it gave me a good insight to how I was going to assemble to garment once I had everything cut out. As I was essentially putting together the skort with nothing but the disassemblage process and my past knowledge as instructions. I decided to keep note of all the steps I followed so that when the time comes, I'll be able to make the next in my skort collection without too much head scratching. I wrote these out on the plane to Berlin to stop me overthinking about being 10000s miles in the sky, but hopefully they will make sense when I come to my next one! 

Seam allowance: 1cm throughout
Suggested fabric: Something with some body but also a slight bit of stretch
Fabric requirements: 1m fabric, small bit of interfacing
Notions: x1 7" zipper & thread to match fabric

1- Interface:

• Waistband front x1 back x2 (L&R)
• Seamline on fron x2 back x2 (use a 1.2cm strip of interfacing)
• Bottom edge of top flap and underflap (3.7cm strip of interfacing)

2- Stitch darts in back pieces and press

3- Stitch waistband front and backs at side seams

4- Press hem of flaps (2.5cm)

5- Overlock:

• Bottom of waistband  (optional- turn under the overlocked edge  on waistband and stitch a narrow hem)
• Centre back of waistband (L&R)
• Short edge of each flap hem
• (Fold up short edge) Overlock long edge of underflap hem)
• Raw edges of front / back leg hem
• Centre back of L&R back pieces down to the notch

6- Unfold upper flap hem and overlock the seam. Stitch under flap to upper flap at 1cm seam allowance

7- Stitch front pieces together along front rise

8- Match notches at the front side seams to notches either side of the upper flap

9- Baste 0.5cm seam allowance, ensuring flap hems are folded under. Baste the top edge of the flap to front leg pieces, fitting the slight curve

10- Place back pieces overthe top RST and stitch seam. Match hem at front and back / top and the notches. Press.

11- Stitch front to back at inside leg seams

12 - Overlock inside leg seams, press.

13- Match inside leg seams, pin and stitch back rise from the notch (end of th overlocking), to the front rise.

14- Overlock the rise seam allowances together, from the front to the back (to the beginning of the single overlocking at the zipper area)

15- Match centre front, side seams and centre back of the waistband to the top edge of the skort RST. Pin and sew

16- Pin and tack invisible zipper to left side centre back. Ensure the top of the zipper sits at the top of the waistband opening. Stitch using invisible zipper foot as far as it will go.

17- Pin and tack zipper to right side, ensuring waistlines match at the top. Sew as far as possible

18- Change to a standard zip foot and secrure the top of the zipper area. Flip the end of the zip tag out of the way and stich from the bottom of the zip to the backrise seam, backstitching for security

19- Flip facing RST at zipper opening and stitch from the lower edge towards the waistline seam - as close tot he zip as possible to secure the zippr ends. Turn back out

20- Check waistline matches before clipping bulk from the inside of the top of the waistline opening. Turn out again and press

21- Understitch the waistband to the waistband seam allowance, starting from right back dart and ending at the left back dart

22- Press the waistband

23- Turn up 2.5cm (/?2cm?) hem on each leg and press

24- Blind hem the leg hems bu hand

25- Blind hem the lower flap hem

26- Blind hem the folded edge and hem on the upper flap

Finished!

x

Location: Bakers Hill, Sheffield

Currently listening to: The Moon is Full, Hindi Zahra

Clothes Clone, Spotty Skort

If you're a girl in a band, or if you're used to performing on any kind of stage, I imagine you will have a certain amount of familiarity with the term 'up-skirt'. You'll know that if you have a gorgeous skirt that you feel fantastic in, chances are- despite wantingt to show it offf to the world, you've put it back in the wardrobe when planning your gig-wear, or you've dug out a pair of lycra cycle shorts to wear underneath it, so that those front row 'toggers don't get a perfect shot of your knickers while you're performing. 

Or, if you're like me, you've turned to the trusty skort to create the chic vision of a mini skirt, but with all the practicality of a pair of modesty protecting shorts while you're towering above your audience. I love skorts. They seem to baffle men which I always find amusing, and they are so un-restrictive, which makes them ideal for wearing while you're playing guitar and having a dance. 

One of my favourite gig outfits from years gone by featured this Top Shop skort which I found in a charity shop the day before our show. It fit the brief perfectly- tease-y like a mini skirt, practical like cargo shorts (sorta), created a nice silhouette and fit perfectly on my waist. And it was houndstooth to boot! The Top Shop skort has made a few appearances on stage since, working both with and without tights. I have found however, that it's maroon tones doesn't go with every outfit, and I haven't wanted to present as a one-skort-pony , "Oh look, Angela's got the gig-skort out again" - cue eye roll. 

So that got me thinking, what I clearly need is another skort that I can wear for shows, the same style and shape but perhaps in a more versatile fabric. The seed was sewn to recreate the pattern - its only small, how hard could it be? Searching Top Shop Skort and scrolling through Vinted, I soon found what I was looking for - the same Top Shop skort on sale for £1.00 (!!), that I siftly ordered, unpacked and unpicked so that I could draw around the pieces and re-create the pattern. 

This is the first time I have completely disassembled a garment in order to recreate it. I found the whole process really quite cathartic. Essentially I was making somthing I already knew fit like a dream, so although I did make a toile to check my theories, I felt confident that the pattern was going to create a garment that I loved - and let's face it, sewing something from a paper pattern doesn't always provide that certainty. 

Carefully unpicking the seams allowed me to keep the seam allowances intact, so I could draw around the pieces without having to add any extra on. It was clear from the folded lines when unpicking the darts exactly where and how wide they needed to be, and taking time unpicking also allowed me to better understand the construction of the garment and what order I would have to piece together the front layers in order for the faux-wrap to work. 

I made the toile from calico, which I found didn't have as much give in it as the original, so this helped inform my fabric choice. I already had a stash of this black and white linen blend fabric from a previous project, the monochrome also hitting the mark in terms of the versatility I was looking for in design. 

Having seen the guts of the original, I felt much more assured in where to place my interfacing, how wide my strips should be and what areas required extra reinforcement. This attention to detail resulted in my finished skort having really crisp lines and angles which was integral to the design. 

I'm super pleased with the outcome, it was exactly what I wanted and I really feel like I learned from taking the skirt apart and recreating my own. We played over summer in the back of a truck, it was absolutely scorching so the legs out option was much appreciated. We keep talking about touring and I have visions of making another 6 in different colours so I have something different but equally reliable/sexy/versatile/practical/'me' to wear each night. 

What's more is I gained a lot of confidence and inspiration from the process, and now feel like I could take absolutely anything apart and recreate a pattern to make my own. Due to mass production and fast fashion, I have found it really easy to find a 'back up' version of garments I love on Vinted at really cheap prices. It's really exciting to think that clothes that I know fit and feel great that I have bought on the high street can be recreated by my own hands, adding that me-made element to an outfit that means so much to me. 

x
Location: Bakers Hill, Sheffield
Currently listening to: Midnight Sweat, Satllites