Every year I set myself some new year's resolutions. This year my list had the usual sewing faff, 'read more' for the 27th year in a row and Give Blood. I booked my appointment online and was feeling super psyched to go and do some good... Only to find when I got there the wouldn't let me because my 'veins are too small I'm afraid'. Can I do anything? 'No, go home'. Disappointed and still massively unmotivated to 'read more' I turned back to my resolution list, my sewing faff being- 'Make three mini skirts from different patterns'. It's almost June and I haven't made one, and I can do that while I'm sulking right? So I flicked through my pattern stash to see what was a possibility.
The New Look 6843 is a simple mini skirt with a waistband, zip, two pairs of back darts and one pair of front darts. I wanted to make the perfect shape so I set-to making toile number one.
First things first, I substituted the waistband on the pattern for my trusty go-to waistband from Simple Sew's Shannon Shorts. I just love the shaping in it, I've re-drafted and hacked I so many times I know it inside out now. I wanted to wear this skirt a little higher than my previous mini skirts, so I played around a bit and ended up taking 1.5cm from the centre front fold (so 3cm in total). This completely coincidentally meant that the shaping seams in the waistband now lined up exactly with the darts on the centre front.
Wearing the skirt a little higher meant that I would have to extend the bum-darts a little so that they were pointing to my widest part. I left the shorter outside darts as they were, but then extended the inside pair. I tried on my muslin and found that (as predicted) there was some wrinkling in the lower back. I swear I'm not that disproportionate, but I do always have to end up making some alterations on the small of my back. The change is quite simple, just smooth and pinch out the wrinkles so that the waistband sits lower on the back skirt- essentially making the seam allowance of the skirt greater but leaving the waistband's the same. I played about a bit with my muslin, pinning and repositioning, before I drew on the new seamline with my fabric pen.
With the bum now fitting nicely, next job was to pinch out the excess on the side seams. I wanted a gloriously flattering fit, but was also aware that the skirt pattern does not have a split or centre back vent, so if I made it tooo tight it would be a nightmare to walk in. This can of course be helped by slicing some off the bottom of the skirt length... which is obviously exactly what I did.
I made a second toile with my adjustments to check I'd got everything right. I had just recently bought some lovely blue suede from the Identity Store's Leather Fair in Matlock. I bought two hides which totalled about £35. Other leathers that caught my eye included some crazy gold which was maybe a tad too bulky for my machine, and some snakeskin which I loved but feared I would just never wear.
The suede I bought was a good weight for my machine, just ensuring I used a leather needle. I picked a long length stitch and used tissue paper under my foot so it didn't drag on the fabric. Annoyingly as I reached the end of a couple of my darts the suede stretched out a little, making my dart points not quite as flat as I'd have wished.
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On a girly shopping trip to Leeds I fell for my lining fabric. This lovely silky tropical print which fit with my colour scheme. The lady behind the counter laughed and said 'Ooooh, that will be difficult to sew with!!'. I mean she was right, it was horribly slippy and took about half a can of spray starch to try and keep it under control but it was so worth it! Instead of sewing in the full darts I just stitched tucks in the top of the skirt where they would be to allow more movement.
Once I'd sewn the side seams in the lining I pressed under 1.5cm on the centre back so that it would be easier to line up when I came to slipstiching to my zipper.
The waistband seams had the potential to be a bit bulky so I decided to only interface the outside of the waistband. The iron-on wasn't toooo keen on sticking to the leathery side of the suede but it stayed put long enough to hold while stitching. I understitched the inside of the top of the waistband to ensure if doesn't flip out.
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I attached the lining to the inner waistband then turned it to the inside. I made sure my lining was 2.5cm shorter than the skirt to stop it peeking out by double turning the hem and stitching. I attached the invisible zip to the skirt with a 1.5cm seam allowance, sewing up the centreback seam before hand stitching the lining in place.
I love the shape! It's so simple but the fit is great. The pattern is so versatile, I would love a million in different fabrics. Houndstooth anyone?
x
Location: Clifton Park, Rotherham
Currently listening to: Deadend Street, The Kinks
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