Simple Sew, Chelsea Skirt

Twice a year The Identity Store hold a leather fair at the village hall in Matlock. There is a crazy amount of different leathers and suedes and furs, some shiny stuff, some unusual bits and pieces, hey, it's worth a look even if you have never worked with leather before. This was my third trip to the fair, and having finished my first Simple Sew Chelsea Skirt just the week before I was on the lookout for something that would make a nice panel skirt.

Initially attracted to some brown leather with the idea of making something a little bit Western inspired, after several walks around the stalls I changed my mind when I spotted a really big piece of black leather that was only £30. It sealed the deal when I flipped it over and found the suede side was this kind of wintery, distressed grey. This was a bit more exciting than the plain black side and would probably go with more of my wardrobe than the brown. Also there was maybe enough to make two! The leather wasn't too thick so would go through my machine without trouble, but also not so thin as it would stretch too much under the presser foot.



I cut out all the pieces of the skirt with the same pattern alterations I had made for my denim one. It was once I'd cut everything out that I started flipping the pieces over, wondering if I could mix and match the leather and suede sides. I loved the grey for the back pieces, but was quite excited about using the leather for the centre front, especially when I found that Prym make black poppers!

The skirt was quick to make as nothing needed overlocking (yay!). I interfaced one side of the waistband pieces and the centre front pieces where the placket folds over for the poppers. Nothing needed hemming as I was happy with the raw edge of the suede and thought the placket might be a bit bulky to fold under anyway.


The poppers were easy to insert (for future ref, the are spaced at 9cm intervals, but might be an idea to put insert the one at my hip point [widest point] first and work outwards to try and reduce any potential gaping. Maybe try doing them in pairs for something a bit different?). I loved the black on black effect.

The skirt looked pretty much perfect, I tried on with all my snaps done up and was very pleased..... But! It sat just a littttttle bit too low on my waist. I tried to forget about it, but I kept thinking about it. I knew the additional couple of cms I'd added into the waistband of my denim one when my denim shrank a little had made this skirt's waistband just a tiny bit too large around the top. I knew I would be put off from wearing it if I felt it didn't fit right....

...I made the decision to alter the waistband. This meant unpicking my understitching, unpicking the waistband from the skirt at the side seam and unpicking the facing from the waistband. As I had already clipped and graded my seams I had to be really careful as there wasn't much to play with.


I took 1cm in from the original seam at the top of the waistband and graded back out to where it joins the skirt. I'm not going to lie it was fiddly and halfway through I definitely wished I hadn't unpicked a thing!! Certainly this will serve as a reminder in the future to do it right first time! The result was a slightly bulkier waistband at the side seams, but a better fit at the waist :)


Next time I make the Chelsea Skirt I'm going to pay special attention to how my fabric behaves (How stretchy? Will it shrink when I press it?) so that I can cut the perfect length waistband first time!! I'm also going to really consider what weight interfacing to use for the placket so I can reduce the gape-potential between buttons.

Who knows, maybe spring will be rolling round when I make my next and I'll be able to pick some floaty summery fabric for my button down skirt ☀️

x

Location: Aizlewood's Mill, Sheffield
Currently listening to: Fractured Air (Tornado Watch), Calexico