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for the time being i will keep my old posts here at blogger, but i have imported all content to wordpress. please don't abandon me! to stay updated, head on over to my new space and follow me there. thanks!

—lisa g.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

burda style mini pleated skirt

i made up a quick skirt for my daughter, anastasia, using a pattern from burdastyle.com. love or hate the .pdf pattern downloads, the taping and tracing, etc, they have been absolutely hitting it out of the park with their kids patterns. i defy you to look at the kids section and not find something you wish came in adult sizes. the directions are, at best, questionable... but since there is a general lack of good kids patterns i don't mind puzzling it out for myself.

from start to finish, this skirt took less than two hours. i used a navy ponte knit from joanns and it only used up about half a yard, plus some lining for the pockets. i stayed true to the design but changed the waistband slightly and eliminated the side zip. my daughter is quite thin and the finished waist measurement for a US sz 7 (she's 8) was equal to her hip measurement. since i used a knit, i figured the zip was unnecessary. i cut the waistband as one piece and so the finished width would be 1 1/2". the pattern has a 1" shaped waistband cut in 4 pieces (front, back, inside front, inside back). all the seaming caused a lot of unnecessary bulk so i ripped it out and cut the simplified one piece waistband, then later inserted elastic.

navy is really hard to photograph!

ponte knit can get a little bulky since it is thick and doesn't really press flat. to keep the waistband nice and neat i sewed the waistband piece into a circle (leaving a little opening to insert elastic later), attached it to the front of the skirt then folded it to the inside then stitched in the ditch to catch the inside of the waistband. ordinarily i would have folded up the inside seam allowance, but this time i just left it flat to keep the bulk down.

inside waistband

incidentally, if you ever have trouble "stitching in the ditch" i sometimes pull out my invisible hem presser foot and adjust the guide to line up directly with my needle. the little guide piece sits inside the seam and keeps it all in line as you sew. after, i added some elastic then slip stitched the opening closed.

stitch in the ditch with the blind hem foot

as writ, this skirt is really, really, really short. half the reason i bother making skirts and dresses for my girls is because i hate the itty bitty minis found in RTW for kids her age. she's thin, so she has to size down her skirts making them even shorter... this pattern has a longer version, but i felt that one was too long. i compromised by adding 2" in length to the shorter skirt. ah... just right! it's still shorter than pretty much any other skirt she owns, but i intended it to be worn with thick tights or leggings. i finished off the skirt with a machined blind hem.


she loves this skirt a lot and i fully intend to make at least one more, maybe in a brighter color. i do wish the fabric had more body, i feel it hangs a little limp. the pattern suggests a sweatshirt-type knit, but i think a woven would be really nice too. twill, denim, or even corduroy.

on another topic, i was bumming around pattern review and decided to check out what the december contest was going to be. turns out, it's kidswear. i'm in the middle of making anastasia a winter coat (burdastyle.com duffle coat) so i signed up! i'm super loving how the coat is turning out and hope finish it up soon!

—lisa g.

9 comments:

  1. Hey, that looks a lot like the skirt I just made! Only a whole lot cuter ;-)

    I've really been loving my subscription to Burda. Even if I don't make a lot of the patterns, it's still an education for me to look at the finished shapes of different designs, and compare what the pattern pieces look like. And I totally agree: they have some darned cute kids' stuff!

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    1. oh my gosh it does! great minds think alike! :)

      i keep thinking about splurging for a sewing magazine subscription, seems like burda has just enough patterns i like to make it worth it!

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  2. Very cute! I've just finished tracing the longer version B for my daughter. Good idea for omitting the zip too.

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    1. thanks! it's a great little skirt, i'm sure your daughter will love it!

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  3. Burda has totally been knocking it out of the park with great kids patterns. There have been several issues over the last year I was waffling over, but the kid's patterns put the tipping point in their favor. Now I just need to sew them up!

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  4. Hi Lisa
    I’ve nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blog/One Lovely Blogger Award http://goodbyevalentino.com/2012/12/12/thanks-cherry-pix/

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  5. cute! it looks like she'll get a lot of wear out of the versatile design. i agree, burda's kids styles are nearly always stylish.

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  6. What a gorgeous and useful little skirt, and she looks so happy with it! Look super cute worn with the tights :)

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i appreciate all the feedback, but will no longer be responding to comments left here. i have moved all my content to wordpress (see link at the top of the page!) and will now be posting there. all my posts can be found in my wordpress archive. thanks for reading and please visit my new page!