denim skirt: finished!

the denim skirt for my seven year old is finished! actually i finished a week ago, just didn't have the opportunity to photograph it sooner. it's such a confidence booster to design, draft and sew a project. oh yeah, and have it look good!

[aside: i'm just going to acknowledge that most of the finished product photos are a bit dark and don't show the detail very well. i even photo edited them lighter. that probably means i need a better camera...]

i added a simple straight waistband. originally i was going to make it 2" wide, but settled on 1 1/2". i used underlining to stabilize the waistband and used a thinner cotton material for the waistband facing. this cuts down on the bulk and gives me a chance to add a little color to the inside. which i love! and of course, a little more topstitching. 

instead of using an invisible zip, i went with a standard zip. i find that the invisible zips get caught on bulkier seams and i don't want my daughter to have to struggle to zip her own skirt. she's the type that would just leave something half zipped if it requires too much effort. we're working on that.

with the zipper inserted, i added some elastic in the waistband to keep it comfortable for a kid. i stitched the elastic in place at each end, right next to the zipper. then i pulled the facing over and pinned it in place, then from the outside, stitched just under the waistband to catch the facing. in retrospect i probably should have stitched the facing in place along the lower edge first, then threaded the elastic. but... whatevs. this won't be my last waist band. then to stabilize the top of the waistband i stitched just next to the lower row of topstitching. my dark thread disappears into the denim, so i was able to get a nice crisp top edge.

i hemmed and hawed about whether to stitch the hem in my topstitching gold thread or to hide it with navy thread. i ended up with the gold to give it a more casual look. so that's that!

as i finished up this skirt i kept thinking: ooh this looks just like something i would pick up in the kids section of j. crew and immediately scoff at the outrageous price! just to find out i took a look over at their website and found a jean skirt.

[source]

cute, yes. but $55? considering that i made mine out of leftovers (the original fabric was on sale for about $6.50/yd)... again, why don't more people sew?

this little one adores her new skirt. her only complaint? the pockets aren't big enough. she was (and i quote) "hoping they would be big enough to put a book in." considering her favorite book at the moment is any of the seven harry potter books, that indeed, would be a big pocket. sigh... just can't win sometimes!


—lisa g

drafted basic skirt in denim

following the guidelines from the book "How to Make Your Own Sewing Patterns" by Donald H. McCunn, i've been working on a self-drafted skirt for my 7 year old daughter. after drafting the basic shape i added seams and slant front pockets and made up all my pattern pieces. i cut the denim and it all has sewn up beautifully!

i have to say, i love this skirt. and i'm kind of addicted to topstitching.

here's a look inside the pocket on the side front panel

after i tried it on her, i decided to bring it in a touch at the hipline. the drafting instructions have essentially 4" of ease in the hips. this amount is probably just fine for a curvy adult, but it looks a bit ridiculous on a thin 7 year old's frame! it's was an easy fix, i just stitched 1/4" in from my original stitching line, taking out 1" overall. 

i decided to add a little whimsical touch to the back and sewed on a heart patch. i left the edges raw so that when the skirt is washed the edges will fray a little. 

next i'll cut and sew on the waistband, insert a back zip and add some elastic in the waistband. there's not too much to say about this skirt, it's all pretty straightforward. hopefully i'll be back with the finished project soon!


—lisa g

how to draft a basic skirt

thanks so much for all the lovely and flattering comments on my blog, burda and pattern review regarding my denim macaron dress! it's always nice to hear other people being as excited as i am about something i made. but after finishing a project i always feel like yay that was awesome!! then, what do i do next??? well i have a few scraps of denim leftover and i have a daughter in need of some clothes... so i'll make her a denim skirt.


also, i've been thinking a lot about fitting and drafting patterns and having a sloper handy for reference. i picked up a book from the library called "How To Make Your Own Sewing Patterns" by Donald H. McCunn. a quick look at reviews on amazon tells me that this is a staple book for pattern drafting and has been in continuous print since the 70s. okay. good enough for me! i'll work on a bodice sloper for myself soon, but first i'll use it to draft a basic skirt for my daughter. i have no problem conducting experiments on my children, plus they require less fabric yardage!

so here's the skirt i have in mind: a straight pencil skirt to hit just above the knee with a straight 2-inch waistband and back zip. the front panel i will divide and put some front slant pockets, maybe with a topstitching detail. also, since this is for a 7 year old, i'm going to measure 1 inch extra for the waist and encase elastic in the waistband so she can still move around like a 7 year old requires. i suppose you could do this for an adult version too if you need or want the flexibility!


now, obviously fitting a stick thin 7 year old who can use a little elastic for shaping is much easier than fitting a woman's curves. but, i'll walk you through the process laid out in the book which you can definitely apply to a normal adult body.


take the following measurements:

1. waist to above knee—16"
2. waist to hip—5.5"
3. hip—25.5"
4. waist—22"

now that we have the basic measurements take a large piece of paper like tissue or tracing paper, tape some together if you have to. draw a line on the far right equaling the waist to hem measurement.

then mark the waist to hip measurement and draw horizontal lines at the waist, hip and knee marks.

next take 1/4th of the hip measurement plus 1" and make a mark on the waist, hip and knee line. this is the side hip mark.

on the waistline mark off 1/4th of the waist measurement. this is the side waist mark.

measuring from the side waist mark, make a mark slightly less than halfway to the side hip mark.

draw in the side seam curving from the last mark made down to the side hip mark and straight down to the knee line.

at this point you have your starting point for a pattern. this would be cut in muslin (don't forget to add the seam allowances!) and sewn. to establish the front and back darts, you pinch out the excess and mark it which you would then transfer to your pattern pieces.


for my purposes, i am going to continue with out a muslin fitting. my daughter is stick thin so i'm not worried about this not fitting! i am adding the dart and drawing a line straight down to mark off the side and center panels.

and next i am adding the pocket details.

from here i made my pattern pieces by tracing and adding seam allowances. i know the back piece will need to be slightly higher at the waist to cover her tiny derrière so i added about half an inch.


while i haven't tried this on myself yet, you can see how simple it really is to make your own basic patterns. i'll definitely be doing this for myself soon!


—lisa g

macaron pt. 5: finished!

to finish off my colette patterns macaron dress i merely had to slip stitch the lining in place around the top of the denim parts and down the zip.

i just love that my lining is red; it's so beautiful it's almost a shame that no one will ever see it! except for you lovely folks who visit my blog, that is.

after trying on the finished product i felt there was a little bit of strain at the bottom of the stitching on the pleats (i blame the flab-that-won't-go-away mommy tummy for this). to be perfectly honest i hadn't noticed that the pleats were actually tucks and were stitched down a ways. i hadn't muslined this part so it was a little snug. to fix it, i took out about 1" of stitching from the end of each tuck to ease up the strain here. it seems in better proportion on me so it all worked out. whew!

the one last thing i need to figure out is the fitting around my shoulders. my shoulders are slightly protruding and it feels like the actual armscythe needs to be moved toward the front just a wee bit. since i rarely make sleeved dresses (or sleeved anything...) i hadn't considered this in my fittings. but now wearing it, my arm movement is a little restricted. will have to remember this in the future. but, i love the sleeves so they are not coming out!

here's a quick rundown of the changes or alterations i made to the pattern:

• converted the darts to a princess seam: this is by far the biggest change i made. i think the princess seams really suit the style of dress and my fabric choice. being able to topstitch with topstitching thread for denim was a real treat. as scary as topstitching may seem, it's surprisingly easy and gives the garment a professional-looking finish.
• button and loop back closure: like i mentioned before, i have a hard time getting in and out of side zip dresses. i just haven't figured that maneuver out! so to give me a little extra room at the neckline, i added a seam down the back of the yoke piece and left an opening to be closed with a button. it's a nice little detail and if you're at all concerned with fitting the neckline over your head, this is an easy solution!
• sizing: i started with a 0 up at top and tapered out to a 4 from the waist down. i still had to pinch out some room at the under bust, about 1" total. since i'm pretty tiny here, the last thing i need is extra fabric flopping around!
• back neck dart: i didn't really talk about this, but i also removed some room from the back, about 1" vertically. i took the room out right next to the neck dart in order to make this dart smaller because it kind of stuck out giving me a hunch back. not cool.
• skirt tucks: after finishing the dress and trying it on, the tucks were a little strained at their ending point. to give some extra ease, i unpicked and shortened how far these were stitched down, taking about 1" of stitching out.

i am so very happy with how my dress turned out! it's such a darling design to begin with and once i found the perfect fabric i knew it would be amazing! i began this project with the highest of expectations and i certainly wasn't let down!

macaron pt. 1: pattern alterations
macaron pt. 2: fitting woes
macaron pt. 3: progress and a major WHAT??? moment...
macaron pt. 4: almost there...

—lisa g

macaron pt. 4: almost there...

since all my drama in the last post, things have gone along rather nicely! because my yoke pieces are a little sheer i decided to use bias tape as facing for the neckline and make a small narrow facing for the sleeve hem. it was super easy and keeps everything looking neat inside and out!


to backtrack a step... ever wonder what to do with the little tails of thread from sewing a dart?

sometimes it's just too much work to thread and re-thread the machine for the couture dart. grab your hand sewing needle and thread it with the tails of thread. then bring the needle through the fabric taken up in the dart and out.

pull the thread tight and clip right where you've pulled it out of the fabric.

ta-da! no tails hanging out!

and here is the completed bodice. i really love the button and loop detail. it's a small thing, but it makes it so much easier to get in and out of the dress!




the skirt of the dress was surprisingly quick to put together, considering it has pleats and in-pleat pockets. i love the pockets! yes, any dress with pockets automatically gets higher points in my book, but i'm not really a fan of side seam pockets. they tend to flap around a little and create weird bulk at the hips if you actually use the pockets. and what's the point of taking the trouble to put pockets in if you don't use them?

back to the pockets on the macaron... i have to admit, it was a little nerve wrecking to slash down the middle of the side pleats to insert a pocket. i swear, i just stood there for twenty minutes to check and double check that i was cutting in the right place.

i highly recommend that you don't plow through this step! fortunately, the directions are very clear. plus it's great to know how to do this type of pocket, i'll definitely use this technique on skirts/dresses in the future!

once i had the entire shell constructed and hemmed, i moved on to my lining. this was my first time using bemberg lining, and by the time i was about halfway through my lining construction i was convinced that it would be all off. that stuff is shifty!!! but so soft and lovely... at any rate, i muddled through and my seams are surprisingly straight. i used my serger to sew it all up, saving me from stitching then finishing my seams.


also, instead of the usual construction where you basically work from the bodice down, i sewed up the entire front panel, then the entire back panel, finished all the edges then sewed the front and back pieces together at the side seams.

i have to say, after seeing all this lovely red, i definitely need a fancy red dress at some point.


okay... i'm almost there! just need to hand stitch the lining in place and attach it at the zip. next will be the finished product! stay tuned!


—lisa g

macaron pt. 3: progress and a major WHAT??? moment

i put my fitting issues and craziness behind me, went back to the drawing board and whipped up a final pattern based on everything i had found out from my muslins and confidently cut out my actual fabric pieces. it's always exciting to get the fabric cut and be all ready to go!


i rejected my momentary thought of trying to do a center back zip. i stuck to the side zip but decided to change the back yoke piece slightly. as writ, the back yoke is one piece cut on the fold. i wanted a little extra wiggle room because, let's face it. i suck at being able to get into a side zip dress. i don't know why, i get all lost with both hands up in the air frantically waving and me becoming increasingly claustrophobic. so, to make it a little easier to get into (and to have an air vent in case i do get stuck...), i added a seam to the back yoke and left the top part open to be closed with a button and loop. it was a small compromise to ensure that i can in fact get in and out of the dress i have worked so hard to make.

this was a really simple change. i added a seam allowance to the back piece when i cut the fabric. then, i measured out to have a 4" opening then sewed down the rest of the piece.

then i pressed open the seam allowance, continuing all the way up the open part. then i turned the seam allowance under and pressed so the raw edges would meet the stitching line and be concealed.

continue pressing the entire length of the seam allowance on both sides

to finish my seam allowance, i  stitched along the turned edge, just up to where the opening is.

after this, i top stitched around the opening to keep everything neat and in place.

everything so far was going along just swimmingly. the denim bodice pieces were put together, top stitched, attached to the yoke, shoulder seams sewn. i was ready to triumphantly sew down the non zip side of the bodice. i pinned carefully to see if my seams lined up when i discovered...

IT DID NOT MATCH!!!

what? uh, what?! how? shock and horror!! this was not a tiny difference, it was a full 1/4"!!! resist throwing things, there are children present. okay. be calm. somehow my side front piece is just too short. but only on the side. i had no good explanation.


it was all a little too much for my 2:30 in the afternoon on a friday i haven't yet had an afternoon coffee brain. 


after my more than momentary panic, i decided it was fixable. there is enough seam allowance that i can unpick part of the waistband, align correctly and re-stitch. pinned to the dressform the waist band did look to be at an awkward angle heading toward the side seam.


soooo... that's weird.


i came back to it with a clear, fully caffeinated head and fixed the problem. i stitched the side seam, perfectly matching all my seams, and even tried it on!

ah, much better. i knew i couldn't sleep last night if i left this unfixed. even my top stitching lines match perfectly! not to brag or anything.

—lisa g

macaron pt. 2: fitting woes

i've made some good progress working on my muslin and lest you think i have completely lost my mind, this stripy fabric is just some awful fabric i had in my stash. so awful it's barely even muslin worthy. in fact, the rest of it is going straight to the trash. guilt free.

lest you think for some reason that this looks
cool, the stripes will absolutely make you go blind.
that is my public service announcement for the day.

after my first go around i made a few more adjustments and sewed up a second muslin. which was still not quite right. hmm. i made a few more pattern adjustments and thought i was ready to cut my real fabric, but decided to sleep on it first.


after all, what's the rush?


this morning with a clear head i tried my original muslin back on and realized it's not nearly as bad as i had thought, and that i totally made adjustments in all the wrong places for my second muslin. in fact, it's pretty darn close to where i need to be! i don't know what i was thinking before, maybe the weird stripes and truly awful fabric i used for the muslin skewed my vision. that and i nearly went blind sewing it. for some reason i pinched out fabric in the wrong places and it totally threw off and flattened the whole bust area in a weird way. i am so glad i went back to my original before throwing it out, in this case a second look was a very good idea!!


so it's back to square one, but since now i really know how to fix it, it'll be a piece of cake and i'll be sewing up this pattern in no time! don't get me wrong here, i have found this to be a beautifully sized pattern! the sizing chart and how it actually resembles the finished garment sizes is super reliable (unlike some other patterns i've worked with). 


but, what i'm really coming to realize is how badly i need a permanent sloper (or toile or block... whatever your preferred terminology is). all it is is a base pattern that fits perfectly. then i could simply take my own existing sloper to use as comparison for any pattern and save me from needing to muslin at all! to have a well-fitting sloper at my fingertips would save time, energy, worry and fabric. in fact, i think i need to make one right after i finish the macaron. at this point, i've invested so much into my fittings (and since i'm really close to getting it right) it'd be a shame to not finish my dress first. plus, there's still room for minor tweaks once i start in on the real thing.


so that's that. hopefully i'll be back soon with something real to show you all!


—lisa g