Tuesday 26 November 2013

Flippy - McCalls 6842

This skirt is so much fun.  It's quick to make, twirls beautifully and swishes around your legs while you're walking.


I used McCalls 6842 view D and a beautiful ponte fino knit from fabric.com.  I ended up cutting out a size 12, removed 3 inches from the length and omitted the back zipper and waistband facing.

The photo below is what I get when I ask my 10 year old to take pictures - but it gives you a better idea of the skirt shape.  I wouldn't normally pair this top with this skirt, but I have a real lack of summer tops, both for work and causal.


One of the best parts about making this skirt is knowing how much money I have saved!  I saw this Witchery skirt and loved it, but not the $100 price tag.  I even went in store to try it on thinking I could justify the purchase somehow (I was thinking along the lines of no time to sew and I need some new clothes).  I really liked it, but it was far too short for me to wear it to work.  I'm so glad I checked the McCalls patterns because this is an exact match, in a better fabric at a more work appropriate length.

Obligatory twirling shot - slightly more revealing than I expected but so. much. fun.


Apologies for the slightly out of focus photos, but I decided it was better to post with dodgy photos than not post at all.  My last assignment is due this week, so hopefully I can spend a little more time in my sewing room after that.  I'm sure Wade does too because at the moment I'm buying plenty of fabric and patterns to get my sewing fix :)

Saturday 2 November 2013

A little bit of summer - Simplicity 6107

Mum rang this afternoon and said that she was going to stop checking my blog because it never changes - so Mum, this one's for you :)



Despite my love for pencil skirts I have exactly none in my wardrobe and every time I try to make one the results are less than flattering.  Every other sewing blogger talks about how simple pencil skirts are so I feel like a bit of a failure for having so much trouble getting one to fit me properly.


I can't say I'm overwhelmingly in love with this skirt either, but the photos are convincing me it looks better than I thought it did.  This is Simplicity 6107 , view d made up in a stretch cotton sateen I picked up at Spotlight.


Like every other pencil skirt I've made I ended up with a very 'poofy' front - the fabric just folds in on itself in a very unattractive way.  I tend to look like I'm wearing a skirt designed for the male anatomy.  I blame my 'mummy tummy' and have tried all sorts of combinations of darts and nothing seems to work particularly well.

I've since read that someone else just folded that excess fabric out of their pattern (sorry can't remember where).  A simple solution and one my study addled brain didn't think of!  Instead I extended the front darts by 2.5 inches which has helped, but not completely eliminated the problem.


I'm not a huge fan of people being able to see the outline of my pelvis so  I was incredibly conscious of not making the skirt too tight.  After wearing the skirt all day I could probably have taken the waist in a little more as it didn't feel particularly secure.

Well I now have one pencil skirt in my wardrobe and next time I'm going to try folding the excess out of the pattern.  I made my first fabric.com order recently and received my fabrics on Monday.  I've been madly studying all day so that I can finish my assignment and spend a totally guilt free, self indulgent day in my sewing room tomorrow.

Time to get back to the books.