The Great Skirt Project – Pt3

So now the fabric is made and all is well. It’s time to make the skirt. AAAAHHHHH!!!!!

I couldn’t find a simple six gor skirt pattern anywhere! Believe me, I searched. Most had some triangular pieces added about halfway down the thigh and others had a bit of a flare at the bottom and since I was very limited in how wide I could make the bottom of the skirt, it couldn’t have that flare.

I did some Google-ing and Pinterest searching and thought I could figure out how to do it. All it really needed to fit were my waist and hips. And off I went to the craft store to get some cheap fabric and other supplies that were in short supply. The princess fabric wasn’t cheap but I couldn’t leave without it. (I’m teaching that Princess Breeds Study at the Ply Retreat so I probably need a new outfit to go with it.)

So I did some measuring and some ciphering and figured out how wide each piece should be at the top and made sure it would fit my hips and I drew it onto a piece of heavyweight interfacing. I figured I would be using this pattern several times and if all went well, I would use it even more than that. Heavy weight interfacing lasts for a long time and so I thought it was a better choice than paper.

I cut out the green fabric and sewed it up, leaving an opening in the seam for a zipper. And, like magic, it fit!

I do this thing where I am always skeptical and then surprised when things work out. I’m trying not to be so cynical. I do it sometimes when I cook dinner too. Like when I try a new recipe. Lou always laughs at me because I always sound so surprised when everythign turns out the way it was planned.

Now I need to find a lining for the green skirt and finish it! I like it a lot.

Now that I felt confident that I could do this I could move on to actually making the skirt that had been in the works for months in my hands and years in my head.

I started with chalk and traced the pattern pieces onto the fabric before cutting so I could make sure, one more time, that I had enough yardage. Wouldn’t that have been the worst to be short?! Well, there wasn’t much extra! My loom calculations were a bit off. And i know that’s because I calculated based on a pattern that i hadn’t seen or made yet. The next one will be different…

Next I was deciding on whether to just go ahead and cut or to do something to help the fabric stay together. Having never sewn with any handwoven fabric before I wasn’t sure what to expect. I decided to trust Sara Lamb. And I cut.

The fabric stayed together! and I was happy. Also,because of how everything was layed out there was very little waste which is nice. You know how you hate to throw away too much of your hand work. I’ve gotten used to throwing away yarn I’ve made but the woven fabric is still a big deal to me. (I still have the scraps, I look at them, I can’t bring myself to toss them yet.)

The inistial sewing took no time at all and I was trying the thing on. As soon as I was sure it fit I cut the lining and sewed that together. I decided to not have an attached waist band. I just sewed the lining along with a bit of interfacing around the waist. After that, I added a bit of understitching to help everything stay in place.

After that I hemmed the skirt and the lining and put in the zipper. And! I had a break through. I’ve never been good at machine sewing zippers so I usually hand pick them. I decided to try again and I was successful!

So many exciting things during this project!

Next came the embellishment. I don’t usually wear white skirts but I want to wear this to Rhinebeck and since I won’t have time to send it to Amy for dyeing I decided to leave it white and do a bit of embroidery on it. I don’t like to dye and so i’ve never really practiced and so on a project as labor intensive as this it would be better to have it done by a proffessional. I promise the next one will be in color when it is finished.

The embroidery is done in Targhee singles. The fiber was dyed by Amy King at Spunky Eclectic.

And now, it’s Finished and I am happy! (please ignore the filthy morror.)

I will begin spinning for the next one during Spinzilla I think. Romney is probably the next one…or Cheviot…or Wensleydale…or Suffolk…or Corriedale.

I guess I’d better decide.