Showing posts with label skirt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skirt. Show all posts

Sunday 30 December 2012

Kwik Sew 3637 A Circle Skirt and Farewell 2012.

I have managed to complete the final project for 2012 - a  little thrill that I can start 2013 all afresh . My middle daughter did not forget about the promised skirt she requested that I sew her. So ta da - here it is - in all its live modelled glory -yes my daughter agreed to have this photo taken ( after my youngest tricked her and took a photo anyway !)


I used Kwik Sew 3637 , a yoked circle skirt . The fabric is a Japanese cotton lawn from Spotlight - it actually has  a nice hand and is reminiscent of Liberty but without the accompanying $40/metre  price tag. ( I mean it is not as good as Liberty but still a really good substitute ) .Bonus my fabric was on special for only $7.99/metre and there were lots of patterns and colours to choose from   .




The skirt was really simple to sew -it only has two pieces - a yoke- cut out four times  and skirt piece- cut twice .     I did make a couple of  small  changes . I lined the skirt with dark blue cotton voile and surprisingly I found some navy blue ready made piping in my stash which added a nice little touch to the yoke. The only tricky bit of the skirt is the zipper and managing the lining and piping in this area . Also I overlocked the lower edge of the skirt and then made a narrow machine hem .   It does take alot of fabric  - size small uses 2.75 metres  but the resulting  softly cascading folds of fabric look lovely on her .




Well now I am truly ready to start sewing for me again - my pattern is traced  and fabric washed and ironed all ready to go for next year . To everyone have a  Happy New Year . Cheers Janine.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

The 80 Year Old Burda Skirt .

Headless shot today - just out of the shower and early in the morning - you know what I mean.

Finally complete - this skirt seems to have taken so long . I started this in mid-October and finally finished two days ago. I wore it all day yesterday at work and can say it was a success.
Why am I calling this the 80 year old skirt?
Well,the  fabric is at least 40 years old, the buttons are 30 years old , the pattern is 6 years old and the lining I `ve had for a few years as well. Only the zip and thread were new.
I was given this linen ( along with various other dress and craft and home dec fabrics )  from my (ex) neighbour Steph when she moved. Steph tells me this came from  mother`s stash and she can remember it from when she was quite young ( Steph is in her mid 60`s) so I feel really honoured to be given this . This heavy weight linen is really lovely and was very easy to work with. I can see how people become very fastidious about fabric after working with this stuff.
Burda skirt 107 from April 2005.

I used an old Burda WOF pattern -Issue April 2005 which includes the infamous twist top ( yes I have made it !) . I needed a simple skirt as the fabric is heavy weight but did not want the skirt to be completely plain . Burda is great for providing patterns which are bit different to the Big 4.
 This is a straight skirt with forward placed side seams and includes a belt which is sewn into the back darts. I eliminated the fly front and inserted a lapped zipper in the back seam. I also did not add in the pockets and walking vent but top stitched the front seams .Despite eliminating the walking vent I did not have any restrictions in walking , bending over etc at work.
 This time I remembered to add a lining to ( hopefully) reduce the linen wrinkling but forgot to insert the lining inside out ! Oh well what`s a sewing project without some kind of mistake hey . Anyway I love my new skirt - it is very summery and fruity and I can`t ever remember having a pink skirt before ( unless I was six years old or thereabouts ). I would recommend this pattern to anyone ( oh and the chance to sew with linen too ).
Close up hanger shot of skirt front.
back view showing belt insertion.

Next up are some quick and easy PJ shorts for my two older daughters while I ponder on a pattern to use with another special fabric - Liberty of London cotton given to me by another friend !
Have a nice day. Cheers Janine.

Sunday 24 April 2011

Unidentical Twin Skirts


This is Kwik Sew 3364. I have just finished the grey ( winter ) version this long Easter weekend but the floral ( summer ) version was sewn last year in December. I LOVE THIS SKIRT - hence why I have made now 3 versions of this.


The grey above is a light weight wool blend fully lined.I found this at the opshop for only 10cents !!  The floral version is a stretch cotton.I bought this from Ebay but the print was larger than expected but I love the colours.  Both wovens ended up successfully with nice flippy sides.
The grey skirt will be a very welcome addition to my winter wardrobe as I only have about 12 winter weight `bottoms` ( so to speak ) to wear for work. Grey is such a versatile colour - it will go with all of my winter tops. I used a couple of newer techniques for me -I usually make a casing and then insert the elastic for the waist which sometimes ( OK - alot ) ends up with twisted elastic which is annoying. Kwik Sew has you stitch the elastic ends together and then fold the waist over this - much better end result. I also used my blindhem stitch which I probably don`t use as much as I should. I used my overlocker to roll hem the edge of the lining which I have only done 3 times before. Its good to practice these.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy Easter. Cheers Janine   ( By the way that is my lovely dog Toby - a pomerian cross mystery dog. We got him from the pound - everyone calls him a girl because of that fluffy tail/bottom - but he doesnt mind. )

Monday 18 April 2011

My Mother's Birthday Present


I have finally finished sewing this outfit for my mother with the exception of inserting the elastic since I have to measure her waist . I sewed Butterick jacket 4142 and Kwik Sew skirt 3364 out of a light weight crinkly fabric- a bit like cheesecloth but more substantial. The colour is a dark green/olive.
Just recently the health department of Australia wants to introduce plain packaged cigarettes - no logos at all on them - but with the gory pictures of all the terrible things cigarettes can do to you. They decided that the least desirable colour for the packaging was a dark olive green - hmmm - I `m not sure what this says about my choice of colour for this outfit but I know it suits my mother`s autumn colouring and she can add a pretty top to wear with this. The fabric was only $2.50 for 3.5 metres from the opshop  and it does feel very soft.
The Butterick pattern is OOP - dated 2004 and this was easy to sew. I did like the slit in the back and the mandarin collar but again I`m not sure if this is something that a certain deceased asian communist leader might have worn. Oh well. I know my Mum will like this.
The skirt pattern is Kwik Sew 3364 and I love this pattern . I have had this in my collection for a few years and until late last year I had never used the pattern - this is now the second time with the third one cut out ! I have now made this skirt in a bright summery stretch cotton, the above light weight green and the new one is cut out of a light weight grey wool blend. I really do recommend this pattern.
Well I am glad this is finished  in time and now I am off to sew a little bit more of my next skirt.
Cheers Janine