Thursday 12 January 2012

First Finished Garment of 2012...

...and what a successful start to the year, if I do say so myself!


After having put my son to bed last night at 7:30pm, I sat down on my sofa feeling completely and utterly exhausted.  It had been a long non-stop day, I'd been up late the night before doing God-knows-what and up pretty early that morning.  Blurry eyed and yawning, I put the kettle on for a cup of my favourite Rose Yogi Tea and a hot water bottle.  As I scrolled absent mindedly through everyone's latest Pins, I remembered a beautiful skirt I'd seen... and a decent amount of red polyester crepe I had left over from this (still unfinished) dress and this pencil skirt.  Would there be enough? I wondered, as I poured boiling water into my cup.  Definitely for a paneled skirt, but what about a 1/4 circle skirt?  I certainly wasn't awake enough to embark on a self-drafted paneled fiasco, but after recent successes with self-drafted 1/2 circle skirts I thought I may as well have a go.

please excuse the nightmare mess of my studio, but I just had to get a shot mid-make, still exhausted and slightly unable to believe how beautifully this skirt was turning out to be!
I really can't even claim that the pattern for this skirt was self-drafted, but in fact completely eye-balled, as I literally lay out my fabric on the floor, and cut out a very rough curve from the corner that more or less equalled my waistline.  I didn't even bother adding a seam allowance as I knew this curved edge would end up stretching slightly.  Then I cut out and sewed a super basic waistband, inserted an invisible zipper, seamed the skirt up the back and attached the waistband.  And to prove exactly how haphazardly I went about the making of this skirt, just take a look at that hem (pre-hemming of course):

Almost shameful.  But quite funny.  Wouldn't have been so funny if this had turned out to be a disaster though...

By this time it was barely 9pm, my tea was cold, and I was feeling significantly less exhausted, possibly even a little adrenaline rush-y at the prospect of having pulled off a floor length, perfectly cut, disturbingly elegant skirt whilst practically half asleep.  All that was left to do was hand stitch the waistband fastening.  

I'd decided to make a waistband that, instead of overlapping, simply met at centre back so I could use a pretty metal hook & eye closure I once got in a vintage sewing stuff job lot on eBay.  Luckily I had 2 sets, as the hook part instantly snapped off as I was playing around with placement.  Obviously not a thing of quality then.  I sewed on the other eye part, so I now have 2 loops through which to thread a ribbon or lace to tie the waistband together.

(That old shoe lace pictured will not be residing with this fabulous skirt much longer... Just until I find something sufficiently beautiful to replace it)

still need to press that back seam...
And now to admire my new favourite skirt that took me little more than an hour and a generous dose of blind faith and spontaneity.


Actually, it seems as though recently my most successful projects have been the ones approached with exactly that let's-just-jump-right-in blind faith.  I wonder if I can apply this to other aspects of my life...?


Apologies for this narcissistic series of photos... I'm just really proud of this skirt and how well it fits!  And when I'm old and haggard at least I'll have evidence that once upon a time I had a small waist and a pert-ish bottom!!

15 comments:

  1. Ooh that's soooo elegant Elisalex - absolutely stunning. You enjoy it girl! I especially love the clasp at the back and the dramatic length.

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  2. It's beautiful Lex..

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  3. Fabulous style, colour and clasp. I kinda like the contrast of your dirty shoelace, maybe not a shoelace but something unexpectedly rugged.

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  4. Just lovely. That clasp is the perfect fancy accent for such a fab length and color! I am totally inspired to make one for myself!

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  5. Thank you girlies! I'm pretty smitten with it. Thinking maybe I need a mini version in black or plum wool crepe now...

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  6. I saw this through WeSewRetro and loved it immediately. Excellent work! Wanted to let you know that I've pinned this on my Pinterest board for want-to-sew, although I'm thinking pants? Just as wide and flowy and fabulous? So my question - could you guesstimate how much fabric you had for this? Thanks!

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    1. Would be amazing as pants! Palazzo pants! I used just over a metre of fabric, so I'd say you'd definitely need 2 for pants, maybe 3 to be safe - and then you might even have enough left over to make a mini 1/4 circle skirt!

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  7. gorgeous, gorgeous skirt! i'm so jealous! :)

    just found your blog via a comment you left at "thompson family-life" and i'm so glad to have made my way here. i'm really looking forward to following along! <3

    have a great friday -

    karen

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  8. HOT! I loved reading this Lex. You've complemented your body beautifully. But I mostly enjoyed your holistic approach to work.
    x

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  9. Lovely skirt, great blog :)
    xx

    www.queenoffunkydiy.blogspot.com

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  10. This is really beautiful on you and I adore the back detail! It's so elegant yet modern at the same time. Kudos to you for just drafting it up!

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  11. It's beautiful. The fabric drapes perfectly and the back fastening is gorgeous!

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  12. Such a beautiful skirt and it looks more the lovely because of the armature underneath. You are the perfect model. Your mention of the half circle skirts reminded me of a skirt my mom made for me when I was little. She took a large, squarish piece of fabric and cut it into a circle as large as possible. Then she cut a circle out in the middle - large enough for my waist and added a slit so I could get in. Don't recall if there was a zipper or just a button. But I LOVED that skirt because I would twirl and it would stand straight out around me. My favorite little girl skirt and it would be fantastic for big girl dancers as well. I love your blog! Kind thoughts from across the big pond. - L

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  13. Ooh, it's so drapey and beautiful, love it. My late-night experimenting never goes this well!

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I love hearing your thoughts, and if you have any questions at all, I will reply to them within these comments - so please be sure to check back to get your answer!

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