sewing

This is one of the earliest pieces of my self-made wardrobe, right up there with my blue kimono.

If you were going to embark on any sort of me-made/self-made/hand-made wardrobe adventure – I would suggest either working your way up to it, or giving yourself lots and lots of preparation time, which is a perfect case of “do what I say, not what I do” (because that type of advice always works so well…)

If you don’t give yourself enough prep time (or you spend you prep time tangled up, and not really sure what to make), you’ll probably end up in a couple situations with nothing to wear (kind of literally).

There were plenty of mornings at the beginning of this project where I woke up, had nothing to wear, and scrambled to make something in time to wear to whatever I needed to do outside my apartment that day.

This skirt, was one of those projects (so was my black maxi skirt – and to a lesser extent my grey one too).

MATERIALS

– A million yards of a crinkle rayon, that I got from my great-aunt. I don’t know what she was planning to make when she bought it (she doesn’t know either), but there were two pieces that probably totaled 5 or 6 yards.
– Thread
– 3/4” elastic
– 2” safety pin

PATTERN

I based the skirt off of this pin on pinterest. It’s a page from a vintage homemakers magazine or pamphlet, for a “4.5 hour skirt.” The skirt is made up of 6 trapezoid panels, this gives the skirt a really nice shape, and also lets you be really efficient with your cutting layout (not that I had a shortage of fabric).

I assume that the original skirt has you put a zipper in, but I went with a simple elastic waistband instead.

Since this was one of the first garments I made for the self-made wardrobe, time was a very real constraint, so I used the selvage of the fabric as a hem – which I think lends an air of modernity to the skirt, and which set off my love affair with unhemmed clothing.

I love drapping, and since this fabric has such an amazing drape to it, I added a tuck and secured it in place with a safety pin.

WHAT WORKED WELL

The shape, the fabric, and the safety pin.

The shape – I love the shape of this skirt, and how the pattern is so simple, but so wonderful.

The fabric – It’s a simple printed crinkle rayon with a beautiful drape, and a really nice weight. And most importantly, it’s a floral print without being flowery.

The safety pin – I originally planned on replacing the safety pin with stitching, once I decided on the final placement, but I really love how it gives me options. Some days I fold one layer, some days I fold both layers, some days I fold neither layer – so I’m leaving the safety pin.

WHAT I’D DO DIFFERENTLY

I’d use wider elastic – this skirt is quite heavy, and the 3/4” elastic is teetering on the edge of not being up to the job. So I think once this elastic wears out, I’ll replace it with 1” elastic.

And as soon as this project ends I’m going to have to go at that hem with some stain remover and a scrub brush – regular washing is just not cutting it against a year of New York City dirt.