I've been sewing

[mala_14]

I made two skirts in the past month. Both of them pretty easy, simple projects, and both of them using up leftover cotton from my quilt.

First, the pink print skirt, with pockets. I came up with the pattern myself. It was mostly a "cut your coat to fit your cloth" sort of pattern, basically a trapezoid with hollowed out bits in the front for the pockets. Waist is just wide elastic.



This is the slash pocket. I really like this sort of pocket, more than an in-seam one.

Next is the flouncy sprigged skirt that was giving me guff for a bit. I drafted the yoke. The flounce is just a rectangle, the length of which was based on the amount of fabric I had left.



The lace trim was bought for my ivory satin self-drafted slip, which is my next project, but it was something like 5m for $1, so I had extra to use on this. I think it's cute with the blue, and in keeping with the sort of old-fashioned vibe this skirt has.



This is the inside, showing the pocket stay. It's a piece of seam binding that is connected to the yoke and the bottom of the pockets. It's supposed to keep the pocket at the correct level, so it's not peeking out at the bottom of my skirt. It definitely helps.



I feel pretty productive when I think of my skirts. They were nice quick and easy projects. And I got to experiment with two different pocket methods, which was a plus. Unfortunately, what I really need are pockets of doom. Neither of these skirts is designed to hold the amount of stuff that I like to have in my pockets. When I put my wallet and phone in the pink one, the lines of the skirt are all distorted. In the sprigged skirt, the pockets tend to drag the flounce down and hang below the flounce. I could have made those pockets shorter, but then they wouldn't hold all my stuff. I would have cut the flounce longer, but didn't have enough fabric. But that's not the fault of the skirts. They're still nice and I think will get worn this summer. :)

I also made a tucked petticoat, to go toward my 1840 underpinnings. I feel like I'm on a roll. I just need to keep going. Next, is to make some adjustments to my slip pattern then sew that up. I drafted up a knickers pattern to go with it. Also, I'm thinking some new shorts would be good, and I have some leftover black twill that would be perfect. Summer will continue to be busy!

Comments

[girliegirl32786.livejournal.com]

Very pretty! And neat trick with the seam binding. I'll have to remember that one.

[mala-14.livejournal.com]

It's something I learned on the Sewing Academy Forum. It was done on dresses in the 1860s. Those ladies really knew what they were doing back then! ;)