Hollyburn Skirt - Denim Style

[sew].

So remember in my most recent skirt post, I said I wanted to try a traditional plaid circle-ish skirt? Yes. Well, I'm one step closer because I now have a wearable muslin. 

Well, wearable, but not by me.  Boohoo!! It's too big. I know the pictures look fine and I *could* wear it, but the belt is cinched in pretty good and my sweater is tucked in to take up some of the ease.  

Hopefully one of my friends will snap it up. The skirt itself is so great though, really great! Meet the Hollyburn Skirt by Sewaholic.

I will right this minute unabashedly admit I have totally copied Sunni's denim version right here. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? Actually, I just really like a good denim skirt. It can be dressed up or down; it's casual enough for a mom to wear on any given day; it's comfy and durable. It never goes out of style.

The Hollyburn is incredibly popular, with construction methods especially geared towards beginners. In fact, there is an excellent sew-along right here. I highly recommend this pattern - its a good, classic, basic piece that is generally flattering to most figure types. I really like the side pockets. 

And you know I like to make the inside as beautiful as the outside. Hello Amy Butler!! Oh, this just makes me smile everytime I look at it - to see this surprise burst of freshness on the inside. My husband asked me why so much effort on the inside when nobody will see it but I will see it. It turns this garment into something special and handcrafted. It won't be thrown out next season like the fast fashion that most people seem to buy into these days.

I will tell you one thing, this skirt was extremely labor-intensive. That's because I wanted to use a Hong-Kong finish on the seams which is just finicky in itself. But the Hong-Konging led to drafting a zipper facing and modifying the waistband pattern piece to allow for a contrast facing which then led to modifying the construction altogether.  I added a bias hem facing to finish the whole darn thing off Amy Butler style. 

I have to say, all these extras make wearing a plain-Jane denim skirt feel pretty darn luxurious. Except for the part that it doesn't really fit me well. So let's talk about that for a second. 

Tasia of Sewaholic Patterns drafts specifically for a pear-shape body. I'm pretty much a rectangle, but it should still work for someone like me. I chose my pattern size based solely on the waist size because if the waist fits the hips will be sure to fit, I figured. I mean, they won't be too small in any case. But in fact there is a lot of excess flare going on where it shouldn't be going on, right at the hip, where I am not a pear. Next time I will take that into account and grade down to the appropriate hip size and see what happens.  

To be clear, I was fitting along as I sewed, in a general way. I did end up taking in side seams. But I had already Hong-Konged the centre front seam so I couldn't take that in without ripping out a WHOLE lotta work and I wasn't going to do that.  Still, things were looking good and I cut my waistband to fit. But then, you know what I did? I tried the finished product on with my tights. 

Tights suck in everything considerably. Love tights.

But my skirt? Totally loose on the waist and too big in the hips. Good thing for the belt loops and tucking in a sweater. I didn't cry though. I just filed that under lessons learned: Measure with the kind of undergarments you plan on wearing. Like, really.

So, I want to make another denim skirt to fit me better, which means whichever friend likes this skirt has to tolerate being twins with me. Any takers? 

Switching gears now to reading. I am making some progress through the Canadian classic, Two Solitudes by Hugh Maclennan. Slow, steady progress.

I'll be back later to link up with Elizabeth and needle and thREAD. In the meantime, tights. Measure with 'em on.

And here is that needle and thREAD link. Looks like I'm not the only one with fitting issues today!

xoxo

[sew] skirt - Burda 7342

[sew].

Hi there.

Long time no sew.

Well, not really. More like, long time no hem.

This skirt, Burda 7342, has kinda been waiting on me to hem her. She's been hanging out so to speak. She's happy to be complete now though.

She likes to be dressed up. And down. Both are her style.

She likes a little movement, the kind that only a linen circle-ish skirt can provide. 

 

She's simple and classic from the outside. With pretty triple-topstitching in contrasting thread.

But on the inside? She has secrets.  Just like any other woman.

Like a Petersham ribbon hem. French seams. Bias-edged yoke facing. And mustard lining. Who likes matchy-matchy anyway when you can be surprising instead?

When you look within, you can see she really has a deep love of math. Though hidden.

Dear sewing friends, I have to tell you I love love love this skirt. It feels so great to wear, comfy and feminine. It goes with a whole bunch of stuff I already own. This, or any other neutral skirt in a pleasing style, is definitely a wardrobe-building piece. And I really love the weight that the Petersham ribbon gives to the hem - exactly what you want in a bias-cut skirt.  Gotta be Petersham though, grosgrain ribbon will not stretch the same way because it is constructed differently. 

As far as the pattern goes, it was not difficult and the fit was pretty spot-on. Make sure to cut, fit and sew your yoke before cutting out the rest of the skirt. If you have to adjust it for fit, that will also affect your lower skirt, and the yoke and lower skirt must match precisely. 

My only modifications to the pattern were to add a bias-edge to the yoke facing, and to change the flaps a bit. I reduced their size by about an inch all around,   AND changed the placement - I felt they were set too far apart.  See what's pleasing to your eye. But I do like the flaps, just a fun detail. They don't lead to any pockets by the way. Heh heh, another secret.

I am quite anxious to sew a traditional circle skirt now ... I've had some plaid fabric for about a year and making this has reminded me that I love skirts with swoosh.

Allllll-righty then. Onto other stuff. Like reading. Well, I do have a few books on the go, most from the library. They are all sewing books ... and include:

Sew Liberated by Meg McElwee

The Party Dress by Mary Adams. C'mon, it looked fun.

Pattern Fitting with Confidence by Nancy Zieman. She still rocks, I'm telling you. Tried and true.

The Essential A-line by Jona Giammalva. This book was a prize (yay!) from the Sew Mama Sew Super Online Sewing Match - the community match - for my Oliver and S Rollerskate Dress. Its a great book and full of inspiration on making a simple A-line your own. Jona is a neighbour and good friend of Heather Bailey.   

And I think that's a wrap. See, Tracy? Fitness hasn't cut into my sewing time all that much ... yet :)! Haha! And if there is a needle and thREAD post today, I'll be back a little later to link up. Till then, may all your sewing projects have secrets.

And here is the promised link. Go and check out Elizabeth's super-cute flannel Oliver+S picnic blouse for Sarah.

xoxoxo

Edited again, this time to link up with #sewselfish over at Lauren's. Thanks, Lauren, for the invite! This is a really fun link-up so make sure to see what everyone else is sewing :).

Blessing Others with your Sewing Talents

[sew].

I'm at my parents' farm this week with the kids having a wonderful time. My mom's cousin was here last week and they had a huge sewing bee, the two of them, making placemats and knitting dolls and cooking quinoa. I had *hoped* to join them last week but things didn't quite work out. In any event, Mom and I both love to sew and of course within a day of arriving we were both placing fabric orders on fabric.com! I love that we share this obsessive hobby.

My mother is a fabulous seamstress and has blessed others with her talents all her life.  Elizabeth has been making headbands from her scrap-fabric-stash and blesses all little girls who visit her home with them. I thought it was time I did something similar and decided to make something for my mom while I'm here visiting.

Mom has always admired my Amy Butler Barcelona skirt, which I wear all the time and absolutely adore ... and she had some lovely Amy Butler fabric just sittin' around calling our name ... so out came the machine for a couple of hours. 

I asked her to pose but she's laughing her head off! Anyway, this is the simple A-line version of the Barcelona, and not the tiered frayed-edge version though maybe we will try that one next. 

I love how it turned out for her. She says its fit to wear in public. So that was a compliment :).

Speaking of A-line skirts, have any of you been following the Great Online Sewing Match (based on the Great British Sewing Bee - check it out on Youtube) organized by Sewmamasew? The round-one challenge was to draft, design and sew an A-line skirt,  based on a Craftsy class by Deborah Moebes. I took the class and I have to say, it was really excellent and inspiring! Got to give it a go! And not only that, the round two challenge is to sew the Roller Skate Dress by Oliver + S. Check out Sewmamasew for a discount code on the pattern.

So much fun stuff to think about, I can't say I was reading much this week at all. Heading back home tomorrow though, where I'll be greeted by a lonely husband and a box of fabric. Maybe a glass of wine. Can't think of a better combination, can you?

Please stop by Elizabeth's to check out her headbands, and see what the rest of the gang are sewing and reading this week. 

God bless and have a wonderful weekend!
xo

Amy Butler Barcelona Skirt AGAIN!

Good morning sewing friends and all you needle and thREAD-ers!  Visiting from Elizabeth's?  Welcome!

Have you ever come across a pattern that you absolutely LOVE and just have to make it up again? Most of the time when I sew up a pattern for myself, that's it and I'm onto the next thing. Either it didn't have a great fit, or I was unhappy with the fabric choice or it was a pain to sew.  Not so with Amy Butler's Barcelona Skirt.  Its quite simply amazing. This is my second Barcelona skirt (you can see the first one at the end of this post).

I love love love the frayed edges in this skirt. Panels are basically overlapped and topstitched, leaving an exposed edge. Each washing makes the skirt softer and a little more frayed. This skirt is a generous A-line, my very favorite kind. The pattern also offers a simple A-line (no overlapped frayed-edge panels!), and an apron overlay. But the frayed edge skirt is the one to make. So unique I think.

The skirt is an intermediate sew. Its lined with muslin but don't worry, that actually makes sewing the garment easier. The lining is attached at the waist, right sides together, and then just turned over and topstitched. No actual waistband to attach!

I wear this A LOT. Just so darn comfy. However, with the snow hitting us this week, I'll have to retire it for the winter. It got its last fling of the season in Salt Lake City at Sewing Summit, which I can't wait to tell you about! Such an amazing and inspirational experience.  And by the way, this skirt won me a nice little pack of charm squares on the shop hop bus, for wearing something handmade.  I also won a prize for having the most children, tee hee! Summit post coming soon, promise.

Reading. Does reading a particular blog count? I have fallen in love with Sunni's blog, A Fashionable Stitch. I enjoy sewing blogs, but Sunni's takes things up a notch. She inspires you to slow down and enjoy the sewing process, focuses on beautiful technique (check out her Sewing School), and showcases some very yummy notions (like rayon seam binding and Petersham ribbon).  I met Sunni at Sewing Summit - she taught a class in sewing up a knit T-shirt, and although I didn't get into her class I was very inspired and bought the Renfrew Top pattern she was teaching from. In fact, it just arrived today so can you guess what I'll be doing this weekend? You're right ... AND possibly making another child's maxi-skirt.  We'll see.

Do you have any patterns you've loved enough to make more than once?