...and I'm back

Well then, work sort of sucked me in over the last few weeks and I'm finally coming up for air.

I have a few things to share - 1. if for some reason you end up with an abundance of garlic scapes, you can make a fab white bean dip.  The CSA is certainly pushing my creativity for yet more things to do with greens, but so far, so good, and I figure I'm probably eating healthier for it so I'm not complaining.  

2.  I finished the Heart to Heart scarf that was part of the lace club for May.  I love the pattern, it's SO pretty.  The color is not up my alley, but this will make a wonderful gift for somebody.

3.  I have been out shopping for key summer wardrobe pieces over the last few weeks and it struck me that a lot of the skirts that are on the racks right now are pencil skirts.  Hmf.  I don't like pencil skirts.  They are uncomfortable to sit at a desk in and sometimes hard to walk in, I'm past the phase in my life where I will suffer for fashion, so I'm not buying them.  This has led to a dearth in fun skirts in my wardrobe this year. 

 

Now then.  I have a sewing machine...I have access to fabric...I (theoretically) can fit my knitwear to my body type...so...why not try to make skirts?

I ordered Sew What! Skirts from Amazon after reading the reviews and I am excited!  I went to our local fabric shop and picked up some fun fabric and bias tape to make a cute little number and I am planning on making an a-line skirt this weekend.  This book has you take your measurements then plot out a pattern on paper using the measurements and make the skirt from there.  Brilliant, no?  It's so logical when you think about it, no trying to make the fashion industry standard measurements fit on your body, no settling for that color when you really wanted THIS color & so on.  

On advice from the book (and again, so logical b/c this is what we do with sweaters) I took a few skirts that I love from my closet to check out the shaping & measurements.  The measurements were spot on with what the book said I should be using, all good, but HORRORS, every single skirt I picked up had DARTS.

Now, the book vaguely explains darts, recommending them for the curvy among us, but it says to put them on the back and front of the skirt.  My skirts only have back darts, which, if you think about it, is logical b/c there's a bit more of a steep angle necessary on the back of one's garment compared to the front.  So I am going to attempt to make two separate pattern pieces, front & back, so I can have darts only where I need them.  

So yeah...wish me luck!  I think it'll be a small miracle if I don't get so frustrated that I want to set the whole mess on fire by the end of the weekend.  (Quilts, what quilts?  I don't remember any quilts that I should be working on...)

Hope you all have a great holiday weekend & I will be back at the end to report my success (or failures)!

Comments

[Toni]

Somewhere I read to start at the big part of the dart & work down--then make sure you have enough thread at the end of the seam at the small dart end and make a square knot to secure the stitching at the end of the dart--since you obviously can't backstitch.

To make them easier, I often baste the outline of the dart--it makes it easier to line up stitches versus just marks

[Susanne]

Good for you, making a skirt is a fairly simple task and it sounds like you have found a very logical source for your patterns. Just a thought on darts on the front of the skirt...they do allow the fabric to lie FLAT across the tummy area, rather than bunching. For me, I don't need any EXTRA fabric over my tummy for sure..but do try it both ways and see how you feel about the fit..have fun!

[Kathleen C.]

Don't worry TOO much about the darts. If the book's pattern figuring doesn't have darts then you probably don't need them for that skirt.
Plus, if you try the skirt on before you finish the waist you can always pinch out a couple of darts so as to exactly fit you! That's one of the great things about sewing your own!