The Skirt

Progress on this skirt has been slow, but I tried to keep whittling away at it little by little. I finished my seams, then interfaced and attached the waistband before moving back down to the inset. The decorative band for the top of the inset gave me some fits. I measured everything out carefully (or at least thought I had), but when I got it all stitched, turned, and pressed I was not satisfied. One end came out perfectly. The other, however, was a different story. Somehow I managed to let the band taper in across the length and then wound up with a thinner, shorter and less crisp point at the opposite end. I cut another one, made sure to REALLY measure that one carefully as I marked my stitching lines out with chalk, and once it was all pressed I was greeted by a much more uniform, attractive button band.



I put the finishing touches on the skirt last night, after adding the inset and turning up the hem yesterday afternoon. I'm very happy with how the final product turned out. I still need to drop a few more pounds (as anticipated) before it really fits perfectly, but I love the shape of the skirt and the way the pleats hang at the back. I did much of the finishing by hand, particularly around the inset itself in order to keep everything looking clean. I usually do most finishing work by hand, but I was a bit more careful with this than I often am (especially if I'm trying to finish something quickly so I can wear it). Since I can't remember exactly what the fabric content is (a burn test only confirmed that it was a blend of some sort) I had to err on the side of caution and use a slightly lower setting on the iron than I would have if I were working with a pure wool suiting; and the fact that my interim iron is a lightweight p.o.s. that was left in our house by the previous owner didn't make perfect pressing any easier. So far the pleats are holding nicely, though, and I may get a better press when I hit them again with a heavier duty iron.

And a few more details of the pleated inset and button band...
(You can see the slightly pegged hem of the skirt in the first photo a bit better).

I finished the hem with an olive green hem tape I had in my stash (and admittedly could have been a little more meticulous about my hem stitches, but it was late, I'd been alone with a sick baby for three days, and I was tired). I've got a decent stash of hem tape that I picked up on super-clearance at a Ben Franklin's a few years ago. I really enjoy the little bit of contrast on the inside of my hems, and it does help minimize bulk as well.

As you can see in the above photo, after I had cut my fabric I discovered blue manufacturer stamps of some sort all over one side of the fabric. I was really mad at first, but since I only paid a few dollars a yard for it, and online fabric shopping is always a bit of a gamble I did make my peace with it. Fortunately they were all placed in a way that they were easy to hide on the inside of the skirt. Now that I've finished the skirt I can get started on the vest. I've got everything cut, I just need to finish marking everything before I can start sewing.

I hope everyone has had a good week and is enjoying their weekend!

-Evie