Pleated Skirt (No. 3)

Yes. A pleated skirt. Again.. But after kind of botching the last two, I thought I needed to give it another try. Saw the fabric on the last fabric market I went to in March and it basically screamed "pleat me!", so I did.

It actually turned out quite a bit better than my last two attempts I think, though of course it also does have its construction mistakes. Maybe you remember the Black Pleated Skirt I made and how it all kind of fell apart with the zipper in the back. I was kind of scared I'd make the same mistake again this time around, so I tried to think of a way around it. I found one, but it kind of only looks good in theory. Instead of actually closing the back of the skirt with the zipper, I sewed in the zipper and folded a pleat on top, so it looks like the skirt is actually closed with just a button
and you can't see the zipper at all.

When you wear the skirt, though, that pleat always sticks out a little, so not only does it look a little weird, you can actually see the zipper and the seam from one side. So my clever thinking wasn't as clever as I thought after all. Maybe I need to press it a little more, but I actually like the fact that the pleats aren't pressed. Anyway. It's wearable as long as the top you wear with it is long enough. It still looks a lot better than the last one did.

Next up: another top, which concludes the Easter sewing session. I have about half a dozen dresses planned next, so let's see how that'll go.

Pleated Skirt (no. 2)

So, another pleated skirt. Did I mention I'm kinda obsessed with them lately? This one was my second try...and kind of my first as well. I saw this great velvet needlecord online that looked so great, I was already imagining etui dresses in my future. However, when it got here...well, it kind of looked more like the upholstery of a fairly ugly couch. So. Definitely not dress material. However, since I already had it, I needed to to something with it. Hence: skirt.

My first try turned out great. The pleats looked great, the waistband got a little thick, but I could have lived with that and the fabric actually didn't look too bad once you saw the finished product. However, one of the pleats always draped differently than all the other ones. At first, I didn't really think anything of it, but when I put the skirt on my dress form before putting the zipper in, I realized what had happened. My one big mistake. Apparently, I had mixed up one of my markings and one pleat was only half as deep as the others. Which is why it draped so differently. Even though it's not even that obvious, the minute I knew about it, I knew I would never wear the skirt. So I didn't even finish it, but started over.

My second big mistake. Because for some reason, I didn't drape the pleats at an angle, as I had done with the first skirt. And which was what had made the skirt look so nice in the first place (it gave it a really nice A-line). And since I hadn't really tried in on before I finished it (well, I knew all the measurements from my first attempt), I only realized when I put it on (after I was finished with it) that the beautiful A-line skirt I had planned on actually clings to my thighs and doesn't look anything like attempt number one.

*insert defeated sigh*

So I guess that's gonna be another skirt I won't be wearing anytime soon.

You know, for once I would actually like to sew something and not have to talk about the 20 mistakes I made that ruined the whole thing.

If I ask for some talent for my birthday, you think I'll get it?

Pleated Skirt

So over the past few weeks I've kind of been a bit obsessed with pleated skirts and dresses. This one was actually my second (...or rather, third) attempt at one (you're gonna see attempt number 1-slash-2 sometime this month) and it was actually supposed to become a dress (which explains why it has a 10cm wide waistband now...), but me being me I just started without a real game plan and when it came to figuring out a top I kind of failed. But the way-too-wide waistband (which was actually supposed to be a bridge between the skirt and the top) was already halfway attached and I was too lazy to start over so it stayed on.

Anyway. I had accidentally figured out the exact width my pleats needed to be so that they would match up perfectly in the back (really, complete accident, because I didn't measure a d**n thing before I started) and I was so proud of myself and imagined how perfect it would look and how you wouldn't be able to see the zipper........and I should have realized things are never that easy when I am involved. So of course, I completely messed it up. Big time. Again.

When I complained about my lack of sewing talent to a friend the other day, she said "I don't think sewing involves talent. It's mostly practice." Well, I don't quite believe that, but in moments like these, it's a nice sentiment at least.

I guess I'll just never wear it with anything tucked into it...lol (And by the way, the hem isn't as lopsided as it looks on the picture! It's actually quite straight.) But overall, I like this pleat thingie. Definitely gonna make a similar one again.

In other news: I actually managed to finish the second Peony dress. Jersey needle and silk thread did the trick. Either I'm completely cross-eyed, though, or it turned out kind of asymmetrical. Knowing me, it's the latter. I think I'm actually gonna throw a party if I ever finish something I deem up to standard...lol

Got the pattern for Sewaholic's Cambie dress this week as well and I'm planning on making it out of dark red satin and black lace. Let's see how many mental breakdown's that project is gonna involve...

Two Simple Summer Skirts

When I think about the sewing projects I hope to start in the hopefully not-so-distant future, I've realized I'm all about the grand designs nowadays. I've started an "inspiration folder" that's mostly filled with dresses I'm just dying to make - basically disregarding the fact that a) about 90% will look completely stupid on me, b) I have nowhere near the skill level needed to actually finish one of them and c) oh, right. No patterns for them. Nevertheless, since I can finally sew an almost straight line, I have these visions of grandeur. I can do anything! The world is my oyster! Or, you know, whatever. Not that I actually can do anything, but it feels nice to think I can.

I'm especially in love with these three dresses right now:

Which just confirms that I have a weird obsession with backless dresses and lace. And apparently, everything Lily Collins wears. Don't know what that says about me.


Anyway. When I started sewing a few months ago, though, I sang a completely different tune. I was all about simplicity. Considering my skill level was at about zero (as opposed to the 0.5 it's at now) and the fact that I did pretty much everything wrong that one could do wrong, I was always happy to find instructions for something quick and easy that made me feel like I could actually sew instead of making me weep into my pillow every night (well, not literally, but...you know what I mean).

That's when these two skirts came into play. They both were touted all over the internet as "the easiest skirts ever". And they probably are, you know, for people with a smidge of talent. Ok, the green one kinda was, but holy moley, who would've thought it would be so frakking hard to sew an elastic to a piece of fabric? Stretching the elastic while sewing was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Let's just say my straight lines went mostly out the window on that one (thank god nobody will ever look that closely at my seams), at least everywhere the elastic was involved.

I still kinda like them, though, especially the elastic skirt (even though I should probably start ironing stuff before I take pictures of it). It's not the most flattering skirt I own, but it's light and airy and was perfect when it was really hot a few weeks back, plus it has the added bonus of still fitting even after I gained an insane amount of a few pounds. So there you go. And I really like the fabric (which was actually supposed to become a pair of pyjama pants, but I accidentally bought too little of it).

Basically, for both skirts, all you need is a rectangle of fabric that's about 1 1/4 (green) to 1 1/2 (grey) times your hip cirumference wide and as long as you want your skirt to be (I always want mine knee-long, so I measure from a little below my waist to my knees), plus seam allowance, and a piece of elastic (four inches wide for the grey skirt, 1 1/2 inches for the green one). There's a million instructions out there for these types of skirts, so I'm not gonna write any down now since I assume you all know what to do much better than I did, but if you'd like the instructions anyway let me know and I'll type them down.

So if you're luckier than I am and you still actually have summer wherever you live (apparently, 3 weeks was enough for us. We're back to gray and rainy and bleh.) - give them a try. They're only gonna take you a couple of hours!


♥ Nicole

Pencil Skirt

You all remember the half-finished skirt I showed you guys a couple of weeks ago? Well, it's finished.

Actually, it's been finished for a while, I just haven't gotten around to posting it yet. I was pretty worried about it for a while. As I said in that last post, I got stuck somewhere in the middle and had no idea how to continue. Since I didn't want to ruin the fabric (which I adore so much and totally regret not having bought more of), I took it to a sewing course I took a couple of weeks back, hoping that a professional could help me rescue it.

Well, it was rescued. But not before a few more hours of worrying. I used So Sew Easy's instructions on how to draft a pencil skirt exactly to fit your own measurements and I had adjusted the pattern so the skirt would be waist-high. However, somewhere in between I decided I wanted it to sit a little lower. What I would have done (considering the back wasn't sewn shut yet) was to adjust the back a bit. What the professional did was cut off the top of the skirt (which is why the darts in the front are only like, an inch long and look a little weird). O_o First real moment of panic right there. Especially since the skirt was way too loose around my waist then and I had to readjust the sides completely.

But alas, it all turned out alright in the end. I did my first hidden zipper (...and totally caught my finger in the needle while doing it. Bled like crazy. Hurt for a week.), which isn't completely hidden to be honest, but I'm pretty satisfied with it.

I still think it's missing something on top, maybe a contrasting waistband of some sort. I'm thinking gathered satin or something, but I don't have the right fabric here right now, it's gonna have to wait.

As I said in my other post, I made a lot of mistakes with this one. But I'm really glad it turned out wearable in the end. Seriously, I would have cried if I would have ruined that pretty, pretty fabric.

I also made another flower out of some of the scrap fabric (well, actually I made two) to wear with the skirt. Not getting tired of those!

So, what do you guys think?

♥ Nicole