This is the second of my self-drafted pencil skirt planned for this Year of the Skirts. The silhouettes & patterns are basically the same. But I’m experimenting with different finishing details, fabric combinations, & maybe lengths to avoid making the same skirt over & over again. I want to see what sort of detail changes will give each pencil skirt a personality of her own.  So maybe I’ll do a comparison round up post after I’ve made all three. For now Pencil Skirt No. 2 wants her 15 seconds of fame!

Style Shots & Mug Shots

The Inspiration & Design

The inspiration started with this lovely flocked denim from Mood LA I bought 2 years ago. I was debating how best to showcase the large motif. Originally I was going to make the whole skirt out of it (like Oonaballoona did with her dress). But my Inner Scottishness took over. I decided to spread the love over multiple me-mades. So for this skirt, it takes center front stage. For a matching jacket I’m dreaming about it’ll take center back stage. And the bits & pieces left over will show up god knows when or where.

Now the coordinating fabric…well, it’s not as coordinated as I would like. The lovely flocked denim is the darndest shade of odd gray with a warm greenish tinge. Her sparring partner in the meanwhile is a bog standard gray denim with a cold bluish tinge, also from Mood LA. Any stylist would tell you to keep your warm & cold undertones apart. In fact, never mix them in the same outfit if you can’t resist wearing colors of different undertone to your own skin.

I searched high & low for a better match. But London yielded no result (Fashion Capital of the World my ***). So I made the executive decision that Sod the Stylists It Looks Fine Because I’m So Punk! I did make a concession and kept two fabric apart with a velvet rope piping boundary line.

Silhouette-wise I decided to continue the flocked denim’s High-Low theme (formal damask pattern in indulgent velvety flock vs rough & tumble denim). Since the Substance is more rough & low, the Form went formal & high. A shapely princess pencil skirt it is then.

I kept the back details subtle & complimentary to the Diva in the front. But to stop the yawns I…

• traded bog standard CB slit / vent for two princess vents;
• topped these off with matching velvet buttons – my inspiration was sort of historical military jackets;
• and tasked the CB invisible zipper with maintaining the formal symmetry.

The Pattern

Block Used: 1-Dart Pencil Skirt

This is the one derived from a combination of Kenneth King moulage and pencil skirt instruction that I blogged about here.

1-Dart Pencil Skirt Block

Design Changes Made

Design Changes Made

1. Lowered waistline slightly (3/4″) to avoid optically widen the narrowest part of my waist with the horizontal waistline. Also remove tinsy bit of ease from the new lowered waistline so the skirt doesn’t hang even lower than expected.
2. Convert darts to princess seam. Back princess seam is tapered below hip. Front princess seam below hip is style line only (ie seam added without tapering).
3. Repositioned front princess line to work with the size of the motif on the flocked denim.
4. Kept CB seam for shaping above the hip for a closer fit, and for the CB invisible zipper.
5. Added extra seam allowance to back princess seam below mid-thigh for princess seam vents.

Fabric & Notions Used

• Damask style Floral Velvet Flocked Stretch Denim from Moods Fabric LA. (Oonaballoona made a fabulous dress from a similar fabric – also from Moods – a while back. Sadly Moods Online doesn’t seem to feature these fabrics. Try the Mood NYC store as well if you want some.)
• Stretch Denim from Moods Fabric LA
• Velvet piping (“Velvet Insertion Braid“) from MacCulloch & Wallis London
• 1/2″ velvet buttons from Harlequin UK (I found them on eBay, then discovered on their website that they also do custom fabric covered belt – including fabric covered belt buckle – at a reasonable price! Perfect for when I finally tackle a retro style me-made! Let’s hope there’s enough other customers to keep them going until then!)
• Cotton / rayon millinery petersham from MacCulloch & Wallis London for the waist facing
• Lightweight tricot interfacing
• Recycled invisible zipper
• skirt hook & eye

Construction Notes

One things that slows down my self-drafted me-mades is figuring out the construction & finishing details. The design details & fabrics I’ve chosen all call for anything other than the bog standard seam & seam finishing. Maybe with more design experience the selection of seams & finishing would be second nature & more speedy. For now you’ll have to put up with my glacial speed.

• Lesson learnt: Overlock the edges before you sew the seams, especially if the seam allowances of such bulky fabric will be pressed open.
  In keeping with the formal silhouette, I wanted seam & hem finishing that’s more formal. So no jean-style bulky flat-fell. I was going to press open the seam allowances & overlock each SA separately. But I found it very difficult to overlock once the seam has been sewn because the uneven bulk the feed dog / presser foot has to handle: 1-layer SA on one side of the seam vs 3 bulky layers on the other (1 SA + 2 shell layers). So the fabric wouldn’t feed properly. Maybe if the SA was wider so the bulk is to one side of the presser foot…But then the SA might be unwieldy where the seam is curved. I end up having to overlock both SA layers together, then top-stitch in place. Thankfully top-stitching was virtually invisible, so didn’t detract from the formal theme.
• No lining this time. I was tempted. My default is to line everything. But as the fabric has a bit of stretch, I would have to get stretch lining. Then I start wondering why I assume lining is necessary all the time. Many of my favorite RTW skirts don’t have lining and I still wear them loads. So I jumped. It seems in keeping with denim anyway.
• Waist finishing: I’m experimenting with petersham ribbon as my go-to light-weight skirt waistline finishing. I could have used facing as well, but it would have to be a lighter weight fabric to avoid ridges. But, erm, petersham is easier? 🙂 The bottom of the ribbon is only tacked at the seams & CF to make it easier to press without the ribbon’s bottom edge striking through. The ribbon also act as a waist stay of sort with the addition of hook & eye. I find it easier / less taxing on the invisible zipper if the waist is already hooked together at the waist opening.
• Hemming: The hem edge is simply overlocked, not turned under as that would be too bulky for a more discrete hem. I decided against top-stitching here to continue the formal theme. But this time instead of standard catch stitch I tried blind catch stitch. Since the skirt isn’t lined, I thought avoiding stretches of exposed threads (eg from standard catch stitch) would be a good idea – more durable with less exposure to friction. I should try machine blind stitch one day. Maybe even on the overlocker! I don’t feel brave enough yet though.

The Verdict

I’m pretty pleased with the result. It makes me look like I actually have a bum! Probably thanks to the combination of stiff fabric & back princess shaping.

Having worn this a few times now I think if I were using the same patterns for non-stretch woven fabrics then I might reduce the back princess below hip tapering to give me a bit more hem ease. These denims have a little bit of stretch, so the shapelier tapering is fine this time, but might be a bit risky with my unladylike wide stride.

OK, having slept on it (not literally of course), I’ve decided my adult version of the tiered Yeehaw skirt isn’t so bad. MR begs to differ. He thinks I’m on the wrong side of 40 to wear a skirt so short. The pre-final-wash puffiness didn’t help. But I think style it right and it doesn’t have to scare everyone speechless. Besides, I only live once, and I didn’t get to misbehave in my youth. So I owe it to myself to grow old somewhat disgracefully.

Style Shots & Mug Shots

When I made Little Miss’ version I already started counting the different ways I’d style this. Let’s see if Yeehaw Skirts play nicely with others.

Country-Western

Yeah, I know that’s not cowgirl boots. It’s as close as I could get this time of the year, what with boot season over and rodeo fares not year round staples in Old Blighty. Tattoo T blogged here…

Vivienne Westwoodesque Cut & Slashy

With Frou-Frou Chemise blogged here…

…and…

With Zara top

Classy Ms PMP

That’s Perl, Mohair, & Pumps. Actually, pearl color mohair would have been classier. But I didn’t get around to making one. So Breakfast@Tiffany Wannabe Sweater it had to be.

Street Cred enough for the Sartoiralist you think?

With Stella McCartney thigh-high boots & aforementioned Tattoo T.

Teal Moto Byzantine

With Heavenly T & Reversible Moto Jacket blogged here.

Dolce & Gabbana-ish

With altered TopShop kimono T.

Well Hello Sailor!

With marinière T blogged here…

And that’s how you bend down in a mini-skirt to feed the flying pig.

& Les Mugs

And the aftermath of the photoshoot…

Fabric & Notions Used

• Tobacco laser cut lacy polyester faux suede from Joann in the USA
• Underlining: Tangerine 85gsm 60% acetate / 40% bemberg (rayon) taffeta lining from Bernstein & Banleys (aka The Lining Company)
• Lining: Tangerine 85gsm 100% bemberg cupro (rayon) ponginette taffeta lining from Bernstein & Banleys (aka The Lining Company)
• Perfect Sew liquid stabilizer, Dylon Spray Starch, tear-away paper stablizer, water-soluble plastic stabilizer
• So Sheer lightweight tricot interfacing, Opti Concealed Zip from John Lewis, hooks & eyes

The Design, The Pattern, The Construction

So the Yeehaw Skirt for Little Miss was the starting point. That was basically strips of gathered rectangles. I had actually wanted to make fitted top tier for her as well. But since it was the first time I was sewing for a growing Tweeny from across the pond I thought it safer to go with elasticated waist.

This time around I did go with fitted tier 1 & side zipper. And here’s where the biggest Oops almost got me.

Zippergate

I knew the waist + zip opening needs to be wide enough to go over my hip. So I had planned for the zipper to be in the top tier only. Then tier 2 would nicely cap the bottom of the zip. I forgot that the fitted high hip (tier 1 & 2 seam) also needs to be wide enough to go over my hip. Thank goodness I fitted as I sew. Otherwise I would have ended up with another skirt for Little Miss – assuming she hasn’t overtaken me in sizing!

So in the end, I had to extend the zipper into tier 2. Which complicated things as I didn’t want to impede the gathered puff. The fudge was to sew the invisible zip to the A-line underlayer & let the gathered tier 2 hang free with a gap where the zip opening is. This is kept closed with hooks & eyes.

I also had to add a pseudo waist stay with hook & eye to aid zipper closing. I love invisible zippers. But they can be darn hard to zip up. And after manually embroidering 400+ scallops I ain’t letting no zipper ruin my skirt!

Scallop Saga

Yes you read that right. 400+ scallops. That’s because my Scottishness insisted on using up every last scrap of the damn cut lace. And that called for equal amount in underlining as well. And to preserve my modesty, I added an A-line lining which demanded scallops of its own. I didn’t mind though. It’s rather meditative after a while. Getting started was a different story though.

Little Miss’ scallops came out slightly wimpy after the stablizer washed away. So this time I tried iron-on tear-away paper stablizer which kind of leave tiny sliver of paper behind (under the zig-zag embroidery). As the paper only come in white, I had to color it with marker to keep the visible reverse side tidy. I ran out of my old plastic wash-away stablizer and had to switch to my new Sulky Solvy. I didn’t like this new one one bit. It almost melted to my touch & wasn’t that stable. Maybe you’d get better result if you use it with embroidery hoops. I had miles & miles of scallops to do. I wasn’t about to fuss with no hoops.

I must say though, the result was spot on after the soluble stablizers have been washed away. It’s piraty romantic, soft but not too wimpy.

And A Couple More Things…

1) I found the bemberg lining fabrics a nightmare to work with. They shape shift like the best of those silky divas. And the fluff, the fraying cotton candy fluff that sticks to you and won’t let go! OMG. I don’t know how you silky lovers do it! Only a couple of tools came to my aid: iron-on interfacing, and spray starch.

2) I mentioned A-line underlayer & lining. Aside from preserving modesty, the underayer was also for  simplifing assembly. Last time all the tiers & layers were different widths, which made gathering & seaming a royal pain. This time I streamlined. So the shell & underling for each tier is the same width. Each tier was attached to a simple A-line underlayer. I could have used the lining as the underlayer. But the fabrics were flimsy & I wanted slightly more structure, at least above the hip – to hide bumps of any tucked in tops for example. So the separate underlayer has iron-on interfacing & the lining hangs free inside. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of Little Miss & Old Ms’ versions of the Yeehaw Skirt:

The Verdict

With the tight gathering of the voluminous skirt attached to the modesty preserving A-line innards, I think I’ve taken enough pre-cautions to get away with a mini this side of 40.

So what if I can’t do the Cancan in it…Or can I? There’s still plenty of lining left. Maybe a matching Scallopy O Bloomer would do the trick? 😉

Pencil skirts should be dead easy once you got the fit sorted right? But the Artiste in me obviously can’t live with a life that easy. So the first 3 pencil skirts this year will all have torturous kinks to them & take indecent amount of time to make.

First out of the studio…a sporty reversible (almost) skirt that will have a matching Moto Jacket based on Burdastyle 11/2013 #117. And maybe even a matching Aviator Cap!

Style Shots & Mug Shots

A side – front

A side – side

A side – back

AA side – front

AA side – side

AA side – back

Fabric & Notions Used

• Teal & Brown Wool Acrylic Print Novelty Knit from the sweater knit section Mood NYC bought during my pilgrimage there last year. I was a bit unsure about it to start with. It feels like sweatshirt material on the teal side – and I don’t really do sporty. But the contrasting brown print on the other side made it irresistibly edgy. So I took the plunge. Sadly it’s not available from the Mood online shop.
• YKK Excella #5 (5mm teeth) Metal Zippers from Sil Thread. They have these in a range of tape colors which don’t seem to be available anywhere else. I bought two long separating zippers one and had Sil Thread split them into 6 zippers ($1 per cut / bit added on). Should have ended up with 2 separating & 4 closed end zippers, but I only got 1 separating one in the end. Forgot to check before I headed back to London d***it.
• Petersham Ribbon for facing / reverse side contoured waist band. Mine was gifted to me by my thrifting friend. It looks like grosgrain ribbon, but is made of shapable fiber (cotton, acetate, rayon; not polyester) & the ribs run edge-to-edge, so look scalloped. MacCulloch & Wallis in London carries them.
• Vilene Bias Tape interfacing. Skirt hook & eye. Stitch Witchery fusible bonding web.

The Design & Pattern

Design:

Used princess seams for color blocking with both sides of the fabric. I was a bit unsure whether to have the print on the side panels or center panels. Initial design has it on the sides on the assumption that the darker color at the sides creates a slimmer look.

Block Used: One Dart Pencil Skirt F&B

My original Pencil Skirt Block has 2 front darts & 1 back dart per side (ie 6 darts altogether). And you can see in the design I was going to convert the back dart & one front dart into princess seam. But because the fabric seemed a bit thick for darts I ended up drafting a one-dart front. It doesn’t fit as well as the two-dart front – I have tummy & hip bone bulges. But I reckon it’ll do fine in this slightly stretchy fabric

Design Changes Made

• Converted the darts to princess seams. The back princess seam has shaping above & below the hip – basically connecting the waist & hem darts. The front princess seam has shaping only above the hip (waist dart). Below it was just a style line which slant slightly towards CF to add illusion of more shaping. I ended up shifting the front princess seam slightly towards the CF to get a more balanced color blocking effect. Hopefully the slight stretch of the fabric will compensate for waist dart shaping not in exactly the right place.

Construction Notes

This project has a few firsts for me. I tried a few different seaming techniques on scraps. But in the end decided to go with the following combination which was inspired by a Jean-Paul Gaultier knit skirt I had in my youth.

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• First time I used flatlock seaming. And boy was it scary. For the vertical seams one side has no seam allowance and the other side only 1/4″. They’re sewn wrong sides together on the overlocker with 2-thread flatlock (so seam allowance sticking out). Then pulled in opposite direction to flatten the seam. Not sure if I did it correctly, but mine end up overlapping that 1/4″ & I had to use blunt sweater needle to coax the underlayer’s 1/4″ SA flat – it was folding in half, so won’t lay flat. Flatlock seam just look so delicate. Fingers crossed the seams won’t pop open during wear. (Maybe I should carry a back up skirt around if I’m wearing this outside the house?) You could theoretically reinforce the seams from the inside by fusing a thin strip of interfacing over the seam as recommended by various serger books. But then it won’t be reversible. And I can’t decide on which color blocking design I prefer.
• First time I used 2-thread wrap overlock edge finishing. Again scary with no seam allowance. And the thread loops around the edge look so vulnerable to snags. Plus stretchy fabric means waist & hem risk stretching out of shape. So I tried to stabilize both waist & hem with Vilene Bias Tape fused so it wrap over the edge (1/2 on outside, 1/2 on inside). Then I did another layer, but this time basted it so that the adhesive is facing out. Next came the overlock. And finally pressing to fuse the overlock stitches to the 2nd layer of Vilene Bias Tape. Hopefully it’ll tame the loopy treads.
• First time I sewn an exposed zipper. I’m usually an invisible zipper fan, but decided to go with exposed zipper because (a) the matching moto jacket will have 3, and (b) I couldn’t figure out how to make flatlock seams work with invisible zippers. I’m not a fan of the type of exposed zipper that has the tape on the outside. So for the planned version, the tape edge is hidden. But now that the skirt has turned out reversible (almost), the reversed version does have the tape on the ‘outside’. I mostly followed this tutorial on exposed zipper with a seam, though Husqvarna’s animated tutorial for a slit version is pretty good too. The seam allowance is trimmed, then the tape edge fell-stitched on the reverse side, the bottom of the tape folded under. BTW the CB is a fake flat-lock seam because I wanted to extend the flat-lock look to the CB slit. Each side was flat-locked separately as a single layer. Then the stretch between the zipper bottom & the slit joined with top-stitching. (Except I didn’t plan properly, so the reverse side wasn’t psuedo-flat-locked all the way from zipper bottom downward.)
• First time I used Petersham ribbon for skirt waist facing. I was hoping it would act as interfacing to stabilize the waist. In this case it also act as a nice belt / waist-band like finishing for the reversed version. It was steam pressed into a slight curve before being fell-stitched in place over the the 2-thread wrap overlock edge finishing. At the zipper, the ends were folded under and overlapped slightly so a flat skirt hook & bar can join the ends unobtrusively. I added a extra fold on the top end so that it mirrors the overlap and make a box feature over the zipper end to mimic a fabric belt buckle.

The Verdict

I’m pretty pleased with the skirt. The pattern is basic enough to be reused with different details which I hope to demonstrate with the next two pencil skirts planned.

And for a commitment-phobe, I’m relieved that it turn out reversible, almost. What keeps it from being properly reversible is the zipper. So I have to be really careful zipping up / unzipping when I wear this inside out.

So it’s onward with the matching jacket. Let’s see if I can also make that (almost) reversible too shall we?