Tuesday, April 1, 2008

I'm back...

I don't know if you missed me or not and sorry to be absent so long. I've got a huuuuge amount of work lately, worked late and used my time rather for sewing than blogging. Plus, the NATO summit starts tomorrow in Bucharest (presidents from all over the world arrive today) and the city is a mess because of that: security restrictions, many institutions closed and an awful-awful traffic.

Thanks to all of you who commented meanwhile and sorry for not being able to answer. A special thank you goes to Nedra who delurked and noticed a very important error in my placket tutorial: the placket should be 1" wide, not 1/2! (the imperial system is sometimes a handful for me) . Thank you, Nedra, now it's corrected.

Dawn, thank you so much for tagging me and leaving such a nice comment at my blog. I promise I'll try to name 7 random things about me as soon as possible. Please bear with me!

I've finished meanwhile three SWAP items and I'm going to show them to you, each one in a different post (so it's easier to link to them in my final SWAP review) . I would also like to apologize for the not so good quality of some of the photos (in this post and the next ones). My camera is quite old and I don't know why, some of the pictures took with the self-timer are a bit blurry or too dark. I know I should try taking them in natural light, but I only have natural light during weekends in my home and weekends are already filled with many other activities.

SWAP item #7 - Not your usual A-line skirt



This is the skirt from my wardrobe pattern, Vogue 2813 - a Donna Karan pattern. It is a very interesting pattern, as you will be able to see below. The front has some very interesting details, (see the drawing), there is a slotted seam effect. Each front piece has facings that are sewn and turned under, then front pieces are joined by means of an underlay and topstitched, once at 1/4" (approx 6mm) and the second time at 3/8" (approx 1 cm). The back darts are treated the same: cut open, faced and then joined with an underlay and topstitched. Well, it is a bit hard to explain, hope the drawing and the pictures will speak for themselves. If not, tell me and I'll take a photo of the pattern pieces.



Side view of the skirt:



View of the front slot seams:



Back (the line of the front seams continue in the back):



Back darts



The skirt doesn't have a lining. I chose to underline it using the same nylon sheer that I usually use for that. I laid the nylon sheer over the assembled skirt (yet unclosed at the center back seam) and carefully traced the shape of the skirt on the lining, then pinched the excess with pins, shaping darts.



Tip: If you want to sew an easy hem on a flared skirt and you are willing to bind the hem, here's what I did: I used bought bias tape and when sewing it to the skirt's hem, I stretched it as much as I could. Doing this, the excess flare in the hem was eased into the bias. After pressing, you get a nice binding and when sewing the hem, you'll discover there's no more fabric to ease in, gather, make little darts etc.



I used a decorative stitching on the binding. The same stitching is repeated on the waist facing.



The zipper is finished with satin ribbon (I don't remember right now if I read about this in Roberta Carr or Claire Shaeffer).

22 comments:

Adrienne said...

That skirt is GORGEOUS!!! THanks for the tip on using the bias tape! I will have to use that one!

Lori said...

Wonderful skirt, Laura. Thanks for the bias tape tip.

Unknown said...

Wonderful skirt, Laura. I love all the details.
I can so empathize about the crazy workload... We haven't been much blessed in this department lately (and neither has Tany!). It does make any snatched little moment that we spend sewing incredibly precious, doesn't it :)
Gros bisous ma belle ! J'utilise beaucoup de tes conseils pour le trench Burda... Merci ! ♥♥

Lisette M said...

Beautiful skirt, thank you for the bias tape tip.

AllisonC said...

Yes you were missed, but your posts are always worth waiting for. Gorgeous details on the skirt, I had never noticed that pattern before. I also love your trademark inner finishing details - the bias tape, decorative stitching and zipper tape finish are all very inspiring.

Alexandra said...

Gorgeous skirt! The seaming detail is something else!

Beth H said...

That skirt is outstanding! Nice work, as is all your sewing!

Summerset said...

Glad to see you back! I love that skirt - the details are very interesting. Yet another not so basic garment!

vluluw said...

I missed you and your posts because you always push the envelope and make the best things. Great details on the skirt.

Erica Bunker said...

Beautiful skirt! I love the topstitching. Great idea with the bias tape!

Angelia said...

So glad to see your back and thanks for your recent comments on my blog! I have missed reading your posts!!! Your always such an inspiration.
Beautiful skirt! I love how pretty your stuff is inside as well as out. Nice details!

Vicki said...

I've missed you! And what a great skirt.

Johanna Lu said...

Laura, your clothes are as pretty on the inside as they are on the outside! I so love this skirt and the slanted seams are very innovative. And they look very flattering too!

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

I love the detail in this skirt! All of those extra ingredients really make the skirt sing. Can't wait to see more of your SWAP pieces!

Rose said...

Lovely skirt! it looks great on you!

Rose

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous skirt. I love the seaming details and the topstitching. Nice finishing. My Nana always said the inside should look as nice as the outside and this certainly qualifies.

Vicki said...

Hi,

I received an excellent blog award and now get to nominate 10 blogs for that award as well. I nominated you for the award! Love your blog.

Best wishes
Vicki

PS looking forward to the posts about the new garments :))

Anonymous said...

Well, of course we missed you but absolutely understand that, if it's a choice between sewing and blogging, you must sew. Especially when the SWAP deadline is looming :). Love the skirt. Beautifully done, as usual...

Keely said...

Beautiful skirt. i love the detailing on it.

kbenco said...

I am very repetitive, I love your skirt too. Thank you for blogging about all your construction details.

BCN - UNIQUE designer patterns said...

Laura, if that were very interesting details of this skirt. At first glance looks like a normal pattern, but this corner on the front that extends makes it unique. Congratulations for a job so perfect. Greetings. Uff .... I continue with the other posts. (Much to see and with much interest. Thanks) so far. Paco

Tany said...

Laura, I missed you so much and I'm glad you're back and sharing your outstanding creations! This skirt is BEAUTIFUL! It looks perfect on your slim figure and its color looks great on you too! The inside details are candy to my eyes! Fabulous job!