Friday, January 17, 2014

Complete: Homage Skirt

...Because "homage" sounds much nicer than "ripoff" ;)

I'd planned to write this post earlier this week, but it's been an unusual few days. As any Australian readers will know all too well, we've been sweltering through the hottest stretch of weather since 1908- that's the Victorian statistic anyway. And in Australia, that typically means bushfires. We didn't quite get to the point of evacuation, but friends just 3km away did. As it was, the car was packed with bare essentials ready to go at any point. Five separate "incidents" - official term - within 20km of home is pretty spooky for a most-of-her-life-suburbanite! In any case, blogging kind of slipped down the list of priorities....

But it was kind of enlightening, looking at the sparsely packed car, to realise how few material things in life are genuine essentials. Evidently my decluttering journey still has some way to go.

But, on to sewing. This is actually my last make of last year; I wanted something new to wear on Christmas Day. And ever since I saw Sarah of Fabric Tragic's Monet on Acid Charlotte Skirt I've really wanted something similar of my own - a bright floral with a design solid enough to look great as a summer or winter skirt. A trip to Rathdowne Remnants yielded me just the thing; a cheerful (slight) stretch cotton, bright florals on a black background. (I was meant to be helping to look for bridesmaid fabric, but the bride didn't mind me diverting for just a moment.)




Now I do have Charlotte Skirt pattern, and have used it, but I decided to go with New Look 6107, which I used just recently for my sequin skirt. (Which, by the way, has already has several outings. I love it more every time I wear it, and I can't believe I forgot to include it in my official Top 5). I like the lower waist band on this pattern for a more casual skirt, plus it's easier to walk in than the Charlotte. Also, using a different pattern made me feel a little less mindlessly imitative!



I wore it Christmas Day with my white Rowe top tucked in - which was actually my first Me Made Outfit. (I'm not sure if you can call a dress an outfit, can you??) It felt good - I can make coordinating items!!

I made it up exactly as I did the sequin skirt, with the same sizing and (minor) modifications. I have noticed though that this skirt, if I've been sitting down for any stretch of time, tends to get that horizontal fold in front. (You can see that in the front photo above) I'm not sure whether that's because it needed to be graded a little larger at the hips, or if it's just creases from wear. I think it's the latter; my sequin one certainly doesn't do that, and that fabric (plus underlining) is a good deal thicker. Although it may have a bit more stretch to it...Funny how different fabrics behave differently.

I did underline the skirt with a black voile, because I wanted to make sure the fabric was sturdy enough for the skirt style (and didn't create a VPL). On reflection though, I probably negated the stretch by doing so. I've worn it a couple of times since Christmas, and the fold really only happens after a few hours of wear. To be honest, it doesn't bother me too much anyway. Just something to note for next time :)


I did taper the back seam down to 2cm in from the seam allowance at the hem, like I did previously. I prefer the line that gives the skirt - it's just that little bit more shapely. But it still allows for things like, er, walking freely...


The one genuine regret I have is that I used the voile as the waistband lining/facing. I think that I was overcompensating for the thickness of the sequin one's waistband. But this one could have done with being a wee bit firmer, plus the voile is a little too transparent for that particular ask. Am I regretful enough to redo it? Not so much, no.


On the whole, I'm really happy with this, and it ticks the boxes for being a practical, wearable, versatile make. Nice to finish the year on a good note!

Finally, thank you to all of you who expressed interest in my fabric/yarn giveaway. the winners, as drawn by my man are:

Mika of Savoury Stitches  -  the Japanese lawn.
Gillian of Crafting a Rainbow  -  the navy gingham
Sarah of Fabric Tragic   -  The Abuelita yarn

Congratulations, and may your makes be satisfying and enviable! If you could email your address to me at daniellekrivan@gmail.com I'll get those parcels winging their way to you all ASAP.

Have a wonderful week :)

Danielle oxo

15 comments:

  1. Your skirt is lovely, that's just the most perfect floral fabric I've seen in along time :)
    Beautiful!

    Good to hear you dodged the fire, I was in Central Australia 18 months ago and there were bushfires nearby. Kind of magical to see the glow over the hills at night. In fact, I found everything quite magical, and I really miss the bush! As a fun perspective on things; here in Norway we have had 1 metre of snow in two days now, so quite the opposite.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, that is opposite! I think of snow as being completely picturesque and romantic - probably because I never have to deal with it....
      It sounds like you had a wonderful time down here. The bush really has its own unique and intense beauty. You'll have to revisit sometime soon!

      Delete
  2. I love floral pencil skirts. The fit on this is great! Also, so excited about the giveaway - I just emailed you my address. Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I'm really happy with it! And I'll send the parcel off tomorrow. Can't wait to see what you make with it!

      Delete
  3. I do believe all of the ideas you have presented to your post. They are very effective and can definitely perform. Still, the content are very brief for beginners. May you please increase them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.

    Top Ten Web Hosting Reviews

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sandy, thanks for the feedback. I guess I write most of my posts more as project notes that I can refer back to, and that others might find interesting or useful, rather than thinking of them as step-by-step tutorials for people who wish to make their own versions of the garment - it never really occurred to me that anyone else would want to! But I'll certainly try to be more detailed in future. Cheers :)

      Delete
  4. I love a floral pencil skirt right now! Yours looks great! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your skirt is lovely and thank you for including all your details, it looks wonderfully trans-seasonal. Am very glad you (& your friends I hope too) escaped the fires and hope the cool change is behaving this week. Gorgeous light in your photos! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Yup, one thing (the only thing?) that can really be said for that kind of weather is that the evening light is amazing. But I'm happy to forego the light for the cool change - what a relief! All safe on the fire front around here now, just thoughts and prayers for the less fortunate areas still at risk...

      Delete
  6. Oh it's gorgeous! I really haven't got enough wear out of mine this summer yet - I need to make a nice light top to wear with it! How scary about the fires - where I work is on the fringes of the city and a lot of our clients have been on standby too. Thank goodness for the cool change! And I'm so excited about that yarn :). Ps I think pencil skirts just have a tendency to do that crease!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe they do - let's just blame it on that ;) Oh, isn't "cool change" one of the most wonderful phrases in the English language?? Hope all of your clients are safe now :) I'm sending the yarn off tomorrow - looking forward to seeing what you create with it!

      Delete
    2. My yarn arrived this morning! Thankyou, it's so lovely! And the little birdie is so cute! X

      Delete
  7. Oh I do love a floral pencil skirt, and this fabric is all-season appropriate, so even better!

    I have heard about the temperatures, and the bush fires, on the news! It must be terrifying! I can't even imagine. I hope they start to ease off soon!

    And are you making more bridesmaids dresses? Hopefully not more chiffon!?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No!! Definitely no more bridesmaids or chiffon in the foreseeable future - bought this four or so months ago!
      Wow - are our weather and fires making the news over there? I remember the horrendous Black Saturday ones in 2009 did (my brother and sister were living in Edinburgh at the time), but I didn't realise these ones were. That makes me feel like I wasn't overeacting, actually...It's all safe around here now thank goodness, now that the cool change has arrived. Oh, the relief! I think I'm a winter girl at heart...

      Delete