Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Rosso Arancione Giallo Verde

This skirt was the precursor, the practice run. The Fat-quarter Quarter Skirt. I used the excellent Sew What! Skirts book, where you learn to draft a pattern for any skirt you can think of based on your own measurements. This model is the basic A-line with zip. Somehow despite my drafting, it is too big; see how far below my actual waist it sits? I think I don't need to allow nearly as much "ease".

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Sadly I made a right hash of the waistband and zip. It was late on Friday night when I tried it and I broke 2 needles on the machine, a sure sign I needed to stop what I was doing and walk away but I was so close to finishing. It's almost wearable. You know, with a long top. And maybe I'll pull out the waistband and try again, although seeing as I used a fancy leaf stitch from the new machine which would be a cow to unpick, there's a good chance I'll never bother.

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But anyway, at this stage the I-want-to-make-a-funky-skirt Bug had well and truly bit and Fixit remarked, more than once, on my new obsession. Within 24 hours of completing the Fat-quarter Quarter Skirt project, (time spent sleeping and teaching kiddies to tap) I took up the Rainbow Skirt Project, using mostly fat quarters given to me by the lovely Jan of Sewjourn as part of Trash's Rainbow Swap, and if you think I've been quiet this week, here's why: tonight, she is finis.

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I made Fixit double-check the maths for computing 7 equal-ish pattern strips and then I cut and sewed with a lot of care. I ironed and pinned and did practice swatches every step of the way, which is very anti my natural tendencies. When I hemmed the skirt, I changed cotton for each different coloured panel. I did! And I didn't even mind the extra work.

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I tried the skirt on after putting in the zip and found it was too big so I carefully unpicked 2 panels and made them thinner.

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I've pulled off the best zip of my short career, (which is not saying much), including sewing up the zip each side in different coloured cotton. I don't think I've quite got the hang of the closing bit on top of the zip, but I think you'd only see that if you took a big close-up of it. Like this.

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The bias waistband with the pretty loveheart detail was sewed at snail's pace to avoid snarls and general wonkiness (not altogether avoided but mostly good)

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And now it's finished, and it fits, and it's quite well-sewn by my standards and there's only one thing left to say really...


.... Ta-da!!!

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27 comments:

  1. Yay! I love the way you go from "beginner projects" to "multi-panelled skirt" in a matter of weeks. I love it!

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  2. You know which bit sent me over the edge and COMPLETELY blew me away? The bit where you changed thread colour for each side of the zip. Wow. Now that's damned impressive.

    Well done excellent lady!

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  3. OMG! That is possibly the coolest skirt ever. In fact Carlsberg don't make skirts but if they did ...

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  4. That is dedication---changing thread for each coloured panel! Looks great! We've just seen Australia beat Serbia in their World Cup game [Soccer mania prevails at Casa Bawn!]Thought of your boys and how excited they must be---you all ARE following it, right?

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  5. That might be the fanciest title for a blog post ever!

    To go with a very fancy skirt - well done!

    And now I have to wake up Joe because I just read Molly's comment!

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  6. Oh wow, Ta-da indeed! That it is a masterpiece of engineering. Just working out how to cut those strips would have given me a headache (let alone changing the cotton colour sooooo many times)! Gorgeous.

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  7. I just knew that this was going to be a craft blog...you have the bug my dear - and that zip is waaaaaay better than my last attempt.
    Imagine all those little tappers in multi-panelled skirts.....

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  8. I see the sewing bug has well and truly caught you! I love it, well done!

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  9. That skirt is truly glorious! Almost as glorious as the woman wearing it.

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  10. Oh! LOVE the rainbow skirt! It is so you. Just perfect!

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  11. No WAY!!!!

    That first photo of it lying down, I thought that was the sample you saw on someone else's blog and was showing us what you were going to make, and then, and then, it turns out it WAS the one you made, and, and *breath* you are SO CLEVER!!

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  12. That's stinkin' funny - I would never have changed thread colour for the panels, I would just have used black! Definite dedication points to you :-) And a very cute result!

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  13. When someone says "ta-da" there is only one appropriate response:

    {Fairlie stands and claps}

    APPLAUSE!!

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  14. Bewdiful Mate. I just picked up about 100m purple ric rac at oppy, yell if you need some.

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  15. You should rainbow tap all over town in that cleverly stitched, beautifully zipped little number!

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  16. That is GORGEOUS!! I'm so impressed! You have to teach me... though I have a feeling you are much more creative than I am. Does Fixit get a credit on the label since he did the maths bit?

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  17. Beautiful! And you're sickeningly slim, too...

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  18. WOW - that is so amazing!! Not the fact that you sewed a skirt (you rock at that) - but the colours are fab and ric rac too - Gorgeous!! Well done and bravo for your patience....the hem in different colours..impressive!!

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  19. Fantastic! I love it. Such a good job.

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  20. A REALLY great skirt! You did a lot of things that are completely against my character - like practise swatches, unpicking, careful zip-sewing. Respect.

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  21. I love it and it looks wonderful! Well done, what a great job!! Changing the tread to suit the panel colour would do my head inm, but well-worth it, Ta-Da indeed!

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  22. Wow, definitely impressive! You are tenacious and it paid off. VERY awesome skirt.

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  23. Gorgeous! I want one. Only I fear my panels would need to be wider...

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Don't let the cat get your tongue.